Heroes of Olympus: The House of Hades Book Review
Written by Sierra Schedin, Former Student on Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Bestselling author Rick Riordan finally published the newest installment in the Heroes of Olympus series on October 8, 2013. A sequel series to the popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, The House of Hades marks the fourth adventure in Heroes of Olympus. Fans all over the world eagerly tore through the book and finished it within days – fan art and excited discussions littered the Internet almost immediately.
I, unfortunately, was unable to get my hands on the much sought-after book until fairly recently. Luckily I managed to avoid most spoilers online and was in for some big surprises when I was at last able to read it.
The previous book, The Mark of Athena, left off on quite the cliffhanger, literally. Percy and Annabeth, the beloved heroes that long-time fans of the series practically grew up with while reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, were last seen hurtling down an impossibly deep pit leading to Tartarus itself. The tragic event sets the stage for House of Hades. Although the whole group (Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, and Nico) had intended on traveling to the House of Hades in order to close the Doors of Death, another entrance to Tartarus, they had not planned on their two most experienced fighters taking a detour through the underworld for Greek monsters. The game plan changed to try and meet Percy and Annabeth at the Doors and somehow close them while saving the couple at the same time.
The chapters switch off from Percy or Annabeth’s perspective to their other friends’ on the warship Argo II. While the legendary demigod couple nearly die every step of the way down in Tartarus (no, really; the air is poisonous), the rest of the gang struggles to get along with one another as they slowly but surely make their way to Epirus. Right off the bat Hazel receives a visit from the magic goddess Hecate, who seems to have taken a liking to the daughter of Pluto and tells her she must master manipulating the Mist in order to defeat a powerful foe waiting for her at the House of Hades. Other events that happen along the way include a run-in with a couple of ugly, thieving dwarves; negotiating with the rather stubborn farming god Triptolemus (which leads to Frank receiving a blessing of strength from his father Mars); Leo becoming stranded on Ogygia while the rest of the group is stuck in the palace of Notus, the god of the South Wind; and facing down Cupid himself.
The House of Hades was easily the best book so far in the Heroes of Olympus series. Riordan continues to use his fast-paced, witty writing style to its best ability, leaving me laughing or crying every page. In this book Riordan further fleshes out Jason, whom I hadn’t been a big fan of for the past books due to his lack of character development, and gives already-developed characters even more personality and moments of greatness. At nearly 600 pages, it’s a hefty read, but every moment is thrilling. If you read the Percy Jackson series, definitely pick up this book. You won’t regret it.
