Fantasy: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero is the first novel in Rick Riordan’s new The Heroes of Olympus series.  This new series picks up where Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series left off and deals with the Roman gods and goddesses, the counterparts of the Greek gods and goddesses in the Percy Jackson novels. The Lost Hero tells the story of demigod Jason, who wakes up on a school bus headed to the Grand Canyon with no memory of who he is or how he came to be there.  He is with his apparent girlfriend, Piper, and best friend, Leo, who, it turns out, are also demigods. Jason begins to uncover the truth when he and his friends are attacked at the Grand Canyon by venti, storm spirits, and he discovers that his teacher, Coach Hedge, is actually a satyr charged with protecting him.  Annabeth, from the Percy Jackson novels, shows up hoping to find out information about Percy, who is missing, but, of course, she only finds Jason, Piper, and Leo.  She takes the three of them to Camp Half Blood where it is discovered that Jason is a son of Zeus, Piper is a daughter of Aphrodite, and Leo is a son of Hephaestus.  The three new heroes are then sent on their first quest: to save Hera.  It soon becomes clear that the real enemy is Gaea, one of the Titans, and that she has captured Hera in order to raise her son, the giant Porphyrion.  The heroes must save Hera, and Piper’s father, from the giant Enceladus, and try to stop the Titans from destroying the Olympians and taking back their power. In the end, they successfully save Hera and Piper’s dad, but are unable to stop the real Gaea. Jason also remembers that he was raised in a camp somewhat like Camp Half-blood but in service to the Roman gods and goddesses. It becomes clear that Hera has switched Jason and Percy in an attempt to bring the Greek and Roman demigods together to defeat the Titans. This, of course, leaves the door open for Riordan’s next book in this new series. 

I am a fantasy lover, so this new series is right up my alley.  I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson series, and I’m happy that the stories of those characters are continuing in this new series.  As an English teacher, I am particularly fond of the both these series because of what they can teach students about Greek and Roman mythology under the guise of an enjoyable story.  I have found that my students who have read the Percy Jackson series are quite knowledgeable about the Greek gods and goddesses as a result and bring that prior knowledge to their study of such works as The Odyssey.  I am hopeful that the Heroes of Olympus series will become equally as popular and will provide students will additional knowledge about the Greek and Romans gods and their connection to one another, making it easier for students grasp these connections in a classroom setting.  This knowledge will be helpful, too, for students in World History who study Ancient Greece and Rome from a historical and cultural perspective. 

References

Riordan, R. (2010). The lost hero. New York: Disney-Hyperion Books.