The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

I recently got a Kindle Touch, and of course, the thing adults do when they have a Kindle is read some kids’ books. I had been wanting to read the new Olympians series by Rick Riordan, and my library (Overdrive) finally had The Lost Hero available. This book starts the new Olympian series. Percy Jackson, the hero from the other five books, is missing in this book. Instead, the hero is a young teen named Jason. He has lost his memory and has no clue who he is. Jason tries to cover up his memory loss as he talks to Piper McLean, who says she’s his girlfriend, and Leo Valdez, who says he’s Jason’s best friend. When Leo and Piper are attacked on the field trip to the Grand Canyon, Jason realizes that he has extraordinary skills. He can fly. Coach Hedge turns out to be a satyr, who is supposed to be protecting Piper and Leo. Jason succeeds where Coach Hedge fails in battling the storm spirits. When Annabeth shows up looking for Percy Jackson, who has gone missing, she takes the trio to Camp Half Blood. Zeus claims Jason, Aphrodite claims Piper, and Hephaestus claims Leo. Now, there isn’t supposed to be another child of Zeus, and Chiron is taken aback when Jason speaks Latin, but doesn’t know Greek. Obviously, Jason is a son of Zeus’ Roman aspect, Jupiter. Imagine the shock, when Jason realizes he is Jason Grace, brother of Thalia. Piper has visions of her father being held hostage by an evil being who wants Piper to betray the demigods. Meanwhile, the gods have gone silent, and monsters are quickly reforming when they are killed. Percy Jackson has gone missing, and no one knows what happened to him. Obviously something bad is happening, and when Rachel, the oracle, gives the quest that Jason must go to rescue Hera, Zeus’ wife. Piper and Leo join him, and so the frantic action begins. Will Jason regain his memory? Will Piper rescue her father and betray her friends? Will Percy Jackson be found? Will Hera be rescued? Will anyone figure out that there are TWO demigod camps? One for the children of Greek gods and the other for Roman gods.

This book is just as good as the Percy Jackson books. I found myself wondering if the kids would succeed, and I enjoyed every bit of the ride. Gaea, Mother Nature, is the big villain in this series. She is trying to wake up and take over the world again, killing everyone. That means that the earth is not a safe place for the demigods, only the sky and the water. There is no help from the Gods, at least not officially, and it really does look dire for our heroes through most of the book. The next book in the series, The Son of Neptune is already out. Just from the title, I can tell that Percy Jackson must show up. Book three,The Mark of Athena will be out this fall. I’m really curious to see how the series plays out.