The Heroes of Olympus

The Heroes of Olympus is a pentalogy of fantasy-adventure novels written by American author Rick Riordan. The novels detail a conflict between Greek demigods, Roman demigods, and Gaea (Roman name Terra) also known as Mother Earth. In the fourth book of the series, there is also a semi-large fight against Tartarus, which, in Greek mythology, was the darkest and deepest point of the underworld. The series is a sequel to Percy Jackson & the Olympians, which detailed the life of modern-day Greek demigods. The sequel to this series, and the 3rd series in the trilogy is The Trials of Apollo.[4] Riordan introduces Roman mythology in his sequel series as well as several new characters. The first book of the series, The Lost Hero, was published on October 12, 2010.[5] The final entry in the series, The Blood of Olympus, was published on October 7, 2014.[6]

The Heroes of Olympus
The logo for The Heroes of Olympus series


AuthorRick Riordan
Cover artistJohn Rocco
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy, young adult fiction, mystery, adventure, Greek and Roman mythological fiction
PublisherDisney Hyperion (US)
Penguin Books/Puffin (UK, AU, NZ)[1][2][3]
Published2010–2014
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book
No. of books5
Preceded byPercy Jackson & the Olympians
Followed byThe Trials of Apollo

Plot

The Heroes of Olympus is centered around a prophecy, introduced in The Last Olympian, that predicted seven demigods would unite to protect the world from an awakening new enemy, Gaia. Demigods from both the Greek camp, Camp Half-Blood, and a newfound Roman camp, Camp Jupiter, unite to save the world from being destroyed by the terryifying Earth Goddess, Gaia. The prophecy reads:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, (Hazel Levesque, Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Annabeth Chase, Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean)
To storm or fire, the world must fall. (Leo's fire powers defeated a Roman leader who fought with Gaia, Octavian)
An oath to keep with a final breath, (Leo's oath to come back to a magical island where his love waited)
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. (The awakened giants and Tartarus guard the doors of death)

Seven demigodsAnnabeth Chase, Leo Valdez, Percy Jackson and Piper McLean from Camp Half-Blood, with Jason Grace, Frank Zhang, and Hazel Levesque from Camp Jupiterjoin forces. A storm or a fire will destroy the world (Which means either Leo or Jason will have a terrible fate in store). The last line details how 2 demigods, a giant, and a titan will free the Doors of Death.

Some other important characters are Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, Praetor of Camp Jupiter and daughter of Bellona, and Gleeson Hedge, a satyr. In the books, they are the main people trying to bring peace between the Greeks and the Romans while the main 7 characters are fighting the main battle. Without their unity, it would be impossible to defeat Gaia and save the world.

Books

The Lost Hero

The novel begins by introducing Jason Grace (son of Jupiter), Piper McLean (daughter of Aphrodite) and Leo Valdez (son of Hephaestus), three newly discovered demigods who travel to Camp Half-Blood in response to a prophecy, they set off on a quest to prevent the rebirth of the giant king Porphyrion and rescue Piper's father, who has been kidnapped by another giant, Enceladus. Jason, who has amnesia, also begins to remember pieces of his past throughout the book - most importantly, that he comes from a Roman camp for demigods. Camp Half-Blood resolves to seek out this other camp both to gain allies in the fight against Gaia, the giants' mother and commander, and to locate the missing demigod Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon.

The Son of Neptune

The novel opens with Percy Jackson (struck with amnesia) discovering Camp Jupiter and meeting several Roman demigods. After a prophecy from Mars, he, Frank Zhang, and Hazel Levesque travel to Alaska to stop the rise of the giant Alcyoneus and free the god Thanatos, whom the giant has captured. After successfully completing their mission, the group returns to Camp Jupiter to defend it from yet another giant, Polybotes, and his army. After repelling this invasion, the demigods from Camp Jupiter go to meet the delegation from Camp Half-Blood arriving in the flying ship known as the Argo II.[7]

The Mark of Athena

After the Argo II unintentionally fires on Camp Jupiter, the seven demigods of the "Prophecy of Seven" - Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez - rush to escape the angered Roman campers. They travel to Rome following the Mark of Athena, a magical talisman designed to lead children of Athena (like Annabeth) to the missing Athena Parthenos. During their journey, they hear that Nico di Angelo has been captured by the Aloadae, and go to rescue him. Although they successfully free the son of Hades and locate the statue, Annabeth and Percy are pulled into Tartarus, and Nico promises Percy to get the other demigods to the "Doors of Death".[8]

The House of Hades

In Tartarus, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase travel towards the "Doors of Death" (the only exit to the mortal world) with help from Bob the Titan, hoping to escape and simultaneously stop more monsters from getting through. In the mortal world, the remaining demigods search for the mortal side of the Doors to help open them. They also meet with Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, a Roman demigod; she, Nico di Angelo, and Coach Hedge leave with the Athena Parthenos for Camp Half-Blood. Once reunited, the original seven sail for Greece, where they expect Gaia's main force will gather.[9]

The Blood of Olympus

While Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Nico di Angelo, and Gleeson Hedge travel towards Camp Half-Blood (where the Romans are preparing to attack the Greeks), the seven of the quest travel to Athens. With help from the gods, the demigods defeat the giants in Athens. They then return to the fight on Long Island and Leo Valdez sacrifices himself to defeat Gaea and restore peace. In the final pages, Leo is resurrected by his bronze dragon Festus and goes to find his crush Calypso. Unaware that he is alive, Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter mourn his loss, determining to become allies and prevent such a deadly war from happening again.[10]

Supplementary works

The Demigod Diaries

Released August 14, 2012,[11] The Demigod Diaries is a collection of short stories. Similar to The Demigod Files, it contains some new stories with character interviews, illustrations, puzzles, and a quiz. The four stories include:

Characters

Greeks

  • Percy Jackson: The 17-year-old (in The Trials of Apollo) son of Poseidon from Camp Half-Blood, Percy is the narrator and main protagonist of the preceding series Percy Jackson & the Olympians. In The Son of Neptune, he is depicted fighting amnesia, during which his only memory is his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase.
  • Annabeth Chase: Annabeth, 18 years old (in The Trials of Apollo) and a daughter of Athena, is credited as "the smartest girl in camp" by Percy Jackson, a comment that is true and well-deserved. She is a gifted and dedicated architect as well.
  • Piper McLean: A 16-year-old (in The Trials of Apollo) daughter of Aphrodite. She is one of the few children of Aphrodite who have the rare hereditary gift of "charmspeak" (the ability to magically convince people to do what the person in question says) and is described as beautiful by Jason Grace. She carries a knife called Katoptris (previously owned by Helen of Troy) that shows her visions of the future. She begins dating Jason Grace (son of Jupiter) during the series.
  • Leo Valdez: A 16-year-old (in The Trials of Apollo) son of Hephaestus who can summon and control fire (a very rare ability). He is famous among his cabinmates for repairing the automated bronze dragon Festus gone wild, who had given more experienced campers life-altering disabilities. He leads the building of the Argo II.
  • Nico di Angelo: A 14-year-old (in The Trials of Apollo) son of Hades. Born in the 1930s in Italy, his father Hades sent him and his sister to the Lotus Hotel and Casino, that sucked them out of time for decades, so he only feels and looks 14. He was the only demigod who knew about both Camps before the war.
  • Gleeson Hedge: A middle age satyr, formerly a coach at the Wilderness School. He comes with the seven on the Argo II as their self appointed chaperone.
  • Thalia Grace: Thalia is a 23-year-old demigod hunter of Artemis, so she physically appears to be about 16. She is Jason Grace's biological sister, but a daughter of Zeus rather than Jupiter (Jupiter and Zeus are the same god in different aspects, making Jason a child of Rome and Thalia a child of Greece).
  • Tyson: Tyson is a young cyclops, the half-brother of Percy. He loves peanut butter and is the boyfriend of Ella the harpy.
  • Rachel Elizabeth Dare: Camp Half-Blood's oracle. Rachel is not a demigod or a legacy; she is a regular mortal human who was born with the gift to see through the Mist. She is the current Oracle, being a vessel for the Spirit of Delphi.
  • Grover Underwood: Percy's best friend, a satyr; he and Percy have an empathy link that allows them to sense one another. Also, Grover Underwood is gifted by the lord of the wild, Pan.

Romans

  • Jason Grace: A 17-year-old (in The Trials of Apollo) Roman son of Jupiter who can fly, control winds and lightning, and create storms. He is a natural leader and was praetor before Hera took his memory and sent him to Camp Half-Blood.
  • Hazel Levesque: A 14-year-old (in The Trials Of Apollo) daughter of Pluto. She originally lived in the 1940s before dying to stop the rise of Alcyoneus and later being revived by her half-brother Nico di Angelo. She can control precious metals and stones, navigate underground, and manipulate the Mist.
  • Frank Zhang: A 16-year-old (in The Trials of Apollo) son of Mars and a descendant of Poseidon on his mother's side. Frank can shapeshift.
  • Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano: An about 18-year-old (in trials of Apollo) daughter of the Roman goddess of war, Bellona. Reyna can lend her useful abilities (like her courage, strength, and leadership ability) to other demigods.
  • Octavian: An about 18-year-old Roman descendant of Apollo, he serves as the Camp Jupiter's augur. Octavian is power-hungry and seizes control of the camp after Reyna goes looking for the Athena Parthenos. He is largely responsible for the Roman Camp attacking Camp Half-Blood.

Inspirations and origins

After realizing how many Greek and Roman myths he had left untouched as well the immense success of the original series, Riordan began writing a second series, using inspiration for his storyline from experiences that he and his children had while playing video and role-playing games such as World of Warcraft and Scion. After creating the storyline, Riordan created three new main characters—Jason, Piper, and Leo—but continued to use the previous main characters such as Annabeth and Grover as secondary characters.[14]

Rick Riordan (pictured) came up with The Heroes of Olympus after toying with the idea of Roman gods.

Unlike the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, which uses first-person narration solely from Percy's point of view, the second series is told in third person, with the point of view alternating between various main characters. In The Lost Hero, those characters are Jason, Piper, and Leo. Although initially uncertain how fans would react, Riordan later found that they enjoyed the new format, as it allowed them to learn more about each character.[15]

Riordan says that "It was my way of letting them revisit that world in a fresh twist, but also to catch up with Percy and Annabeth and the rest of the gang from the first series".[15] He also decided to include the Roman gods after many readers requested that Riordan write a new series on Roman gods, who are the Roman equivalent of the Greek gods, with some minor changes in personality. He pondered on how the Roman aspect of the gods would be after moving from Greece to Rome to America. After a while, "playing with that idea gave me the idea for the new series".[15]

Publishing history

The Lost Hero, the first book in the Heroes of Olympus series, was released on October 12, 2010 as a hardcover, audiobook, and ebook.[16] The initial publishing run consisted of 2.5 million copies.[17] The book's official publication was preceded by several "sneak-peek" releases by Disney-Hyperion.[18] A graphic novel version, adapted and illustrated by Orpheus Collar, was released October 7, 2014.[19][20]

Follow-up series

A sequel pentalogy series titled The Trials of Apollo was released, with the first installment, The Hidden Oracle released on May 3, 2016. The second installment, The Dark Prophecy, was released on May 2, 2017.[21] The third installment, The Burning Maze was released on May 1, 2018. The fourth installment, The Tyrant's Tomb was released on September 24, 2019. The Tower of Nero, the last book in the series, was released on October 6, 2020.

Achievements

Reception

The Lost Hero was a number one bestseller on the lists of The New York Times,[22] USA Today,[23] The Wall Street Journal,[24] and Publishers Weekly.[25] Many critics praised the novel as a good follow-up to Riordan's previous series. Despite this praise, some reviews were more mixed. Vicky Smith of Kirkus Reviews wrote, "There are far too many pages of stretched-out action, telling not showing and awkward dialogue... Unless Riordan tightens things up considerably by number five, readers may find themselves hoping that it does not end with a third Great Prophecy".[26]

The Lost Hero won the Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2010 award and was a Massachusetts Children's Book Award Honor book for 2014, among other honors.[27][28] Rick Riordan was named "Author of the Year" for the novel at the 2011 Children's Choice Awards.[29][30] The book was also recommended by the ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults list of 2012.[28][31]

References

  1. "Heroes of Olympus". www.penguin.co.uk.
  2. "Rick Riordan". www.penguin.co.nz.
  3. "Rick Riordan". www.penguin.com.au.
  4. "Heroes of Olympus". Rick Riordan. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014.
  5. Link, The Lost Hero. The Lost Hero. Rick Riordan books. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  6. "'The Blood of Olympus' by Rick Riordan hits shelves today!". Hypable. Archived from the original on 2014-10-08.
  7. Riordan, Rick (2011). The Son of Neptune. New York City: Disney-Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-4231-4059-7.
  8. Riordan, Rick (2012). The Mark of Athena. New York City: Disney-Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-4231-4060-3.
  9. Riordan, Rick (2013). The House of Hades. New York City: Disney-Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-4231-4672-8.
  10. Riordan, Rick (2014). The Blood of Olympus. Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-4231-4673-5.
  11. "The Heroes of Olympus: The Demigod Diaries' to be Released This August". Geekynews. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  12. Riordan, Rick (2011). The Demigod Diaries. New York City: Disney-Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-4231-6300-8.
  13. ""The Heroes Of Olympus: The Demigod Diaries" To Be Released This August". LeakyNews. 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  14. Kirch, Claire (October 14, 2010). "Riordan Debuts New Series in Austin". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  15. Banks, Dave (October 18, 2010). "Greek Goddesses and Roman Gods: The Geek Dad Interview With Rick Riordan". Wired News. Wired News. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  16. Seller, John A. (September 13, 2010). "Disney Announces Print Run, Plans for 'Percy Jackson' Spinoff". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  17. Kirch, Claire (October 14, 2010). "Riordan Debuts New Series in Austin". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  18. "The Lost Hero Sneek Peek". Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  19. Rought, Karen (June 12, 2014). "Rick Riordan updates fans on current projects, begins Norse series". Hypable. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  20. "About Orpheus Collar". Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  21. Rought, Karen (May 5, 2016). "'Trials of Apollo' book 2 info revealed on heels of 'Hidden Oracle' release". Hypable. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  22. Schuessler, Jennifer. "New York Times Best Sellers: Children's Chapter Books". The New York Times. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  23. "USA Today bestseller list". USA Today. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  24. "The Lost Hero – Heroes of Olympus: The Online World of Rick Riordan". rickriordan.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  25. "Publishers Weekly Children's bestseller list". Publishers Weekly. Publishers Weekly.
  26. Vicky Smith (October 15, 2010). "Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  27. "Best of 2010 – Kids' Books". barnesandnoble.com. barnesandnoble.com. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  28. "The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan". LibraryThing. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  29. Yinn, Maryann (May 3, 2011). "Rick Riordan Wins Author of the Year Award at 2011 Children's Choice Book Awards". Publishing: Awards. GalleyCat. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  30. Roback, Diane (May 3, 2011). "Riordan, Wiesner Named Author, Illustrator of Year at CBC Gala". Industry News. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  31. "The Lost Hero: Heroes of Olympus, Book 1". American Library Association. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
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