Rick Riordan’s five Percy Jackson novels were all phenomenally successful tales of adventure that captivated readers through retelling and modernised reimagining of the Greek myths. Although the Percy Jackson cycle seemed to have been wrapped up nicely, fans were hoping that Riordan would eventually return to the Greeks and the world of the demigods [after having branched out into Egyptian mythology with The Kane Chronicles] and he has now done so in excellent style with The Lost Hero.

Set a few months after the events of The Last Olympian, The Lost Hero begins during a Wilderness School [a sort of educational Last Chance Saloon] fieldtrip to the Grand Canyon. Jason wakes up on the school bus with no memory of why he is there nor, more troublingly, of who he actually is. It’s all particularly strange since everyone else seems convinced that they know him and so Jason has to adapt to apparently having a girlfriend named Piper, a best friend named Leo Valdez and even a disapproving teacher in the form of Coach Gleeson Hedge. Things only get stranger for Jason as the school party are attacked by a group of storm spirits, Coach Hedge is revealed to be a satyr who talks tougher than he fights, and Jason discovers that he’s a pretty nifty swordsman who happens to be able to fly. My school trips were never this exciting.

Luckily, fan favourite Annabeth and a cohort of other demigods arrive by flying chariot and whisk Jason, Piper and Leo off to the relative safety of Camp Half-Blood. Once at Camp Piper and Leo are promptly claimed by their godly parents but, despite Chiron seeming to have some insight, Jason’s origins remain a mystery. Although he has no memory of his past, it is clear that Jason is no stranger to the concept of gods and demigods even if his knowledge owes more to the Roman tradition than to the Greek. While Jason is keen to discover his origins, Annabeth is more concerned about locating the missing hero, Percy Jackson. Fortunately, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, everyone’s favourite redheaded Oracle, is also back at Camp Half-Blood and able to deliver a handy new prophecy:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,

To storm or fire the world must fall.

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

As rumours of a terrible curse – and talk of the missing hero – swirl around the Camp, it becomes clear that Jason, Piper and Leo are the chosen ones who must embark on a terrifying new quest to rescue the imprisoned goddess Hera. If they don’t succeed by the time of the Winter Solstice – now only four days away – the world will once again be facing deadly danger as the gods retreat to Mount Olympus and leave the demigods to fight for humanity in their place.

The Lost Hero is a great book in its own right and is an excellent introduction to Rick Riordan’s new Heroes of Olympus series. Although readers could probably still follow the events of The Lost Hero without being familiar with the five Percy Jackson novels, there is certainly a great deal more to be gained from the story if you are aware of Riordan’s previous work. Although Percy himself is not involved, a number of established characters besides Annabeth, Chiron and the gods themselves turn up throughout the course of the book and there are frequent references to previous events.

The style of The Lost Hero is noticeably different from the Percy Jackson books as, logically, it is not humorously narrated in the first person by Percy, but is instead told in the third person with Jason, Piper and Leo taking it in turns to be the central focus of two chapters apiece. I don’t think that The Lost Hero loses out through being a third person narrative, indeed I like the additional points of interest that the use of three central characters provides. The tone of the narrative does change slightly depending on which of the three is the focus of the chapter with the Leo chapters being the most amusingly similar to the way Percy would have told the story. As for the three characters themselves, I liked them all although Leo [along with Festus the dragon] is my favourite. It is interesting watching Jason as he struggles to understand his newfound powers and to adapt his ‘Roman’ view of things into his quest with his Camp Half-Blood friends. While Jason is something of a blank slate, both Piper and Leo are each keeping big secrets that will impact not only on their quest but also on their friendship with each other.

Rick Riordan had said in interviews that, even though the Percy Jackson series was finished, there were still Greek myths that he wished he had had a chance to use and it seems that he is going to do so with a flourish in the Heroes of Olympus series. I particularly liked his interpretation of the characters of Medea and Midas in The Lost Hero and his use of lesser known Greek characters such as Boreas. Having the Roman element of the myths playing a role in this new series also allows for the interesting conflicts between the Greek and Roman interpretations of the gods and their duel motivations to be brought out.

The Lost Hero is a great start to the Heroes of Olympus series and I’m really looking forward to reading the second book in the series, The Son of Neptune, when it is released next year.

This review first appeared on our sister site, Bookbitz.co.uk.

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