Heroes of Olympus: A Review

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When Rick Riordan announced on Twitter that there was going to be a Percy Jackson TV series, I decided to reread the Percy Jackson series for the umpteenth time and read the Heroes of Olympus series for the first time. I bought the series as a set from The Works for less than £10 which is such a massive bargain for these books. 

The Heroes of Olympus series is a pentalogy written by Rick Riordan. The books in the series are:

-       The Lost Hero 

-       The Son of Neptune

-       The Mark of Athena

-       The House of Hades

-       The Blood of Olympus

The first book was published in 2010, with the other books being released a year after each other. The series is a sequel to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and continues to introduce the readers to Greek and Roman mythology. I love anything that is related to Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt, so much so that I completed a Higher in Classical Studies in my sixth year of high school. Obviously this means that I would read this series.

 

The series focuses on the conflict between Greek demigods, Roman demigods, and the primordial goddess of the Earth, Gaea. The books are centred around a prophecy, that was introduced in the final book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, that predicted that seven demigods would unite in order to protect the world from Gaea, who was beginning to wake up. The seven demigods would come from the Greek camp, Camp Half-blood, and the newly discovered Roman camp, Camp Jupiter. This series introduces the Roman Gods and Roman mythology while showing the connection to the original Greek mythology.

 

Rick Riordan introduces the readers to new characters while continuing to include loved characters Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and Nico di Angelo. With the main characters ranging between the ages of 13 to 16, the demigods are not immune to the typical problems teenagers face like crushes, first relationships and petty fights with their parents. The characters are all relatable in various ways (even to me as a 20-year-old) and with every book you love them more. It’s impossible to come away from reading this series hating any of the main characters. They occasionally make some stupid mistakes but that’s part and parcel with being a teenager. The strong friendships between the characters is uplifting and inspirational. They continue to be there for each other and support each other no matter what is thrown at them or what they face. 

 

These books inform the reader about the intricacies of the Ancient Roman and Greek Gods and mythology. It introduces the reader to the Roman Gods and mythology while discussing how it links to the original Greek mythology. The books discuss how the Greek Gods and myths were adapted to suit the new Roman culture, resulting in the Gods becoming less individualistic, and more disciplined and warlike. However, there continues to be similarities between the two ancient cultures which is still discussed within the series. While these books are fictional, they still teach the readers so much about mythology and can instil a curiosity about the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome. I cannot wait until I can introduce these books to my future classes so that I can instil a love of mythology! 

Until next time, I’ll continue reading with wanderlust.

📚🧳✈️🗺