Heroes of Olympus

I didn't realize at first, but some folks on tumblr have pointed out that the silvery stuff around Percy and Annabeth's feet looks a lot like spider web. So Arachne might still be going after them.

So that's a pleasant thought.

Yeah they do. Of course Annabeth was already in pretty rough shape before they fell, and I'm betting Tartarus isn't exactly a great place to recuperate.

Good point about the Romans; from their perspective, it is pretty justified.

Oh, lovely.

Recently I heard another (equally cheerful) theory as to what the white webby stuff is.

In The Sword of Hades (from The Demigod Files), Melinoe creates white mist that surrounds her victims feet and forces them to view her as one of their "ghosts" (people who have died that they miss or have a lack of closure). The theory's idea is that the white stuff is Melinoe trying to take hold of Percy and Annabeth's fears.

...No matter what, this book is going to be a terrible experience. And it's a terrible experience that I want to read right now.

Even better!

Yeah, Percy and Annabeth are going to go through hell in this book, both literally and figuratively. I have feeling there will be many Tear Jerkers and Hearwarming Moments, and probably several Moments Of Awesome as well.

edited 11th Jun '13 8:16:45 PM by JackInqu

Assuming we even get their point of view. The fact that we start out with Hazel's viewpoint though tells me we most likely won't.

Rick has said that this is the book Percabeth fans have been waiting for, and the cover depicts them in Tartarus, so I assume we will be getting some POV from them.

I'm guessing it'll be set up as a sort of A-plot and B-plot, with the A-plot being from the perspective of Hazel/Frank/Leo/Piper/Jason (with special guests Nico and Coach Hedge), and the B-plot being Percy and Annabeth.

So unlike last book where we only got Greek points of view this book is like the first two in that we get both Greek and Roman viewpoints? That's hardly fair.

...Did we really only get Greek points of view last book? I didn't even notice that.

Yeah, that is kind of unfortunate, but I think the POVs should be determined by their importance to the plot, rather than equal representation to the two camps. (Plus, the Seven is already unbalanced in favor of the Greeks.)

Although, assuming there's four POVs in HOH, like there was in MOA, it's possible that they'll be Percy, Jason, Hazel, and Frank. Percy's basically kinda sorta Roman by this point, so it...kind of counts as all Roman?

Just finished reading the books. Damn. Wasn't expecting that to happen to Percy and Annabeth.

Hope we get a Jason POV next book. I think his character could develop more if we saw inside his head with full memories and if he spent time away from Piper.

First chapter of The House of Hades is up on Riordan's website. A very solid, action-packed opening in my opinion. Only two months to go...

Kind of double-posting, but another sneak peak for The House of Hades. And from the sound of it, it's shaping up to be one of the tensest and darkest books in the entire series. Riordan's not pulling any punches in Tartarus:

Less than a month to go...

Just finished Heroes of Hades. Things are getting serious now.

Poor Bob and Damasen, even though you knew it was going to happen. Question: was there a story about Bob in the Demigod Files/Demigod Diaries? Because I've read all the main books and there was nothing about him in them.

And definitely wasn't expecting to see Riordan ever have gay characters in these books. Or that Calypso was going to be anything more than a one shot character.

Definitely the best book so far and even Piper and Jason felt a bit more bearable. Hope that's a good sign for the last book.

edited 9th Oct '13 10:02:00 AM by Skullman

Not sure why you're spoilering Calypso. We've known since either before or immediately after Mark of Athena was released that she'd show up again.

Yeah, Bob/Iapetus was in one of the side books. It was a nice touch to include him.

And I'm definitely agreeing that this was the best book so far. Riordan did an excellent job sharing the viewpoint among all seven of them. There were a handful of moments that felt like a blatant Author's Saving Throw, but they still helped the characters advance. Frank's development was really well done, and actually fit into the idea that war changes you.

All in all, I am hyped for the last book. The Blood of Olympus is going to be epic.

edited 9th Oct '13 1:34:03 PM by Renewal

I didn't know that and it surprised me, so I spoilered for anyone else like me.

Just finished reading it. Loved it. Loved everything about it. Even the parts that hurt. Poor Bob and Damasen. And, heck, poor Annabeth and Percy, for that matter. And Leo and Calypso. And Nico. And just everyone why do you do this to me Rick Riordan.

Also, this isn't really story-relevant, but I like that the only two books in the series that aren't titled "The X of Insert Olympian God Here" are (or, will be, I suppose) the first and last books. Just a nice bit of symmetry.

Now I have to feel even more bad for Nico. Poor guy can't catch a break.

I just got past the part where Nico admits he loves Percy, which is pretty ballsy for pop lit and doesn't pussy out like other series in the genre and it was really well done, frankly I applaud Riordan for not ignoring/whitewashing the homosexuality in Greek Mythology like with explaining the life of Favonius

Though I never liked how Rick always has to describe the thoughts of a person based on their expressions in italics with a lot 90s DUDDDDE dialogue

Also glad to see Diocletian get his due, he gets a bad rap when it comes to Roman Emperors, along with Nero

I'm in awe of how many obscure myths Riordan brings up, I haven't heard of some of these monsters/characters

I thought it was funny how Ares brought up Diomedes as great warriors from Greece and thought, "Huh good for you Ares, letting go of that grudge on the man that made you feel pain for the first time" Then I realized it was the other Diomedes.

edited 2nd Nov '13 10:41:18 AM by achilles248

Do any of you guys think that there should be a prequel series, about the Roman side of the Titan conflict.

That'd definitely be interesting. It'd be cool to see Jason and Reyna's relationship from before all the memory-wiping happened.

Although with the incoming fifth HOO book, the mythology book from Percy's perspective, and the Norse mythology series Riordan's said he's planning, we probably won't be getting anything like that soon (if ever). It's a great idea, though.

I'm willing to wait.

I finally got the newest book out of the library, but I've totally forgotten who everybody is.

Wow. I didn't see the thing with Nico coming. Applauding Riordan for the billionth time ever.

It would be an interesting concept, but I don't think the Romans took much part in the Titan War, besides what was already mentioned in the book.

Persona 3 affected how I imagine Nix too much, and it screwed up that scene with her and Percy and Annabeth.

Yeah, that was cool of Riordan to do that.

edited 19th Dec '13 4:13:50 PM by Mullon

NICOOOOOOOOOOO.

I blasted through the books. Read P Jat O a few years ago, then recommended them to a friend. He listened to P Jat O, then to Ho O. Well, my copy of The Lost Hero arrived yesterday, and... I may have stayed up until 3am reading it and Son of Neptune, and then blazed through Mark of Athena and Houses of Hades today.

I NEED MOOOOOOOOOOAR. SO GOOD. SUCH BADASS. WOW.