Rick Riordan – The House of Hades

89. The House of Hades by Rick Riordan (2013)
Heroes of Olympus, Book 4

Read my review of book:
1. The Lost Hero
2. The Son of Neptune
3. The Mark of Athena

Length: 598 pages
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Started: 13 November 2013
Finished: 17 November 2013

Where did it come from? The library.
Why do I have it? Riordan’s got me hooked, but good.

The Doors of Death: Not
very high on the list of
must-see tourist spots.

Summary: On their quest to stop Gaea from rising and destroying all the Olympian gods – and demigods, Greek and Roman alike – our group of heroes has encountered some setbacks. They’ve rescued the statue that is the only hope of stopping the discord between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, but in the process, Percy and Annabeth have fallen into Tartarus – the underworld pit, teeming with rivers made of fire, poisonous vapors, and plenty of monsters – most of whom have a grudge against demigods in general, and Percy in particular. They need to make their ways to the Doors of Death, not only so they can escape, but also to stop Gaia’s forces from immediately reincarnating once they’ve been slain. The rest of the heroes – Hazel, Nico, Leo, Frank, and Piper – are racing across the Mediterranean in their flying warship to reach the Doors of Death in the mortal world… but it’s not exactly smooth sailing for them, either.

Review: Rick Riordan’s books are just so much fun. They are clever and they are exciting and they are fast paced and they are funny, and the involve all sorts of mythological trivia used in cool ways in service of the story, which of course I just love. The House of Hades lives up to its predecessors, without question. As much as I like all of the other heroes, I think I’ll always have a lingering soft spot for Percy, and we get to spend plenty of chapters with him and Annabeth. Riordan’s vision of Tartarus is supremely imaginative and vivid and very, very creepy, and watching Percy and Annabeth make their way across was half action-adventure, half survival story. The heroes on the surface got plenty of good screen time too, and some familiar faces crop back up in interesting ways. One of the things I liked the most about this story was the character development. Riordan’s shown himself before to be very good at juggling POVs, and it’s masterfully done here – not only do we get an interesting (and very touching look) at Percy and Annabeth’s relationship, but Frank, Leo, Hazel, and Nico all make some major strides, character-wise, things that I wasn’t necessarily expecting but wound up being extremely cool (Piper: not so much development, at least in this book). If this series is meant to be five books, like the Percy Jackson series was, Riordan’s got a fair amount of ground to cover in that last book, but I have no doubt he’ll be able to pull it off, and I will absolutely be along for the ride! 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: This book would make absolutely zero sense as a standalone, but this series, or Riordan’s books as a whole, are a damn good time, and one that I always eagerly anticipate the next release. Good for fans of mythology, adventure, and a dash or three of zany silliness.

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First Line: During the third attack, Hazel almost ate a boulder.

Vocab: (see the whole list)

• p. 270: “He wore a red tank top, Bermuda shorts, and huarache sandals.” – A flat-heeled sandal with an upper of woven leather strips.

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