Lost Hero Review

Way later than I planned, but I promise I am going to get more prolific with my reviews, I'm still getting used to budgeting time for blogging.

PLOT: 
As always, I tried to be deliberately vague in this synopsis so that you can enjoy every twist and turn as it comes.

Lost Hero is the start of Rick Riordan's new series dealing with the Greek Gods.  In This book, we temporarily say good-bye to the heroes from the previous series, though many do make an appearance and there is more than a little evidence that they will show up much more in later books.  This story takes place approximately one year after the end of The Last Olympian and centers around 3 new heroes: Jason, who has no memories of his past and a weird tendency to refer to the gods by their Roman names, Piper, who is being blackmailed to save someone important to her, and Leo, who fears his own powers due to a tragic accident that occurred when he was a child.  The three journey across country to mount a rescue that only they can accomplish and try to prevent the rise of the greatest villains of Greek Mythology.


REVIEW:
 Characters: 
Jason: Having no memory of his past, it can be difficult to judge his character.  In the story, he seems nice, strong, a born leader and a loyal friend.  But, there is always that question in the back of everyone's mind (his friends' and the reader's) about what will happen when his memories return.

Piper: Piper struggles through this story trying to deal with whether she should follow the blackmailers plan or tell her friends, but she also has to deal with what it means that the boy she believes is her boyfriend isn't and come to terms with her godly parent.  At first I wasnt' sure about Piper.  She seemed nice enough, but I wasn't sure if she would help or hinder the quest, or is she was written only to be a love interest.  Of course, she was a help and a like able character as well.


Leo:  I loved Leo.  Like the other two heroes in this book, he starts off keeping his secrets to himself, ashamed of his past, but as comes to terms with his powers and why things happened, he opens up.  A journey of self-discovery and acceptance doesn't make me love a character.  I love Leo because he's impulsive and constantly tinkers with things.  He's the fun loving character and is as likely to save his friends and accidentally get them in trouble (OK, he may save them more, but I'm not going to say for sure, you'll have to read to find out)

PLOT:
As with all of Rick Riordan's books, the quest here introduces us to characters from mythology in a fun and entertaining way, that also holds true to their characters.  What helps to set this series apart from the Percy Jackson series, aside from the change in characters, is the way that he handles the explanation of the difference between the gods' Greek and roman aspects.

I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to anyone, and I am eagerly anticipating the sequel (and not just because of the hero I believe it will focus on)