A review by writervid
The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

4.0

This book is definitely more dense than the others in the series so far, and the pacing of certain events feels a bit off because there's so much to cram in. That being said, I think in terms of the questions it asks and the character development it provides, this is *chefs kiss*. By putting Percy and Annabeth into Tartarus, the stakes are raised for EVERYONE. In the outside world, the other demigods have to take leadership positions and do things that normally Percy and Annabeth would have been doing, all of which accelerate their characters (especially Frank, Piper, and Hazel). Similarly, Percy and Annabeth are forced to go through their *worst adventure yet,* but are also faced with questions of their own moral standing, and have to make choices that work against their fatal flaws. This book adds a gray area of what it means to be a hero for Percabeth, and an answer to many of the plot points of the original series.