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A review by writervid
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
4.0
Reread (and I think I've reread the HOO more than the original series? Wow.)
This was definitely not a critical read-through. This was me feeling nostalgic and wanting to go back to comfort books. And...I was correct. I love the characters, I love the world, I love the formula used in pretty much all of these books of quest -> somewhat humorous monsters -> quest completion. Where this book completely shines is Piper's arc and character growth, and while I wish that there was more acceleration at the same rate (and that Jason...had more of an arc here?), it's just a strong novel overall that kicks off the series well. It's smart not to start with Percy, because he's the fan favorite, but instead to ground readers in a familiar world and slowly reveal the more Roman aspects.
The thing that sets this book off from greatness is the climax and the Tristan McLean plotline. While rescuing her dad assisted so much of Piper's arc, it extended the climax in a way that lowered the stakes because it's hard to remain at that high of a level throughout multiple scenes, or return to that level once you've been there. It also felt somewhat like a false relief after his rescue? This might be assisted by the fact that it just felt like Piper switched secrets halfway through the book.
Anyways, shoutout to the Kindle store for finding a way for me to read this immediately. I missed it.
This was definitely not a critical read-through. This was me feeling nostalgic and wanting to go back to comfort books. And...I was correct. I love the characters, I love the world, I love the formula used in pretty much all of these books of quest -> somewhat humorous monsters -> quest completion. Where this book completely shines is Piper's arc and character growth, and while I wish that there was more acceleration at the same rate (and that Jason...had more of an arc here?), it's just a strong novel overall that kicks off the series well. It's smart not to start with Percy, because he's the fan favorite, but instead to ground readers in a familiar world and slowly reveal the more Roman aspects.
The thing that sets this book off from greatness is the climax and the Tristan McLean plotline. While rescuing her dad assisted so much of Piper's arc, it extended the climax in a way that lowered the stakes because it's hard to remain at that high of a level throughout multiple scenes, or return to that level once you've been there. It also felt somewhat like a false relief after his rescue? This might be assisted by the fact that it just felt like Piper switched secrets halfway through the book.
Anyways, shoutout to the Kindle store for finding a way for me to read this immediately. I missed it.