The Heroes of Olympus

The Heroes of Olympus

(left to right) Piper, Annabeth, Hazel, Leo, Jason, Frank, Percy
The Lost Hero The Son of Neptune The Mark of Athena
Author	Rick Riordan
Country	USA
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy, Young-adult fiction, Thriller, Mystery
Publisher	Disney Hyperion
Published	2010-2015
Media type	Print (hardback and paperback) Audiobook
Preceded by	Percy Jackson & the Olympians

The Heroes of Olympus is a fantasy book series written by Rick Riordan and based on Greek and Roman mythology. It is the sequel series to the Percy Jackson & the Olympians pentalogy.

The first book, The Lost Hero, was released October 12, 2010. The second book, The Son of Neptune, was released on October 4, 2011. The third book, The Mark of Athena is coming Fall 2012. Some of the segments in the books are based on information from The Golden Fleece and The Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum.^[1] There will be a total of five books in the series,^[2] which will end in 2014.^[3]

The Prophecy

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call;

To storm or fire the world must fall;

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

This prophecy was originally conceived in the Sibylline Books of Ancient Rome to Roman half-bloods. The Greeks are first made aware of the prophecy in the fifth book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan. It's full meaning has yet to be discovered, although the seven half-bloods are slowly being revealed in the course of the series.

The Seven Half-Bloods

• Percy Jackson - Son of Poseidon (Roman: Neptune)
• Piper McLean - Daughter of Aphrodite (Roman: Venus)
• Leo Valdez - Son of Hephaestus (Roman: Vulcan)
• Jason Grace - Son of Jupiter (Greek: Zeus)
• Hazel Levesque - Daughter of Pluto (Greek: Hades)
• Frank Zhang - Son of Mars (Greek: Ares) - Also a very distant descendant of Poseidon (Roman: Neptune)
• There are many rumors who the seventh demigod will be, but many speculate, that Annabeth Chase will be the seventh. Not yet confirmed, all of the fans of Percy Jackson will just have to wait and see. Will Rick Riordan do the obvious or another surprising twist?

Novels

After the events of The Last Olympian, Gaea is waking up and the giants are also coming back to life. Zeus was embarrassed by needing the demigods to defeat Kronos so he insists that the gods can defeat the giants alone, despite the fact that giants can only be defeated by demigods and gods cooperating.

The Roman aspects of the gods are explored; in the past every time the Greek demigods and the Roman demigods discover each other they would attack one another, the last time being in San Francisco 1906, leaving both groups wary of each other. To combat this Hera/Juno organized a type of exchange, sending Jason Grace (a son of Zeus/Jupiter) to Camp Half-Blood and Percy Jackson (a son of Poseidon/Neptune) to Camp Jupiter, so that they can recognize each other and unite the seven demigods so that they can fulfill the second great prophecy.

The Lost Hero

Main article: The Lost Hero

Jason is introduced in the story as a boy who is suffering from amnesia. He wakes up on a bus not remembering anything from his past, including his identity, sitting next to Piper, a girl claiming to be his girlfriend, and Leo Valdez, a boy who claims to be his best friend. On a field trip to the Grand Canyon, storm spirits attack the three while their supervising teacher, Coach Gleeson Hedge, reveals himself to be a satyr, and fights for their lives. Jason surprises himself by using a sword disguised as a coin to fight off the spirits, and Coach Hedge is captured while defending them. At the height of the battle, two pegasi land next to them carrying strangers: a girl named Annabeth, a daughter of Athena and a boy with a tattoo of a rainbow named Butch, a son of Iris. Annabeth is angry because she had a vision in which Hera gave her a clue concerning her missing boyfriend, Percy Jackson's whereabouts, she was told to look for the "one with the missing shoe." Unfortunately, Jason, who had lost a shoe in the battle, has no memories of his own identity, let alone Percy Jackson's whereabouts.

Jason, Piper and Leo are informed that they are demigods, children conceived from a god and a mortal, and are taken back to Camp Half-Blood where they meet other demigod children like themselves. There, Leo is revealed as a son of Hephaestus, Piper as a daughter of Aphrodite, and Jason as a son of Zeus and the brother of Thalia. He remembers his sister while seeing a picture of her in Cabin One. After scarcely a day after learning about their previously hidden identities, the three receive an urgent quest to rescue Hera; the queen of the gods who was captured by unnamed forces.

The three friends set off on the back of a giant robotic dragon, Festus (which in Latin means "happy") on a cross-country quest to save Hera and Piper's father from the clutches of Enceladus. Their enemies are under orders from Gaea to reawaken her and overthrow the Olympian gods by tearing up their original roots in Greece. On their way, Jason, Piper and Leo meet Boreas the North Wind (who lives in Quebec city), a trio of cyclopes, the evil enchantress Medea, King Midas, a pack of werewolves and King Lycaon (who was turned into a wolf by Zeus in Mythology) and Master of the Winds, Aeolus, who had given them something very helpful: A picture of a ship with a dragon head that Leo had drawn when he was a small child.

In the end the heroes and their friends, the Hunters of Artemis, manage to save both Piper's father and Hera, whose godly energies were being used to raise the giant Porphyrion. They temporarily stall Gaea's plans, but they will have to face the giants again. With part of his memory returned, Jason realizes that he is a hero from the Roman counterpart to Camp Half-Blood that is somewhere near San Francisco, and that Hera switched him with the Greek hero Percy Jackson, who is now at the Roman camp with no memory of his life at Camp Half-Blood.

The Son of Neptune

Main article: The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune opens with Percy Jackson being chased by the Gorgon sisters. They intend to kill Percy in order to avenge the killing of their sister Medusa 4 years ago, but Percy has amnesia and since he only remembers Annabeth from his past, does not understand why they are chasing him. He barely escapes with his life and stumbles upon a goddess named Juno(Hera). Juno gives him a choice, he can carry her across the highway, through the Caldecott, and across the Little Tiber river (though she warns him that when he crosses the river he will lose the Mark of Achilles, feel pain, loss, and misery beyond anything he's ever known and slowly regain his memory), or he can retreat to the safety of the sea and live a long, happy life.

Percy chooses to carry her, and when he gets to Camp Jupiter, a camp for Roman demigods, he meets two other demigods: Hazel and Frank. Percy saves Frank from the Gorgons by creating huge hands from the water of the Little Tiber, and then uses the water of the river to rip the monsters apart. Percy is taken to the camp, Reyna, the camp praetor, initially dislikes Percy because he ruined her home (Circe's island in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series).

He is interviewed by Octavian, the camp augur. During the war games Percy impresses everyone by his battle skills and instincts. Mars (Ares in Greek), the god of war, then appears and informs Frank Zhang that he is his son, and that Frank is to go on a quest. Octavian complains that there has been no prophecy, and Mars throws a grenade that transforms into a pen and writes a prophecy: Go to Alaska. Find Thanatos and free him. Come back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die.. Mars insists that Percy must go on the quest in order for him to learn some respect, the third person to go on the quest is up to Frank. Frank requests that Hazel also come on the quest. Percy, Frank, and Hazel are to free Thanatos, the god of Death because monsters are no longer going to Tartarus and souls are escaping from the Underworld.

While traveling, Percy struggles to regain his memory. Hazel reveals that she had died, but that Nico di Angelo (a son of Hades) saved her from the Fields of Asphodel, while looking for his other sister,Bianca. When they finally get to Alaska, the land beyond the gods, they find Thanatos and free him. His chains cannot be broken, unless melted by the fire of life i.e. Frank's stick of life. Hazel attacks Alcyoneus, who cannot die in the land he is born in (the land they are currently in), while Percy is defending Frank from hundreds of ghosts. They take Alcyoneus over the borders of Alaska to Canada and as he charges Frank, Frank transforms into an elephant (his family gift) and Hazel kills Alcyoneus. After that Frank and Hazel rushed back to where Percy had gone over the edge of the glacier, and Percy was standing there unharmed. Percy regains his memory on the journey back to Camp Jupiter. They speed back to Camp Jupiter, knowing that the Camp is under attack. Percy takes charge and leads the Romans into battle, with the help of his old friends, Tyson, his brother and a cyclops, and Mrs. O'Leary (a hellhound). The Romans defend their camp with valor after discovering that Percy saved the golden eagle from Alcyoneus (the giant born to oppose Pluto or Hades). Percy then challenges the giant to a duel, as the rest of the camp fought his army and the giant, Polybotes (born to oppose Neptune or Poseidon). Percy calls to Terminus, the border god, to help him defeat the giant. Percy eventually beat Polybotes after a treacherous battle by using the head of Terminus' statue as a weapon (Thus a demigod and God working together). The camp name him praetor, a leader of the Roman camp. At the end of the book Hazel realizes that Leo closely resembles her "boyfriend" Sammy (back from when she was alive first). There are only two problems; First that she had first died 60 years ago and second that she and Frank like each other . The whole camp waits as the ship with the head of Festus shows who its occupants are.

The Mark of Athena

Main article: The Mark of Athena

The Mark of Athena is the third book in the series, and will be released in Fall 2012.

Characters

Percy Jackson

Main article: Percy Jackson

Percy is the 16 year-old son of Poseidon, and was the main protagonist and narrator of the first series and returns as one of seven protagonists in the second. Although mentioned throughout The Lost Hero, he does not make an actual appearance. At the end of the first book, Jason reveals that he has switched places with Percy (as they are both leaders of each others respective camp), who is now at Camp Jupiter in the Bay Area, California. The second book, entitled The Son of Neptune refers to him. On May 26, 2011, Rick Riordan released the first chapter of the book where it was revealed that Percy's memory has also been wiped and can only vaguely remember Annabeth, his girlfriend. Some of the chapters are told through Percy's point of view. In the second chapter of The Son of Neptune he finds Camp Jupiter and meets Frank, Hazel, Reyna, and other new Roman demigods. He is one of the seven demigods of the Second Great Prophecy (or the Prophecy of Seven), and has been part of the First Great Prophecy. His weapon of choice is Anaklusmos (Riptide). He is described as having black hair and sea green eyes and is a natural leader. He was made praetor of the Roman Legion despite being there for only one week. While speaking with one of his enemies, his enemy says that Gaea hates him the most. When the enemy eventually passes away, his fate is revealed that it is not going to be very pleasant. He, once again, has to make a decision that will make or break the world...except this time he will make the decision that will cost him a lot. Percy has accomplished many great things, and therefore many of the monsters he encounters have a strong hatred for Percy above all others. Percy regains his memory near the end of The Son of Neptune on his way back to Camp Jupiter.

Jason Grace

Main article: Jason Grace

Jason is a 15 year-old son of Jupiter, Zeus's Roman counterpart. He was first introduced in The Lost Hero as a boy who suffers from amnesia. He is revealed to be Thalia Grace's full brother, but was conceived when Zeus was in his Roman form, Jupiter. He was separated from Thalia when he was two, because his mother offered him as a peace offer to an enraged Juno, the Roman form of Hera: “She gave me to the wolves,” Jason murmured. “At Hera’s insistence. She gave me to Lupa.” He was raised by Lupa, the she-wolf and director at Camp Jupiter. He has control over lightning and can fly by riding the air currents because Jupiter was the god of thunder and the sky. He wields a golden coin that can either turn into a sword or lance called lvlivs, which he loses in the end of The Lost Hero. He replaces his weapon with a gladius. He is a very experienced and knowledgeable fighter because he began training to fight since he was two. Jason was described as having blond hair and blue eyes, and Piper considers him to be very handsome. In The Lost Hero he was revealed to be one of the seven demigods in the Second Great Prophecy. Amnesiac at first, he slowly regains his memory throughout book one and remembers some of his old friends. In the second book "The Son of Neptune" Jason was revealed to be the praetor of the twelfth legion, though Percy takes the title of praetor in the Son of Neptune. Jason is mentioned a few times, but he does not actually appear in The Son of Neptune.

Leo Valdez

Main article: Leo Valdez

Leo is a 15 year-old son of Hephaestus, and is armed with a magical tool belt. He is revealed to have the power to create and withstand fire, which is a very rare ability for the children of Hephaestus. He does seem to be a bit of a prankster, but shows loyalty towards his friends. As a child, he was partially raised by Hera (Juno) under the name "Tía Callidia", who prepared him for his destiny of being a hero. During his childhood Gaea appeared before him in order to kill him because he in some ways is very powerful.

It is implied that he has an inferiority complex, initially displayed when he belittles himself in front of Jason. He is also somewhat insecure due to his troubled childhood and it is revealed in the first book that he accidentally killed his mother after starting a fire. He is one of the seven demigods of the prophecy. In the end of the Son of Neptune, Leo sends a message to Camp Jupiter, the Roman camp, and at the end of the message, Hazel spots him and calls him Sammy, the boy from her past. Gaea has mentioned to Hazel that Sammy Valdez has had a family of his own in Texas (where Leo is from) so it could be possible that Leo is a descendent of Sammy.

Piper McLean

Main article: Piper McLean

Piper is a 15 year-old daughter of Aphrodite. She makes her debut in The Lost Hero along with Leo as a troubled kid in the Wilderness School. She too is fooled by the Mist and believes Jason to be her boyfriend. She is later heart broken after learning about the truth, though Jason does show signs of liking her back throughout the book. She has the ability to "charmspeak", which allows her to make anyone obey her by simply ordering them to. She portrays the "damsel in distress" part in the book, and yet she is responsible for saving Leo and Jason's life many times in "The Lost Hero." She is more down-to-earth than the other children of Aphrodite, and unlike them, hates spending time in front of her wardrobe. Like all Aphrodite children, she is described as being very beautiful, having chocolate brown hair cut in a choppy manner. Her eyes change color from brown, to blue, to green, just like a kaleidoscope. Piper is also of Cherokee descent. She is very rich, because her father is the famous movie star Tristan McLean. She hates her life, preferring a more simple life and is upset over the fact that her father is too busy to spend time with her. Her father is kidnapped by the giants in The Lost Hero. She later saves her father at the end of the book. She likes Jason Grace and has stated that she is ready to 'compete with his past.' She is one of the seven demigods of the Second Great Prophecy.

Frank Zhang

Main Article: Frank Zhang

Frank Zhang is a 16 year-old Roman/Greek demigod who is thought to be one of the seven from the Second Great Prophecy, he is a direct son of Roman god Mars, and is a distant relative of Greek god Poseidon on his mother's side. His mother's family descended from the Prince of Pylos, Periclymenus, one of the Argonauts. Periclymenus descendants were among the "Lost Legion" of Rome captured in India and later captured by China settling in Li-jien, China.^[4] Poseidon had blessed Periclymenus and all his descendants with the ability to shape shift into any living thing, although it helps to be familiar with the actual creature. Frank discovers his own power to shape shift in "Son of Neptune".

According to Juno, Frank's life depends on a stick of wood, that, if burned completely, Frank will die. He carries that stick everywhere he goes, and uses that stick of wood in the second book to free Thanatos whilst they were in Alaska "the chains of death can only be be melted by the fire of life". Meaning he will go on the quest to Greece and save Mt. Olympus. He first appears in The Son of Neptune, in Camp Jupiter where Percy saves him from the gorgon sisters, Stheno and Euryale. His last name means "Bow Maker," or "Master of the Bow" in Chinese. He is armed with a golden bow and arrows. Frank is the only known demigod of both Greek (Poseidon) and Roman (Mars) descent, and the only known demigod with different abilities from different gods.

Hazel Levesque

Main article: Hazel Levesque

Hazel is a thirteen year-old Roman demigod and the child of Pluto (The Roman form of Hades). Born on December 17, 1929, she died in 1942 and was brought back by Nico di Angelo, her brother. She is requested to accompany Percy on the quest to unite the seven that will go to Greece. She makes her first appearance in The Son of Neptune at Camp Jupiter when Percy arrives, although she is mentioned in Jason's memory in the The Lost Hero. She is one of the demigods in the camp who witnesses Juno and Percy's arrival. She's confused about her feelings about Frank Zhang, because she liked Sammy Valdez even though he died, it is later revealed in the book that Leo is related to Sammy, who is probably his grandfather. She is from New Orleans. She likes the sun since she moved to Alaska after living in New Orleans. Hazel also likes shrimp gumbo and gets sea sick easily. Cursed treasure often appears at her feet, because her mother wished to her father that she could have all the treasure under ground. She blames herself for the eldest giants return, because she rose him from the ground with her powers, but she only did it to save her mom from Gaea's clutches. She sacrifices her life to put the giant back underground, where he will stay for almost a century. Usually, animals are afraid of her, being a child of Pluto/Hades, except for horses. She finds Arion while wandering around in the Amazon's building. She is the only one who does not feel sick from riding fast on Arion.

Reyna

Reyna is the daughter of Bellona (the Roman form of Enyo), sister of Hylla (they were on Circe's Island in "The Sea of Monsters"). She was mentioned by Jason in The Lost Hero, stating that he had an unclear memory of her and implying that he once had a relationship with her. She makes her full appearance in the second chapter of The Son of Neptune when Percy arrives at Camp Jupiter. She seems to know something about Percy, as she reacted when Juno said Percy's name. Although when Percy asked her if she knew anything about his past, she lies and tells him she does not know him. She claims to be the praetor of the Twelfth Legion. Percy tells her his age and everything he remembers. Like Jason, she has a tattoo on her arm that spells "SPQR", which stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus, which roughly translates into "The Senate and the People of Rome". She wears a purple cloak over her golden armor and is said to wear many golden medals. She owns two automaton dogs which serve as her personal body guards. Her gold dog is named Aurum, which is Latin for gold, while the silver dog is named Argentium, which is Latin for silver. Reyna uses a dagger, like Annabeth does. Under the SPQR portion of her tattoo, Reyna has 4 lines meaning she has been at Camp Jupiter for 4 years. She is a praetor at Camp Jupiter. She states that praetors often become romantically involved and implies that she would have liked to have a relationship with Jason. Reyna also implies that, since Jason disappeared, Percy would make a good praetor and possibly a romantic interest.

Annabeth Chase

Main article: Annabeth Chase

Annabeth is a 16 year-old daughter of Athena, and was one of the main protagonists of the first series and is a major character in the second. In The Last Olympian, it becomes clear that she is interested romantically in Percy, and by the end of the book, they are boyfriend and girlfriend. She then appears in The Lost Hero searching for Percy Jackson, her missing boyfriend, but instead finds three demigods: Jason, Piper and Leo. She was initially offered to go with Jason on his quest, but declined and instead spent her time throughout the book looking for Percy. At the end of the first book, Jason reveals where Percy is and Annabeth vows to accompany the trio on their next quest to find Percy and to defeat Gaia. It was revealed in The Son of Neptune that Percy remembers her name and that she is somehow related to San Francisco, but has no actual idea what role she played in his life, and is bent on finding out who she was initially. It is eventually hinted that she is one of the seven.she finds percy at the end of 'son of neptune'

Thalia Grace

Thalia, a daughter of Zeus (age 15 physically), the leader of the Hunters of Artemis and is one of the main supporting characters from the first series. She is Jason's full sister, but was conceived while Zeus was in his Greek form, making her a Greek demigod. (Jason was conceived while Zeus was in his Roman form Jupiter.)

Nico di Angelo

Greek demigod and son of Hades, he is one of the main supporting characters from the first series, and a friend of Percy Jackson. He makes an appearance in Son of Neptune, but pretends not to know or acknowledge Percy. He is the half brother of Hazel, and brought her back to life instead of his sister Bianca because she decided to be reborn in the underworld. Towards the end of The Son of Neptune it is hinted that Nico was captured by Gaea's minions and the answer to saving him may be in Rome.

Octavian

Octavian is an 18 year-old descendent of Apollo and serves as Camp Jupiter's augur and has the ability to read the will of the gods by performing a ritual that involves sacrificing a teddy bear. He is an enemy of Percy. It is implied, however, that he may be responsible for the attempted murder of another camper named Gwen. Because he has a way with words, Percy says that he is more powerful in the senate than Reyna, who is a praetor. It is also mentioned that he is blackmailing Hazel either about her curse, or about her dying in 1942. Percy beat him in a face off while giving speeches about their different points of view. Percy says that he reminds him of someone. Most likely that is Luke Castellan, Percy's enemy but then it became clear they were friends at the end of the Last Olympian.

Ella

Ella is a Harpy, half-bird, half-woman. She has red hair and feathers, grey eyes, and a bony structure. She has extensive knowledge about the Romans and their culture. She is very valuable to the enemy side as she might have extensive knowledge of several scrolls that depict Prophecies. She has memorized a lot of books, and often recites a few prophecies from the Sibylline books that Octavian wants badly. It is mentioned towards the end of The Son of Neptune that Ella was going to have to be hidden from Octavian because of her knowledge. She was one of the harpies that was torturing the blind psychic Phineas and near the end of The Son of Neptune it is revealed that Tyson has a crush on her and that she has a crush on Tyson.

Thanatos

Thanatos is the Greek god of death. Thanatos is also a lieutenant of Pluto (Hades) and serve as a patrol guard to stop souls or ghost from escaping. He was once chained by Sisyphus but saved by Mars (Ares). He is captured by the eldest giant in the Son of Neptune. He is rescued by Percy, Hazel and Frank, although they all three nearly died in the process.

Tyson

Tyson is a Cyclops, the half-brother of Percy and general of the Cyclops army. He is one of the main protagonists in the first series. He is described as huge and amazingly strong, although he is mentally childish and cries often.he has calf brown eye(1 eye). He fights with a club and loves peanut butter. In the Lost Hero, Annabeth says that he is looking for Percy, but he does not actually make an appearance in the book. In the Son of Neptune, Percy has a dream where Grover and Annabeth tell him to stay where he is, because Tyson has almost found him. Percy has two dreams about Tyson, and by the time he has the second, he has regained enough of his memory to recognize Tyson and communicates with him through the dream. Percy tells Tyson to take care of the harpy, Ella, and to meet him at Camp Jupiter rather than follow him. Tyson fights in the battle to save Camp Jupiter and is at the camp when the ship from Camp Half-Blood, Argo II, arrives.

Mrs. O'Leary

Mrs. O'Leary is Percy's pet hellhound. She initially belonged to Daedalus, the architect of the Labyrinth, but after his death, Percy cares for her. She is in the later books in the first series, but has no part in the Lost Hero. Tyson brings her on his search for Percy, and she accompanies him to Camp Jupiter.

Coach Gleeson Hedge

Coach Hedge is a satyr who works at the Wilderness School, Leo and Piper's school. He is short and prone to violence. While defending Jason, Piper, and Leo from the anemoi thuellai, or storm spirits, (venti in roman) he is captured and taken to the sorceress Medea. Jason, Piper and Leo find him frozen in her department store where they rescue and thaw him. He goes with them to see Aeolus and to save Piper's father. He falls in love with Mellie, a wind aura who worked for Aeolus and lost her job helping them. He is also mentioned in The Last Olympian when Percy and Annabeth read a report he sent to Grover about monster attacks in Canada and is 50 years old.

References

1. ^ Colum, Padraic (2010 (originally published in 1928)). The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles. Illustrated by Willy Pogany; Introduction by Rick Riordan. Random House. pp. 368. ISBN 9780375867095. http://books.google.com/books?id=jtU0qXKjZFEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+golden+fleece+and+the+heroes+who+lived+before+Achilles+Rick+Riordan%27&hl=en&ei=W84sTc60B8L98AaivPWqCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
2. ^ Riordan, Rick (20 June 2010). "The Lost Hero cover unveiled!". Myth & Mystery. http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/2010/06/lost-hero-cover-unveiled.html. Retrieved 31 December 2010. 
3. ^ A. Sellers, John (13 September 2010). "Disney Announces Print Run, Plans for 'Percy Jackson' Spinoff". 'Publishers Weekly'. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/44446-disney-announces-print-run-plans-for-percy-jackson-spinoff.html. Retrieved 11 January 2011. 
4. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lijiang,_Yunnan

External links

• Official website