Rick Riordan continues his Heroes of Olympus series with his fourth book, House of Hades. The novel picks up the storyline right with the huge cliffhanger that its predecessor, The Mark of Athena, left off at. The cliffhanger granted much anticipation from his readers for House of Hades, which was released on Oct. 8. The book sold millions of copies nation-wide and earned a spot on the New York Times Best-Seller list.
Rick Riordan has yet to disappoint with any of his books from this series. The books are based off of Greek and Roman mythology, and there are only a certain number of myths that exist, though there is a risk for repeating the same material, thus making the book identical to previous ones. Riordan mixes it up, he has obviously done his research. He includes more obscure gods, heroes, monsters, and myths to appeal to the hardcore mythology fan and to add new aspects to the series.
Another thing he does to appeal to his audience (specifically young adults) is to make references to current pop-culture. “He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life looking like an extra from The Walking Dead,” Riordan writes at one point. And for his loyal readers, those that have read all of his books from both the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus series, he mentions past quirks, jokes, and moments about old characters. These hints don’t disrupt the plot or throw off readers that don’t understand them, but are significant enough to be noticed by those who have read all of his books. This gives a sense of familiarity to the characters and even some nostalgia for loyal readers.
A favorable difference between the Heroes of Olympus series from the previous one is that the Heroes of Olympus plot is more elaborate and complex. As the characters age, they mirror what happens in the real world, which is that life gets confusing. Each of the characters have to overcome multiple problems all at the same time, some involving other characters and some by themselves. All these pieces of the solved problems are aimed to solve an overall bigger issue. These conflicts are introduced with a vague and unclear prophecy, in one of the characters dreams, or by some minor god.. Adding some mystery to the book appeals to the readers as they figure conflicts and plot twists out alongside the characters.
In The House of Hades