Review: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Title: The Lost Hero (Hero's of Olympus #1)
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Middle Grade, Action Adventure
Rating: G
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: October 12, 2010
Pages: 557 Pages
Source: Purchased Finished Copy
My Rating: 5*

[Goodreads | Amazon]

Synopsis

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.

Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.

Quotes

     "Coach," Jason pleaded, "they may be friendly.  Besides we're trespassing in their house."
     "Thank you!" said the old man in the bathrobe.  "Now, who are you, and why are you here?"
     "Let's all put our weapons down," Piper said.  "Coach, you first."
     Hedge clenched his jaw.  "Just one thwack?"
     "No," Piper said.
     "What about a compromise? I'll kill them first, and if it turns out they were friendly, I'll apologize."

My Thoughts

So at the time I read this book, I hadn't yet read the Percy Jackson series by the same author.  I own all five books in that series, but I stopped reading them after the first one.  I can't really say why.  I picked up this book on the sole strength of how much I love the books in the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan.  

Can I just say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book?  I can't really say that this book is better than the original Percy Jackson series as I haven't read them yet, but in my opinion, this book can hold it's own.

I could not stop giggling when I read this book.  The humor in this book, just as it was in the Kane Chronicles, just didn't stop.  I am not really sure what it is about the Satyr's that makes them so funny, but it just works.  Give that satyr a bit of a complex and a megaphone and the hilarity just doesn't stop.

One thing I did appreciate about this book was not only the introduction of new characters, but the fact that each chapter or two was told from a different viewpoint.  I find that with these stories, getting the different view points works very well as each character has their own part to play in the story.  The best part of this book and in fact this series, is that not only does it get kids excited to read, but it teaches them quite a lot about mythology and in terms that they can understand.

Review: The Throne of Fire

Title: The Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles - Book #2)
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Middle Grade, Action Adventure, Magic
Rating: G
Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books for Children
Publication Date: May 3, 2011
Pages: 452 pages
Source: Purchased Finished Copy
[Goodreads | Amazon]

Synopsis

Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven't given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians.

And now their most threatening enemy yet - the chaos snake Apophis - is rising. If they don't prevent him from breaking free in a few days' time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it's a typical week for the Kane family.

To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished.

First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly?

Narrated in two different wisecracking voices, featuring a large cast of new and unforgettable characters, and with adventures spanning the globe, this second installment in the Kane Chronicles is nothing short of a thrill ride.


Quotes

"The sign was spray-painted in Arabic and English, probably from some attempt by the farmer to sell his wares in the market. The English read: Dates-best price. Cold Bebsi.
"Bebsi?" I asked.
"Pepsi," Walt said. "I read about it on the Internet. There's no 'p' in Arabic. Everyone here calls the soda Bebsi."
"So you have to have Bebsi with your bizza?"
"Brobably."

"Felix believed that the answer to every problem involved penguins; but it wasn't fair to birds, and I was getting tired of teleporting them back home. Somewhere in Antarctica, a whole flock of Magellanic penguins were undergoing psychotherapy."

"Now, you'll have to answer my questions."
"Oh, very well," Set said. "I like Brazil for the World Cup. I'd advise investing in platinum and small-cap funds. And your lucky numbers this week are 2, 13--"
"Not those questions!" Menshikov snapped."

"Our camels plodded along. Katrina tried to kiss, or possibly spit on Hindenburg, and Hindenburg farted in response. I found this a depressing commentary on boy-girl relationships."

My Thoughts

I really like this series of books.  Much better than the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (they are both written by the same author).  This is book number two in the Kane Chronicles series.  The series is scheduled to conclude in Spring 2012 with the publication of the third as yet unnamed book in the trilogy.

The book follows siblings Sadie and Carter Kane as they try to revive the missing sun go Ra in hopes of doing so preventing Apophis from escaping his prision.  Rather than being completely on their own this time around as they try to save the world in 4 days, they have the help of some of the new magicians they have been training as well as the dwarf god BES.

I must say that this book was laugh out loud funny in some instances and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Sadie and Carter are 12 and 14 in this book respectively, but in terms of the way they are written, it is not really obvious.  They find themselves in mortal danger again and again and manage to come through with little to no adult supervision.  If only my life had been this interesting when I was 12!