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The Heroes of Olympus #1-5

The Heroes of Olympus Boxed Set

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A pentalogy of adventure, mythological fiction and fantasy that details a conflict between Greek and Roman demigods and Gaea, the earth goddess. Riordan introduces Roman mythology into his sequel series as well as several new characters.

2404 pages, Hardcover

First published December 2, 2015

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About the author

Rick Riordan

241 books438k followers
Rick Riordan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many books, including the Percy Jackson series.

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5 stars
7,402 (77%)
4 stars
1,647 (17%)
3 stars
379 (3%)
2 stars
52 (<1%)
1 star
33 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 297 reviews
Profile Image for Tina ➹ lives in Fandoms.
465 reviews463 followers
April 16, 2023
Complete 5 Golden Stars
& thousands more!

the Lost Hero: ★★★★(★)/5
the Son of Neptune: ★★★★(★)/5
the Mark of Athena: ★★★★★/5
the House of Hades: ★★★★★/5
the Blood of Olympus: ★★★★★/5

Did anyone notice their names (except book 1) have an Olympian name!?
son of Neptune, Mark of Athena, House of Hades, Blood of Olympus
omg! I noticed that in my 3rd re-read!
Hail Rick Riordan!
he is a Genius!

Heroes of Olympus, another series about Sacrifices, Love & Bravery.
beautiful & compassionate.

The whole plot & everything was magnificent! & this Plot definitely needed such a beginning. & when they were altogether, the Seven Half-Bloods, the plot actually started to be more exciting, exhilarating, amazing & funny!

it deserves 5. Everything is gorgeous, epic, full of excitements & fun & believable & everything! the world expanded, the plot much complicated, the characters grew, amazing & lovable, I can't decide who I love more! (This always happened in my favourite series, or I love when it happens.)
Percy, Jason, Annabeth, Nico, Coach Hedge, Will, Reyna, Piper, Frank, Hylla, Ella, everyone at Camp Half-blood. (Everyone except Octavian!)
Riordan also knows how to make good villains; all of the main villains, Kronos, Gaea & their funny stupid minions are my favourites. I usually don't like female villains, because they're vicious, & screaming a lot when things not according to what they wanted, some of them sadistic, so I find them annoying. but here, in this series, with Riordan at the wheels, we have many fantastic female villains; Gaea herself, smart, plotter & know-it-all, Khione, Cold & taunting, Arachne & several more.

the writing style has changed comparing to 'Percy Jackson' series which was first person all the way, & this is third person (my all-time fav narration) & multiple POV characters, but Riordan has already proved how powerful & magnificent he can write, & different POV characters chapters totally has different voices & tunes which is truly awesome & enjoyable.
the only problem with multiple POVs is sometimes I want to continue one's story with more enthusiasm than others & I should hold myself back not to skip chapters; for two reasons, story integrity & chapters are mostly connected. which is not really a problem. but I'm telling you, they all are interesting & exciting & funny by themselves too & author has put his effort & time on them. <3
Also I don't want to kill the suspense for myself! that actually the ignition to continue reading in a faster speed!

I remembered I kind of wished (in PJO) that it would be awesome if they too. & BOOM! My wish was granted!
just in case, I kind of wished we had some story in I feel so lucky & so happy!
I love when authors do that! they show us all the aspects of the world. here, the retelling of the myths & travel to the ancient lands.

I can't decide which series I love more, Percy Jackson or the Heroes of Olympus! Percy jackson was more fun & more middle grade, Heroes of Olympus has more dangerous serious business, complicated quests, the characters are older, a bit of romance & ships & less fun comparing. so I love them both in their own way! don't make me choose between my babies!
-
World building: ★★★★★/5
Plot: ★★★★★/5
Written style: ★★★★★/5
Characters: ★★★★★/5
Idea: ★★★★★/5
Profile Image for Parnita Tolia.
107 reviews12 followers
January 8, 2016
if harry potter is my childhood then Percy Jackson (& heroes of Olympus) is my teenage dreams
❤❤❤
Profile Image for Paula Alejandra.
22 reviews4 followers
December 22, 2021
La verdad esperaba más de este libro , no es malo , la historia es fácil de leer , es entretenida pero me pareció tediosa porque los capítulos son muy largos!!!! Aún así lo terminé rápido y me gusto mucho la historia ✋🏻🧍🏻‍♀️
Profile Image for Keegan Taylor.
744 reviews36 followers
February 15, 2016
After Percy Jackson and the Olympians, we came to the next series. For my small children, I have some of the same regrets with letting them read it/reading it to them -- the romance, the language, the violence. Also, one of the main characters turns out to be gay. When reading with small children, it's nice to know going in, I think.

Speaking of that, I thought it was interesting that Rick Riordan clearly gave priority to diversity. The main characters are five white kids (one of whom is gay), one black kid, one Chinese Canadian kid, and one Mexican American kid. Three of the main characters are girls and the other five are boys. The funny thing I thought was that the two main couples are white. I know this is going to sound strangely critical when he made SUCH an obvious effort at diversity, but I still thought was interesting that he drew the line there.

Overall, I like the main characters. I like that they have different personalities, strengths, and powers. I like that the girls are as essential and powerful as the boys. And again it's fun to see the familiar myths modernized.
Profile Image for angie.
21 reviews
Read
September 16, 2017
smashing.....
percy and leo are my fav.
it is also very funny
Profile Image for chev ۫ ꣑ৎ.
496 reviews362 followers
April 6, 2022
Amazing, funny and lighthearted- this series is really compelling with a lot of major decisions to be made by our protagonists, and as always: it is lighthearted, and never failed to make me laugh.

recommended for: those who haven't read it (you should give it a try)

5/5 Chev's picks.
4 reviews1 follower
February 1, 2017
"The Lost Hero"
By Mirja Rebaum

"The Lost Hero" is the 1st book from the second series of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and is another story about the Greek/Roman gods and goddesses, and their children, by the world-famous author, Rick Riordan. I read this book because I loved the first series, and wanted to read more about the characters, that starred in the first series. In the end I really LOVED this book, because of it’s wonderful explanations, that brought beautiful images to my head. In the story, 3 new half-bloods are once again brought to camp half-bloods, in need of safety. Leo, Jason and Piper embark on a mission to save queen Hera, and get Jason’s memory’s back from the queen of the heavens. During their quest to save Hera from the giants, the 3 friends have to fight many disastrous monsters, and others who serve the one that wants to destroy the gods. Desperate to save the world from the one who is trying to wake, they go to the place Jason started his journey, to try to save queen Hera.Do you think that they will succeed? Or that they bring the world to a desperate end?Read this amazing book to find out.
Profile Image for E. Ardell.
Author 6 books59 followers
May 9, 2018
I liked this series more than I liked the original. Maybe because the characters were older in this. I loved the blend of Greek and Roman mythology and how Athena loses herself in Roman culture. I liked a lot of the new characters, especially Reyna and the Amazons (who run Amazon, lol).

I also loved the contrast between Jason and Percy, Jason being the more traditional hero and Percy being the unconventional goofball who gets lucky. Nico's coming out was a surprise, but I did like how Jason handled it. I thought he was sweet. And I enjoyed the perilous shadow-traveling across the world.

Overall great series, and now I want to see what will happen to Apollo in the upcoming series.
Profile Image for Jen.
1,434 reviews138 followers
January 24, 2021
Since I finished this box set in July 2020, I now don't remember too much about it. But I know I love it! I kinda wish I had read it immediately after finishing the Percy Jackson series, as it follows after that series a few months later! I really liked the Roman demigods. Jason, Hazel, and Frank (I think those were their names), were great! And I loved being reunited with Percy, Annabeth, and Nico in these stories!

Here are the dates I read these five books:
1. The Lost Hero: Read June 17-19, 2020. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. The Son of Neptune: Read July 1-4, 2020. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. The Mark of Athena: Read July 4-7, 2020. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. The House of Hades: Read July 11-14, 2020. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. The Blood of Olympus: Read July 15-20 (but not on July 19), 2020. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'll try to remember to review each of the books the next time I read them!
Profile Image for ᖰϦɨᖱ៩ɭɨ♬ .
147 reviews15 followers
April 26, 2024
THIS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST FEW AMAZING BOOK SERIES I'D EVER READ AS A KID. This is the same kid's review.
I had stumbled upon this so randomly that I think that most probably the Fates led me to read these series (including every other series by this author).
The author very nicely weaves the story around a lot of intricate details and you keep wanting more. The characters are really, really good, each one, with their own unique personalities, and evermore. Their sense of humour, sarcasm, grit, determination, hope, and little bit of hero streak, makes you glued to the series. Though set in a fictional world, it almost makes you wish it was real and feel it was real, as it seems to coincide with stuff on the real world too, in some cases .
I learnt a lot about the Greek and Roman mythology, and these nearly cover the stories accurately and creatively, and made me want to explore more about them too.
It touches upon various issues people face in real-life, and deals with them positively. As a kid, I loved it. As a teenager, I keep re-reading it to experience its vast universe once more.
581 reviews
December 18, 2015
I really liked the Heroes of Olympus series, but I don't think it is as good as the original Percy Jackson books. I loved the first two books, The Lost Hero and the Son of Neptune, but I felt like the books lost their way a little bit during The Mark of Athena and The House of Hades. I think this is a function of the fact that there were so many characters to keep track of. Moreover, I guess I found the books challenging because there were characters that I liked more than others so I preferred their points of view. For example, I would much rather read chapters involving Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel or Nico (in book 5) than chapter involving Jason, Piper or Leo. Perhaps I was being unfair to some of the newer characters because they were unfamiliar. However, I don't think that was the case. I found Jason to be very vanilla and Leo irritated me for about 2/3's of the series (I ended up being won over by him, but it took a long time.) Piper didn't bother me, but I wanted more out of her story-lines. That said some of the action is great and the idea of rival Greek and Roman camps who may go to war with each other is a great concept.
Profile Image for Kelsey Mitchell.
276 reviews
March 5, 2016
I give this entire series a 5/5 because, in short, it was awesome. I first read this series a year or two ago, and I liked it; it was good, but for some reason I always remembered it as, like, it was good... when I was fourteen, and that it was slightly childish. My prior notions about this series just disintegrated. Completely untrue. I just reread this series (because I was in a mood and wanted to) and I loved it. I loved it more than I did the first time I read this series. Somehow, this series got better with age, something I didn't think was possible but it did. This was an amazing series, the Greek and Roman mythology were artfully blended into the plot line and the twists were very smart. The entire series is very well done, and I loved the characters (especially the "brought back" characters). Overall, this series is mind-blowingly awesome and I would definitely recommend it to everyone.
Profile Image for Frog.
215 reviews41 followers
Read
July 10, 2020
A year ago, my friend and I reread this series to make a YouTube review.
Today I'm mutilating it on Google Docs (and other YA books I suffered through in highschool) to see if I can put my money where my mouth is, and improve them. Here's what I've learned:

"Shimmering,""shining," "glittering," "sparkling" "bright," and other adjectives that have to do with light are go-to cliches when writers describe things.

Sticking the word "little," "big," or "old," before objects is usually redundant.

Dialogue tags are almost never necessary, let alone adjectives to describe how somebody said or did something. Most power comes from verbs.

Short, simple sentences are under rated.

Never state anything in narration you can show with an action.

Don't abuse dialogue (or character thoughts) by using them to tell the audience things the story doesn't otherwise prove.

Don't use characters thoughts to explain things.

You can always show examples of anything you state.

Broad terms rely on the readers imagination to do all the work. Don't say, "a gaggle of girls walked by." Describe one or two characters instead.

You only need a few sentences to set an atmosphere. It's obvious when an author doesn't know how to imagine their own setting.

Most adventure stories are only about eating food and getting rest.
Sometimes bad guys show up and cause action scenes that work well enough as action paragraphs. There's rarely a mystery or goal that progresses meaningfully between one event and another.
Main characters getting together substitutes resolution as nothing comes full circle.

You can delete most main characters in a group except two or three.

Describe a characters outfit or hairstyle in one or two sentences, if you must describe them at all.

Adding "-ish" at the end of words is weak.

Don't say "often," say "always," you coward. Or delete both.

Banter and nicknames aren't personalities. Deleting these makes personalities even clearer.

There's more power in the unironic than the painfully self aware ironic.

A character's reaction to something doesn't have to be the reaction you want the reader to have, and definitely shouldn't be a crutch to produce it (rather than through the thing they're reacting to itself).

The things that the story is about don't have to be the most intense version of it in the story. A relationship doesn't have to be described or portrayed as perfect. Anger doesn't have to be a searing hot, burning intensity that was definitely the deepest anger anyone in the universe ever felt.

Never use the cliches, "his blood turned to liquid fire." Or "The blood in his veins turned to ice." If it's about blood or veins and temperature, it's a cliche.

When a character is "suddenly pushed from behind" or "feels a pain searing through their head" don't say it. Show the mud they slid through as they were struck by a weight and hit their chin on the gravel.

If action scenes must exist, don't use one word sentences, sarcastic quips or shortcut terms:
"Suddenly
There was a *insert sound effect*
Pain exploded through his head
As if the day couldn't get even more like a Marvel Movie."
etc.

Stories that self reference are over rated if they use it as a crutch.
No need to go full last season of Phineas and Ferb about anything. The ideas weren't that great unless we remember them ourselves.

If there's a ridiculous, random, goofy floating table, don't force us to conclude it's random and ridiculous. Don't keep harping on how, "and if you think that sentence is normal, you should read it again. Just another day in my insane life!" Just tell us there's a floating table.

Cutesy words like, "abuzz" or "aflutter." "A gaggle of fairies flew by, abuzz with excitement." DELETE.

It's okay to use some shortcuts like telling vs. showing or some adjectives if you're summarizing for some reason (possibly to begin or end a story/chapter/scene).
It's okay if you have sentences with these things if it's clever, funny, or otherwise has a point.
Don't use this as an excuse, because the vast majority of the time it's not.

Why do YA authors describe everything as smelling bad?
Smell is a sensory detail, so I get what they think they're doing. But when everything smells like cabbage, onions or dead fish, you're not embellishing reality at that point. And why is it always cabbage?

And why do they always eat bread and cheese?
Or if it's the modern days, eggs and bacon?

The least time you spend hearing a characters "thoughts" the better.
(Unless they're exceptionally clever or profound).

You always have to rewrite endings of YA books, because they don't actually have conclusions, only sequels.

Why do characters always have a special "face?"
i.e. "It was her give-me-Percy-Jackson-or-I'll-Kill-You face."
These sentences rarely add anything in the first place, and can be deleted.

Why do characters always roll their eyes at each other and get flustered with each other so easily?
"As if, you know how to cook, Max."
"Max shot him a glare."
etc.
Conflict can be a necessity in interaction, but this is cheap. The no-nonsense girl and goofy boy stereotype is overused anyway.

Why always shorten names whenever friends talk to each other?
Why should Peter, Henry or Gabrielle, have to endearingly get called Pet, Hen, and Gab? I've never done this to my friends in real life or heard them do it.

How are teenage crushes so noble and beautiful that they save the universe?
"Love is the most important thing of all."
Not if you mean teenage crushes.

Rhetorical questions? NO.

When a writer says somebody "made their way" to something, it means they don't know what they're trying to picture and are using a band-aid. Same with words like:
sprawled
took off
disappeared into the night
crossed over to
etc.

Of course, these are just some of the technical issues.
Profile Image for Erin.
317 reviews
June 18, 2018
Another good series. I think I like the original series better, but this was still enjoyable to read. I especially liked book 2 because it had so much of Percy being cool. During books 3-5 the group did a lot of go somewhere, fight something, and move on, which, I suppose is okay, it just wasn't essential to the plot. Also, I found Percy didn't do quite as much as he did in the original series, but I guess that's to be expected since it's not HIS series anymore. This has an interesting twist at the end and a cool final battle. Certainly enjoyable, if not a favorite.
July 17, 2015
This series is my absolute favorite of all time! It has everything, comedy, action, romance and characters beyond my imagination. Rich Riordan is a god at writing and everything he touches becomes gold. These books simply cannot be unread by anybody. Once you start you will find that nothing will make you able to put down those books because something is always happening.
5 reviews
May 13, 2017
All the books are very funny, suspenseful, and there is always a little romance!
2 reviews
September 3, 2017
I currently finished "The Mark of Athena", and I think that is is Riordan's best so far. Can't wait to read the next one!
Profile Image for AITOR REYES.
1 review
November 30, 2021
Muy buenas, lectores!!!😊😊😊

Como escritor que basa sus novelas en la mitología griega, creo que me toca ya hacer una reseña del mundo que ha creado este maravilloso escritor, mi referente, Rick Riordan!!!

PERCY JACKSON
⚡🌊🔥
😍😍😍

La historia la protagoniza el propio Percy Jackson, el hijo de un dios griego muy poderoso e importante y una humana, que se ve obligado a ir al Campamento Mestizo para estar a salvo de los monstruos que lo acechan y volverse más fuerte mediante el entrenamiento con otros hijos de dioses griegos, la mayoría héroes o también llamados semidioses. Con algunos de ellos entablará una bonita amistad y otros lo traicionarán!!!

Las historias que cuenta Rick Riordan sobre este personaje y sobre quienes lo acompañan son maravillosas, llenas de aventuras, de acción, de sentimientos encontrados!!! El autor crea una maravillosa visión moderna de la mitología griega y de cómo estaría esta a día de hoy, lo cual habría generado cambios, indicados en los libros por supuesto, como por ejemplo el cambio de posición del Olimpo!!!

Todo lo acontecido tiene sentido, la paja está justificada y la interacción de los personajes, así como sus propias historias por separado, son de un nivel creativo sin parangón!!! Además, creo que la simbiosis que existe entre los personajes inventados, como el propio Percy, Annabrth, Grover, Luke, Thalia, Tyson, Clarisse o Nico, y personajes pertenecientes a la mitología griega, como Zeus, Poseidón, Quirón Atenea o Dioniso, o monstruos como los titanes, las furias, los minotauros, las gorgonas o las ninfas, es excelente y se apoyan los unos a los otros para que todo funcione!!!

Solo le pondré un pero, y es que, personalmente, los libros deberían haber ido dirigidos a un público más mayor, pues la mitología griega funciona mucho mejor sin restricciones en cuanto a escenas explícitas o vocabulario, aunque esto ensalza más aún su obra, ya que incluso dirigidos a un público más infantil, los libros funcionan a las mil maravillas en todos los sentidos!!!

Espero que os haya gustado mi reseña y mi colección presente en la foto. Dejadme vuestros comentarios sobre lo que opináis, porfa. Os leo a todos!!!

Os quiero!!!
📚💖
Profile Image for Cherry.
21 reviews
December 22, 2021
amazing amazing amazing holy crap rick riordan's book series are AMAZING and this one DID NOT DISAPPOINT !! just like his percy jackson series- this one blew my socks off :DDDDDD <3 <3 I LOVE IT please read it thank you !!!!!
Profile Image for C.X. Blake.
Author 2 books4 followers
May 10, 2022
my favourite out of all the series. leo sent me off a cliff. oh well.
Profile Image for JANE.
31 reviews
March 19, 2024
Binge-read it again. I went through all five books when I was in high school. Now it's nice to go back and find the stories just as intriguing as they were as I remembered.
Profile Image for Sofi Mammana.
558 reviews1 follower
February 4, 2022
Llegando muy tarde al hit, pero de igual manera me parece un libro muy bueno. Rápido de leer, entretenido, educativo e interesante.

Si han visto la película y van al libro para saber mas, se van a dar cuenta que no es muy fiel a lo que el autor ha escrito, por lo que tiene muchísimo mas sentido el libro ya que el desarrollo de la historia cuadra más que en las películas.

Profile Image for Alex.
17 reviews
September 27, 2024
Una fantástica historia para introducirte y amar la mitología
May 26, 2024
Eine schöne Erweiterung der von Rick Riordan geschaffenen Welt - und viele neue, tolle Gesichter, die die Perspektiven auf diese erweitern. Mir hat gefallen, dass die Erzählperson regelmäßig gewechselt hat - und auch, dass die "stakes" diesmal wesentlich größer waren. Was man auch schon allein daran gemerkt hat, dass die Serie gut 1000 Seiten mehr als die 5 Percy Jackson Bücher zu bieten hat. Ich bin auf jeden Fall gespannt, wie es weiter geht bzw. welche Ecken dieser Welt es noch zu erkungen gibt.
Profile Image for Margaret.
Author 1 book11 followers
February 15, 2016
5 out of 5 Heroic Stars

THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR THE PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIAN SERIES HERE. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THOSE BOOKS YET, STOP READING MY REVIEW AND START READING THE LIGHTNING THIEF!!!

Ohmygosh, this series is freaking awesome! I love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and the premise for this new series, The Heroes of Olympus, kind of worried me a bit, which is why I'm behind on reading. Which actually worked out for me, cause I got to read the whole series without having to wait a year between books! I freaking love binge-reading. Anywho, Rick Riordan has created a fantastic squeal series, weaving together seven POVs together seamlessly, making me care a lot for each individual character, and loving the chemistry when everyone is together. For those of you who've read the Percy Jackson series, The Lost Hero picks up several weeks after the end of The Last Olympian. And if you haven't read the first series yet, get on it! It's amazing!

The Prophecy of Seven

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.



So for the last series, we got to deal with the second Titan war, and the evil Titan Kronos. Well, we've upgraded now. Time to deal with giants (even worse than Titans) and the Earth Mother herself, Gaea. Fun times right? How about not. The Prophecy of Seven, spoken by our new Orcale of Delphi, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, is basically about the end of the world. If Gaea rises, that's it, apocalypse and death and destruction ensured. The Seven demigods are going to need all their strength to band together and save the world. There's just one pesky problem: we're not dealing with only Greek demigods. We've also got Roman demigods, too, and the two groups don't really get along. Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter don't even know about each other, and for good reason. Anytime the two interact, wars are started. Not to mention that the gods are getting a bit schizophrenic having to deal with split personalities of both their Roman and Greek sides. Not only do our heroes of Olympus need to find each other, but they have to fight against everything trying to keep them from succeeding in their quest (ehem Gaea cough cough), facing dangers worse than they've ever imagined.

I simply love the multiple character POVs throughout the series. I mean, Percy's always been my favorite, and I of course would want his POV more than others, but Riordan creates such amazing characters that it gets hard choosing a favorite. I especially love the character POV for the last novel in the series, Blood of Olympus. Since this is a review for the whole series and not just one specific book, I don't want to give too much away, but it's not that hard to figure out who the Seven are. They make an awesome team, and I have complete faith that they will fulfill the newest Great Prophecy. A team this in sync can do anything. But Gaea is eternal, and she's got an army. We're going to need everyone's power, strength, courage, and intelligence mixed together to even stand a chance of stopping the Earth Mother. No biggie. Easy peasy. Ha. But seriously, Riordan has so much character development throughout the series, and none of it feels rushed or forced at all, that it's like I'm growing right alongside these characters. Each individual character arc seems completely natural, and Riordan effortlessly weaves all seven different character-stories together to make one hell of a series. If you haven't read The Heroes of Olympus series, get on it ASAP. You're really missing out.

“Being a hero doesn’t mean you’re invincible. It just means that you’re brave enough to stand up and do what’s needed.”
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