Is it worth your time?
Of course it is. You'd be a fool not to read this series.
I will try not to give away any spoilers, but I'm sorry in advance if I do.
About the series
The Heroes of Olympus by the infamous Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians, revolves around the seven chosen demigods who travel across the seas to stop the rise of a certain old and unexpectedly evil Goddess. The seven demigods were brought together to fulfill the prophecy that was introduced in the Percy Jackson series.
"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 arm to the Doors of Death."
The first book, The Lost Hero, introduces the first three of the seven; Jason, Piper and Leo. Jason apparently has lost his memories, wakes up on a bus with his supposed best friends, Piper and Leo. The story moves forward with these three main characters, and portrays how their friendship grows, their exciting adventures, and shocking realizations.
The second book, The Son of Neptune, revolves around the other three of the seven demigods. Percy, Hazel and Frank. The Son of Neptune is of course, Percy Jackson, if you all didn't already guess. This second edition to the series, is quite similar to the first. It focuses on how close these three characters get, and their exhilarating adventures and fight scenes. I personally, didn't get into this book, the adrenaline from the first book kind of died out with this one.
The third book, The Mark of Athena, picks up directly after the Son of Neptune. This is the book where the seven demigods of the prophecy unite, plan, and fight their way to defeat the enemy/ies. This is my favorite book of the series. It brought out so many different emotions that it was hard to point out what was actually felt.
The fourth book, The House of Hades, continues the story of the final events in the Mark of Athena. The book goes on telling the progress the seven demigod heroes have made, what mischief, accidents and mishaps they've caused, what monsters they've faced and what other awesome blessing they've got from their God parents. I didn't find this as engrossing as the Mark of Athena, but there were moments of shock and anticipation.~ ~ ~
Reading through the first four books of the Heroes of Olympus right after each other with no room for any other books with its fictional worlds and characters, was a journey. A journey filled with all kinds mishaps, new funny characters that I've grown attached to, and exciting nonstop adventures.
This series is a little bit darker, and waaaay longer than the Percy Jackson series. And if you're wondering if you should read the Percy Jackson series before starting this one. I recommend that you do, but it's all up to you, if you're up for understanding the story behind Percy and some of the characters in the book, go for it. But if you want to go straight to The Heroes of Olympus, go right ahead, there are mentions of Percy's past that were used as reference to the series. There is no need to worry about missing out, Riordan explained most of the events that occurred in the Percy Jackson series that was mentioned in the Heroes of Olympus series.
And though the last book, Bloods of Olympus, has yet to come (release date: October 7 2014) the series so far has been exciting, exhilarating, funny, unputdownable and unstoppable. It is definitely a recommended one to those who enjoy reading about mythological adventures, demigods, modernized Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses, and to those who are looking for a new world to get sucked into. Give this series a go. You won't regret it!
