Eunice Kim, staff writer
Rick Riordan’s newest entry in the “Heros of Olympus” series, called “The House of Hades,” is a sequel to the series’ third novel, “The Mark of Athena.”(my book review link) Fans of Riordan’s work eagerly waited for the book to be published, and checked the internet every so often hoping to find fan-fiction or sneak peeks of the novel. After the cover page art of the book was released, fans of “House of Hades” social media pages were exploding with comments. These comments consisted of praise for the book cover and deductions of what the book was going to be about.

Readers of Riordan’s novel guessed that Nico di Angelo, a son of Hades, would be one of the main protagonists since he, as a son of Hades, has a giant role to be played in the book. Surprisingly, it was revealed that di Angelo would not be one of the main focuses of the story. However, this did not prevent Riordan from putting di Angelo as a major character of “House of Hades.” Di Angelo’s emotions and struggles are shown through the main protagonists’ analysis.

The adventure of Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, and Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena, continues from “The Mark of Athena.” After being dragged down by Arachne, the deformed spider-woman, the couple start their adventure on Tartarus. On the way to find Tartarus’s side of Doors of Death, Jackson and Chase find many monsters to defeat. However, with the help of friendly spirits and a giant born to oppose Ares named Lapetus, or Bob, who was thrown into Tartarus for being tame, Jackson and Chase are able to safely travel to.

“The House of Hades” ends with a cliffhanger with the next book’s title as all the other “Heros of Olympus” novels have, which might annoy the readers. However, Riordan’s excellent skill at mixing Greek and Roman mythology with the modern world makes it impossible to put down the book and will make reader crave for the next book. The reader will be attached to “House of Hades” with its elements of surprise and humor.