Heroes of the Olympus (4) - The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
And now to The House of Hades (La maison d'Hadès, Das Haus des Hades), originally published 2013. I read the 608 pages in English.
Everything has gone horribly wrong. Annabeth succeeded – but the price she has to pay! While she and Percy have to try and survive in Tartarus, the rest of the crew has to find the Doors of Death in time… which means for Jason to figure out where he belongs, for Frank to embrace his inhertiance – all of it –, for Hazel to learn making the impossible happen… and for Leo to find what he has always been looking for – and loosing it all over again.
Well. I was really disappointed in this book. It's still funny and to some extend tense but… it's just not really that good, you know? It seems a little too disconnected, to many character developments come seemingly out of nothing. It seems like a role playing game made into a book! So, this could have been better.
Additionally, I had some struggles figuring out the Magic part in all of this. First of all, to the Doors of Death.
Spoiler:
I have always thought that the choice Percy had to make had to do with who goes into Tartarus and destroys the shackles. And dies a horribly death, because this is a sacrifice that has to be made and it would just have made sense that the foreshadowing of two books would have to do with that, since the Doors of Death mission was obvious as well. So, Frank would have to make the decision (f.e. let… I don't know, Hazel go down there because she's a child of Pluto and then sends Thanatos to retrieve her and bring her back where she belongs). This would have been perfectly logical and good for the story. Instead, there is a totally unconvinceable but practical solution for the heroes' problems: The Doors of Death, if freed, transport one more time before teleporting themselves in another place. But, to transport, someone has to wait on the outside and push a button 12 minutes long. On both sides of the doors. What, does Thanatos have two invisible siblings who don't have anything better to do than to keep track of where the doors are and when Thanatos might want to use them?! That doesn't make sense! And, even if it did make sense. How is Percy capable of leaving Bob and his friend behind? His one fatal hero's weakness is his unwavering loyalty which makes it impossible for him to make a sacrifice like that. Sure, he could leave his mother behind in the Underworld. But after Gaia and Hera and everyone else said that he wasn't capable of such a sacrifice… how could he do that?
And by the way, the fight with Tartarus was a) superfluous and b) absolutely anti-climactic. Seriously. You have a god who gave life to every monster and evil thing there is, simply by literally dreaming them up. And he shows up and… gets beaten up by a skeleton kitten, a giant and a titan? While an army of monsters is around them? What is he, the god of Nothingness and punching balls?
To continue with the Magic stuff: How exactly can Hazel's Mist Magic be anything more than an illusion? Because Hazel's only magic seems to be the Mist and her curse. Now, how is it possible for her to really change the labyrinth? Is it a mixture of her powers, something that makes her special and no one else?
And one last thing I didn't like.
Piper's the thing that glues the seven together. Hera says so.
Wait, Gaia says Leo's the glue.
But actually, it's Percy. Hera says so.
No, wait. Actually, everyone is described as the glue to keep the group together at some point except for Hazel and Jason! Leo's making everyone keep their mood up with his jokes, he's keeps them down-to-earth and everything. Percy's everybody's friend and believes in everyone, is loyal and basically untouched by the schism between Greece and Rome. Annabeth is the one who tells them what to do, who keeps them from loosing their heads with each other, which is why the crew says they're the heart of the group – the glue. Piper is the mediator who can make them cooperate and stay calm and… she's the glue. And Frank is both Greek and Roman due to his ancestry. Hazel's powers and Jason's image of duty just make everyone nervous. Even though Hazel is everyone's little sister, best friend, confidante and / or girlfriend, who gets the problems and doesn't judge. She's the one everyone actually turns to if they need a shoulder to cry on.
So… if we have at least five of seven heroes who keep the bunch together – can we really say that there is one or more persons who are the glue of this? I think not.
Now to the stuff I liked.
Rachel's and Grover's come-back? And Bob and the skeleton kitten? The empusa? Someone has read what he has written before! That's refreshing!
Additionally, I like the issues each character has. Frank's problems with his Dad and how Ares and Mars make scream contests in his head. How he solves this in a semi-heroic way.
Jason and how he's torn between both sides of the Olympus and how he finally manages to understand that he should trust himself more and do what he thinks is right – take the initiative. Even though it's funny that a god has to teach him that.
Hazel and Piper with their magic. It's nice. How Piper and Festus correlate? Gorgeous! And I love Reyna's new role in this. She is a hell of a girl, isn't she?
But the best thing were Annabeth's and Percy's problem solving solutions. This. Was. So. Amazing. The Tartarus' Tour Guide… I love this series.
In brief:
The SoGH, a whole star for the ideas, half a star for characters, half a star for the style, minus one for content. Plus one for the fact that he actually really considered what happened to the collateral damage of the previous series, even to the monsters.
Prequel:
Sequel: