Book Review #6: The House of Hades

Rick Riordan did a great job on eliciting emotions I thought I wasn't capable of feeling. A year of waiting did a good thing to supply the cliffhanger from the previous book, the Mark of Athena.

To be honest, all the other books I have read recent were just to alleviate boredom, not necessarily alleviate the stress of my daily life, as it were suppose to. But HoH did all of that in a span of three days. Truly, Riordan has wits no other author has that I have encountered before.

The characters were distinct from each other. One can simulate that the point of view is not of Jason's but of Hazel, or of Annabeth's and not of Percy's. Although I am sad that Nico di Angelo, although a character since Percy Jackson and the Olympians, is not a child of the prophecy thus he doesn't have a point of view in the whole novel. It would be pleasant to read from his own point of view.

Nico's confession got the soft spot on me. Frankly, only Nicholas Sparks' novels have made me cry, well, maybe the fifth book of Harry Potter. But the point is, a minor character has wielded such strong emotions from me. That's something I will note about. I have come to sympathize with Nico, because like him, I do get prejudiced by others. Like him, I am an introvert who prefers reading books than going out and I only have a few selected set of friends whom I can talk to with a great amount of gravity. At first, his confession was a bit hard to swallow (as I have read on spoilers), all because through the series I have harbored a special emotion for him though he is a fictional character. Later on, when I came on that part (and have read other views and Rick's view on it), I have come to realize that placing him with that character it gives others who are the same position a sense that they are welcome in our society, that judging them is never an option because in a nutshell, we are all the same.

Friendship is the focal point of the novel. All throughout the book, there was never a part when the heroes (even Bob and Damasen) had to put themselves first than their friends, even when they have only met for a short while and when that friend lied to you for their own advantage. Bob's and Damasen's sacrifice brought me a heavy heart. People do change, for the better. Although technically they're not people, and they are not naturally 'good'.

Calypso's demise also struck me. It's bad enough to fall in love with guys you can never have, what's worse is to be stuck in an island until the gods lift up your curse. I do hope Leo gets her out (I'm counting on you Rick). I also can't help feeling bad for Leo, being a son of Hephaestus and all, not necessarily the golden boy, he has his issues regarding girls. I would really love a Leo-Calypso scene in the Blood of Olympus.

Over all, this book is by far the best one to tingle me. And yes, I am more than willing to wait for another year for the release of the Blood of Olympus because the House of Hades was worth all the wait.