Marshmallow has already reviewed the first three books of Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series: The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, and The Mark of Athena. Today she shares her thoughts on the fourth book: The House of Hades.
Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about Greek or Roman mythology and have liked some of Rick Riordan’s other books, then this might be the book for you. However you will definitely need to have read the first books in the Heroes of Olympus series to be able to dive into and get something out of this one.
Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): The Mark of Athena ended with Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase falling into Tartarus while trying to save the Athena Parthenos. Right before he fell, Percy had Nico promise that he would go to Greece and meet him and Annabeth when they escaped so they could all close the Doors of Death. Nico is a half-blood, a son of Hades, who is not part of the seven trying to fulfill the prophecy of seven, but he is also very important. We first meet him in The Titan’s Curse, the third book of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and he will play a very important role in this book.
The crew of the Argo II moves toward Greece. They face many challenges, but they overcome them. A lot of excitement is unleashed. In the meantime in Tartarus we also read about Percy and Annabeth’s adventures. Some old friends and enemies show up.
Hazel, one of the seven, meets Hecate, the goddess of magic, who tells her that she should start to learn how to control the Mist, a magical mist that blocks mortals from seeing gods and monsters. If controlled, it could give one the power to create images that would appear real but they are really fake. Hecate leaves her polecat with Hazel to oversee her test. As they travel towards Greece, Hazel knows that she will meet an enemy who can control the Mist to make it look like anything.
Marshmallow’s Review: The House of Hades is a great fourth book for a great series. And at over 580 pages and in 78 chapters, it is also a big book, in size!
Though it is a great book, The House of Hades should not be read unless you have read the previous books in the series. Reading the first series is a good idea too, since then you would know more about the characters.
I think that Rick Riordan does a great job of writing this book in multiple people’s views. He is also good at creating great characters, like Bob, or Iapetus. His character’s backstory was from a short story Rick Riordan wrote, Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades from The Demigod Files.)
My favorite character is still Reyna, as I already said in my review of The Son of Neptune. One reason I like her is because she is probably one of the strongest female characters, and she is good at fighting. Every character is well thought of, and they are developed in a consistent way, so you could guess what they would do in a given situation. You can also pity them too, since some of them have sad pasts: some of the characters have lost family members or people that they cared about.
Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.
BookBunnies 
I knew Marshmallow would not be able to stay away from Greek Mythology for long! Though at such a tender age I can’t fathom her reading a 580 page book! That’s incredible.
I can’t fault Marshmallow for liking Greek Mythology, I did too! As a matter of fact, when I first became an engineering manager, working in San Jose, I code named the first project I managed, Cerberus. I thought it was clever, but none of the engineers on the project knew what the name stood for.
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I need to read some of these books! Thanks to Marshmallow for his honest and helpful review 🙂
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With the corona virus making it necessary to stay at home, it’s the best time for the young rabbits to read more and broaden their horizons. It’s even more fun when they are interviewed for their opinion.
I am really proud of Marshmallow’s and Caramel’s reading ability.
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