The Heroes of Olympus: What's next?

With the third book of the Heroes of Olympus series, the “Mark of Athena”, to be released in August this year, let’s have a look at what could lie in store for us next in this fascinating and intriguing series by Rick Riordan:

NEXT STOP: ROME

After traversing the landscapes of the eastern and western coasts of the United States of America in the first 2 books, we all know that this time we are going to be switching continents from North America to Europe as the giants intend to “pull the Gods out from their roots”. The roots of the Gods lie in Greece, but hey wait, we are not rushing to there now. Remember, for the demigods to beat the giants, demigods and gods have to work together. But the demigods have lost the trust of Zeus, the king of gods, due to a slight ego issue. After Titan War II, Zeus apparently felt bad that the world had been saved by the demigods, at the end, and not them, the gods. So, he closed the doors of Olympus for a while and disallowed communication of the gods with their children. For these demigods to beat the giants, they need the help of the gods and therefore have to win back Zeus’s trust. To do this, these demigods have to go to the Doors of Death and seize its ownership from Gaia, making this the final before the final and the most crucial clash. The location of the Doors of Death is in Rome and has to be guided to by a child of Pluto (which obviously has to be Hazel, not Nico as he has been captured). From this, we can gather that we are going to stop over at Rome next. After winning back Zeus’s trust, we go over with confidence to Greece in the 4^th book to witness the ultimate clash: The demigods with the gods against the Giants.

THE SEVENTH DEMIGOD

All of the 7 demigods in the elite team to take on Gaia have been found, except for the 7^th one who has not yet been disclosed by the author. But, I strongly feel that the 7^th demigod is none other than Annabeth. Hera mentions in Percy’s dream at the end of the Son of Neptune that Annabeth has a difficult task when they land at Rome and she may cause problems in the quest. One of the prophecies that Ella recites in the Son of Neptune says, “Wisdom’s daughter walks alone, the Mark of Athena burns through Rome”.  The only demigod in the book who is a VIP and a child of Athena is Annabeth. Although Hera and Annabeth dislike each other, I think Hera would have recognized the fact that Annabeth is one of the best strategists they could ever find. This aspect, she would have felt, could come very handy in the quest. So the 7 demigods, in my opinion, are:

i)             Jason Grace- Son of Jupiter

ii)           Percy Jackson-Son of Poseidon

iii)          Piper McLean- Daughter of Aphrodite

iv)          Frank Zhang-Son of Mars and descendant of Poseidon

v)           Leo Valdez- Son of Hephaestus

vi)          Hazel Levesque- Daughter of Pluto

vii)        Annabeth Chase- Daughter of Athena

Looks quite a list, doesn’t it?

FROM WHERE DOES THE BOOK START?

The previous book ends with the bronze warship carrying the Greek demigods involved in the quest along with Jason Grace preparing to descend onto the Roman Forum in New Rome at the Roman Camp. So, one would suspect the next book would begin with the warship finally descended onto the Forum and the Greek and Roman demigods on the quest allowed to explain their cause. Then, they would proceed to Rome.

OTHER CHARACTERS TO WATCH OUT FOR AND THEIR DESCRIPTIONS

i)             THALIA GRACE- Daughter of Zeus and chief huntress of the Hunters of Artemis. Sister of Jason.

ii)           REYNA- Praetor of the 12^th Legion and Daughter of Bellona(The Roman war Goddess).

iii)          ELLA- The smart harpy who loves books and has memorized the Sibylline Books.

iv)          QUEEN HYLLA- Daughter of Bellona and the Queen of the Amazon. Sister of Reyna.

v)           NICO DI ANGELO- Son of Hades who has mastered the nuances of the Underworld. Known as the “Official Ambassador of Pluto” in Camp Jupiter. Has learnt his way in the world of demigods via experience. He could have played a very important role in the part of the quest that involves Rome had he not been captured by the forces of Gaia. Could play an important role in the quest post Rome.

vi)          TYSON- The friendly Cyclops who belongs to the good side. Half-brother of Percy and General of the Army of Poseidon.

vii)        RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE- A mortal gifted with sight and the official oracle of Camp Half-Blood. Close friend of Annabeth and Percy.

viii)       CHIRON- The wise, old centaur who has trained demigods for centuries. Son of Kronos and official director of Camp Half-Blood.

ix)          GROVER UNDERWOOD- The satyr who is a close friend of Percy and Annabeth. He has an empathy link with Percy.

x)           The rest of the Amazons and the Hunters of Artemis

This should be a fascinating book and lets keep all our eyes and ears open for its release in August!

(Written on 26th March 2012 for the blog "Pursuit of Boredom")