← Fantasy

The Lost Hero

by Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero is the first novel in Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus pentalogy, published in 2010 as the follow-up to the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. It opens with Jason waking on a school bus with no memory of… more

First published 2010 · 557 pages · English

26 quotes ★ 4.29 (959,982) Fantasy

Quotes from the Book

Jason scratched his head. "You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, ‘festus’ means ‘happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?
Leo: Rainbows. Very macho. Annabeth: Butch is our best equestrian, he gets along great with the pegasi. Leo: Rainbows, ponies... Butch: I'm gonna toss you off this chariot.
I have lightning and wind powers," Jason reminded him. "Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMWs. You're no more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too. Like jump off a building and yell 'Flame on!'" Leo snorted. "If I did that, you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than 'Flame on!
I'm the son of Jupiter, I'm a child of Rome, consul to demigods, praetor of the First Legion. I slew the Trojan sea monster, I toppled the black throne of Kronos, and destroyed Titan Krios with my own hand. And now I'm going to destroy you Porphyrion, and feed you to your own wolves." "Wow, dude," Leo muttered, "You been eating red meat?
Gaea?” Leo shook his head. “Isn’t that Mother Nature? She’s supposed to have, like, flowers in her hair and birds singing around her and dear and rabbits doing her laundry.” “Leo, that’s Snow White,” Piper said.
It'll be dangerous," Nyssa warned him. "Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back alive." "Oh." Suddenly Leo didn't look so excited. Then he remembered everyone was watching. "I mean... Oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this.
I'm Dylan. I'm so cool. I want to date myself, but I don't know how! You want to date me instead? You're so lucky!
You must forge your own path for it to mean anything.
Piper gripped his hand and followed him, “If I fall, you’re catching me.” “Uh, sure.” Jason hoped he wasn’t blushing. Leo stepped out next. “You’re catching me, too, Superman. But I ain’t holding your hand.
Leo: "So...giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn't the best time to bring up my psycho babysitter." Piper: "Is that another joke?
What about a compromise? I’ll kill them first, and if it turns out they were friendly, I’ll apologize.
Leo: “I can’t believe I thought you were hot.” Khione’s face turned red. “Hot? You dare insult me? I am cold, Leo Valdez. Very, very cold.
Leo lowered his screwdriver. He looked at the ceiling and shook his head like, What am I gonna do with this guy? "I try very hard to be annoying," Leo said. "Don't insult my ability to annoy. And how am I supposed to resent you if you go apologizing? I'm a lowly mechanic. You're like the prince of the sky, son of the Lord of the Universe. I'm supposed to resent you." "Lord of the Universe?" (Jason) "Sure, you're all-bam! Lightning man. And 'Watch me fly. I am the eagle that soars-" (Leo) "Shut up, Valdez." (Jason) Leo managed a little smile. "Yeah, see. I do annoy you." "I apologize for apologizing." (Jason) "Thank you." He went back to work, but the tension had eased between them. Leo still looked sad and exhausted-just not quite so angry.
Hera: Ohh, Thalia Grace, when I get out of here, you'll be sorry you were ever born. Thalia: Save it! You've been nothing but a curse to every child of Zeus for ages. You sent a bunch of intestinally challenged cows after my friend Annabeth Hera: She was disrespectful! Thalia: You dropped a statue on my legs. Hera: It was an accident! Thalia: AND you took my brother
I'm not good with children," the god confessed. "Or people. Well, any organic life forms, really.
But beauty is about finding the right fit, the most natural fit, To be perfect, you have to feel perfect about yourself --- avoid trying to be something you're not. For a goddess, that's especially hard. We can change so easily. -Aphrodite
She wanted me to betray you guys, and I was like, 'Pfft, right, I'm gonna listen to a face in the potty sludge'.
Cool" Leo said. "I always wanted a sister who could beat me up.
Leo frowned at the giant's spire. "Can't we blow it up or something?" "Without me, you do not have the power," Hera said. "You might as well try to destroy a mountain." "Done that once today," Jason said.
Oh, and Drew, honey?” The former counselor looked back reluctantly. “In case you think I’m not a true daughter of Aphrodite,” Piper said, “don’t even look at Jason Grace. He may not know it yet, but he’s mine. If you even try to make a move, I will load you into a catapult and shoot you across Long Island Sound.” Drew turned around so fast, she ran into the doorframe. Then she was gone.
Don't stay in one place too long. It was the only way to stay ahead of the sadness.
Destroy it?' Leo was appalled. 'You've got a life-size bronze dragon, and you want to destroy it?' 'It breathes fire,' Nyssa explained. 'It's deadly and out of control.' 'But it's a dragon!
Cabin Fifteen does that to everyone," Annabeth warned. "If you ask me, this place is even more dangerous than the Ares cabin. At least with Ares, you can learn where the land mines are." "Land mines?
Leo dropped into the pool and approched the cage. "Hola, Tia. Little bit of trouble?" She [Hera] crossed her arms and sighed in exasperation. "Don't inspect me like I'm one of your machines, Leo Valdez. Get me out of here!
My point is that love is the most powerful motivator in the world. It spurs mortals to greatness. Their noblest, bravest acts are done for love.
Shut up, me,” Leo said aloud. “What?” Piper asked. “Nothing,” he said. “Long night. I think I’m hallucinating. It’s cool.” Sitting in front, Leo couldn’t see their faces, but he assumed from their silence that his friends were not pleased to have a sleepless, hallucinating dragon driver. “Just joking.” Leo decided it might be good to change the subject.

Did you know?

  • It is the first book in The Heroes of Olympus, a five-book series that follows the original Percy Jackson & the Olympians series.
  • The story introduces Roman mythology alongside the Greek mythology of Riordan's earlier books.
  • The narration rotates among three new demigod protagonists: Jason, Piper, and Leo.
  • It was named a best children's book of 2010 by Barnes & Noble.
  • The plot connects to the disappearance of Percy Jackson, tying the new series to its predecessor.

About Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan is an American author best known for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and the broader Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, which draw on Greek and Roman mythology for middle-grade readers. A former middle-school teacher, he has written numerous bestselling mythology-based fantasy series for young readers.

More about the author →

About the book

The Lost Hero is the first novel in Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus pentalogy, published in 2010 as the follow-up to the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. It opens with Jason waking on a school bus with no memory of who he is, alongside two classmates, Piper and Leo, who believe they have known him for months. After a storm-spirit attack, the three are brought to Camp Half-Blood, where they learn they are demigods and are sent on a quest to rescue the imprisoned goddess Hera from the stirring earth goddess Gaea.

The book expands Riordan's mythological world by weaving Roman mythology together with the Greek myths of the earlier series, and by rotating its narration among three new demigod heroes rather than a single first-person narrator. Its central threads are identity and lost memory, friendship forged under pressure, and the discovery that the Greek and Roman aspects of the gods have long been kept apart. The quest gradually reveals a larger conspiracy that ties Jason's hidden past to the wider fate of both demigod worlds.

As the launch of a new five-book arc set in the same universe as Percy Jackson, The Lost Hero carried forward Riordan's blend of contemporary humor, fast-paced adventure, and mythology for middle-grade readers. It was named a best children's book of 2010 by Barnes & Noble and helped establish The Heroes of Olympus as a major continuation of the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles.

Key characters

  • Jason GraceAmnesiac demigod son of Jupiter/Zeus with power over lightning and winds
  • Piper McLeanDaughter of Aphrodite with the power of charmspeak
  • Leo ValdezSon of Hephaestus with a rare gift for conjuring fire
  • Annabeth ChaseDaughter of Athena searching for the missing Percy Jackson
  • Hera/JunoGoddess whose capture sets the quest in motion
  • GaeaPrimordial earth goddess and rising antagonist

Book details

First published
2010
Length
557 pages
Reading time
20 hours
Genre
Fantasy
Goodreads rating
4.29 (960k ratings)

Series & reading order

  1. 1 The Lost Hero
  2. 2 The Son of Neptune
  3. 3 The Mark of Athena
  4. 4 The House of Hades
  5. 5 The Blood of Olympus

If you liked this, read…

  1. 1
    The Lightning ThiefThe first Percy Jackson novel that launched the same mythological universe
  2. 2
    The Kane Chronicles: The Red PyramidRiordan's Egyptian-mythology series with the same fast, humorous adventure style

Keep reading