I recently finished the final book in a VERY long series of books called the Heroes of Olympus – the follow-up series to Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Both series are connected and tell a fictional story of demigods: people who are half human and half god. Demigods were known to exist in ancient Greek and Roman text but these series puts a modern twist on the legend of demigods. Most of the characters are between the ages of 13-19 years so it is quite relatable for anyone in that age group. It makes the series all the more entertaining. It mixed the problems a typical teenager may face along with the fact that these teenagers were constantly fighting enemies after them for the mere fact that they are demigods.

I first started the series when I was in elementary school in 2007. I was 8 years old at the time and reading a couple years above my grade level. The librarian at the time, knowing my taste in books, introduced me to the series. I immediately fell in love with it. I remember finishing the first book and asking for the second in 3 days. The first book of the series was started in 2005 and a book was released once every year. The whole series took 9 years to be finished by the author, Rick Riordan. There are 10 books in the series total. It was one of the most engaging reading experiences I’ve ever had and it motivated me to read more and discover other books that I may enjoy in the fiction genre.

The ancient Greek mythology aspect mixed with modern times and people was an idea unheard of at the time. The seamless fusion of the two created a unique and very entertaining read. I must admit, both series are probably meant for a younger audience, most likely around the 10-16 years age group.

Being 17 years old now, I can say that I still enjoy going back and re-reading the series once in a while. It really never gets old. I would easily recommend both series to any avid fiction reader. The author of both series, Rick Riordan, also has other series of this type based upon different mythologies of different countries. He, so far, has done Egyptian mythology and Norse mythology along with Greek and Roman.