The House of Hades — a tale of anguish and unlikely hope

“Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work — a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you — especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards.” — Eros / Cupid

The House of Hades follows up on the awful cliffhanger from The Mark of Athena. Everyone is on survival mode — Percy and Annabeth must survive Tartarus and reach the Doors of Death, as the rest of the team — Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Nico, and Coach Hedge — travels on the Argo II to reach the House of Hades. Their trials and tribulations only grow worse with each turn of the page. Frank, despite his unassuming nature, must step up to take a leading role, while Jason continues to practice relying on others so that the weight on the quest is not entirely on his shoulders. Piper must learn to be more than just a persuasive voice. Hazel must learn to control The Mist and build up her confidence, as so much of this quest depends on her knowledge of the Underworld. Nico… well, he’s just a very complex individual. Meanwhile, Coach Hedge tries to conceal certain personal information, and Leo deals with the constant upkeep of their trireme, which is under unrelenting attacks and round-the-clock repairs.

The changing points of view allows the reader to keep up with the simultaneous events — sometimes jumping from one place to another at the most inopportune times, other times giving us just enough breathing room to relax for a millisecond. We follow Percy and Annabeth’s impossible and grueling journey through the most horrible of settings — in a surprising turn of events, there is more than just a horde of evil enemies down there… (a silver light as the end of this dark, dark tunnel?) As the larger group makes its way to Greece, they inevitably must separate — whether by choice or to divide and conquer their smaller errands along the way. Jason is able to get some insight into Nico’s antisocial behavior and inner turmoil. Piper and Hazel are able to bond as the only girls on the Argo II. Leo… experiences a change. As does Frank, who is becoming tougher and more commanding for the sake of his friends — he is such a caring and cuddly guy… until you mess with his crew.

I think Percy’s thoughts really sum it up quite well: “When he started looking back on the war with Kronos as the good old days — that was sad. […] Their lives just got more and more dangerous, as if the Three Fates were up there spinning their futures with barbed wire instead of thread just to see how much two demigods could tolerate.” The real question is, how much can I tolerate? I feel very much like the heroes of this quest: on edge, unreasonably hopeful, yet awaiting the moment when it all falls apart…

… I guess I need to keep reading.