The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan, picks up immediately after the first Percy Jackson series leaves off, and introduces a new set of characters. Riordan has improved his writing style – or perhaps he’s aiming at his same audience, who are now a little older. Either way, the characters are more believable, and the story was better.

However, I get tired of the “I know something you don’t know” plot device. Pretty much every character in the entire book has some secret. In every case, if they would just say what they know, it would make everything better, and wouldn’t have any negative ramifications, but they keep the secret for some deeply personal and poorly articulated reason.

Everyone from Tolkein on uses this technique. Some wise old codger knows something, and won’t tell you, for your own good. Galdalf. Alanon. The three fairies in sleeping beauty. But Riordan goes overboard with this. Everyone in the whole book does this, and one grows weary of it.

In spite of that, and in spite of the chapter at the end where everybody spills the beans, I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to the next one.

I’m now reading “Of Mice And Men”, and I’m not sure what will come after that.