By Rick Riordan
Listening Library, 2013. 14 discs. Young Adult Fiction.
In The House of Hades, Percy Jackson and his compatriots find themselves in a race against time to close the Doors of Death which is allowing monsters to enter the mortal world unfettered, in preparation for the last stand of Gaia against the demigods. Percy and Annabeth, trapped in Hades itself, must find a way to get back into the mortal world before they become permanent residents. Jason, Leo, Piper, Hazel, and Frank must all make their way to Greece to open the Doors of Death and let them out again. And, oh, yeah, don't forget all the monsters they will have to fight along the way...
Rick Riordan knows how to write a good story and to keep his readers on their toes while his protagonists are in mortal peril. And he does an amazing job letting the reader see the action from the point of view of all his protagonists without making it confusing, which is quite a feat with 7 narrators! However, parents might want to note that, like with the Harry Potter series, as the characters have matured, so have many of the themes found in the book. Parents might want to be prepared to discuss more mature material with younger readers. Also, as an audiobook, I was not impressed with the reader at all. This was the first of his books that I've listened to instead of read and I confess to being a little disappointed. His attempt to create unique voices for all the characters fell flat, in my opinion. This might be a better book to read or read aloud, rather than listen to the audio.
JH
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