Welcome to: Ancient Rome

Once again we're diving into the Percy Jackson books, but this time with a Roman twist.  In Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus, readers are introduced to the Roman gods, and how the Romans took the Greek gods and changed them.

All images from Google

Through the five books of the Heroes of Olympus series, the viewpoints switch between Greek and Roman demigods.  However, the Roman aspect is elaborated on quite well.  Characters are introduced to us the form we know them (Zeus is Zeus) and then reintroduced in the Roman form (Zeus is now Jupiter), so the information builds upon something we already know, and is reinforced.  Often the Roman demigods from Camp Jupiter are more aggressive and war-like than the demigods from Camp Half-Blood, who spent a lot of time playing sports and training summer-camp-style (before Percy Jackson came along, anyway).  The camps fit the traits of their Greek and Roman ancestors.

Age-wise, these books are a step up from the original Percy Jackson series.  The characters are now high-school age, rather than middle-school, although Riordan writes for audiences of all ages.  One thing I really enjoyed about these books is that the characters aged with me, and with each book (and each year between publishing) I learned a lot more about the topic.  The characters were so relatable and the stories so interesting that I wanted to look into Greek and Roman history for myself.  That's really what makes Rick Riordan's books so great!

Next on the map: Ireland