As I was thinking about the topic for my next article, it came to mind that I had not yet reviewed any of Rick Riordan’s work, though he is most definitely my favorite author ever. And considering that I just finished his newest book, I figured this article was well-timed.

For starters, let me introduce you to this writing genius. Rick Riordan lives in Texas and is the father of two sons. Before becoming an author, he used to teach Greek mythology in schools. His obsession with his subject led to his second published series, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” which is mythology in modern life; iconic places like New York are turned into mythological places like Mount Olympus. His first few books had been mystery novels for adults; but it wasn’t until Percy Jackson that Mr. Riordan’s writing career really took off.

Disney eventually purchased the rights to all of his works, and thus the movie, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” was created. Mr. Riordan has since enjoyed great success. His books always seem to be topping the New York Times Best Seller List, and he wins different writing awards every year.

Two years ago, Mr. Riordan started his “Heroes of Olympus,” (HoO for short) series as a “sequel series” to Percy Jackson. There are old characters as well as references to the first series, so I would recommend reading the Percy Jackson books first. So far, three of the five planned HoO books have been written and released. I would most definitely recommend these books to all different readers. Rick Riordan is a master of balancing humor, suspense, romance, and historical information from Greek Mythology.

This new series, I feel, is just as exciting as his previous books. The first book, “The Lost Hero,” brings in a very interesting twist and introduces a new and surprising idea that had never been mentioned before. The second book, “The Son of Neptune,” is sort of like the other half of the first book. Both have events occurring at the same time. The characters from each are about to meet at the end of book two, which Mr. Riordan cleverly ends with a great cliffhanger.

“The Mark of Athena,” book three, begins to climax the action, and the characters’ main mission for the entire series is embarked on. The action is nonstop, and tension is ever-present. Another major part of this story is that Mr. Riordan makes his characters so relatable and likable. You feel for them, cry with them, and laugh with them too. Whenever anything is about to happen, I feel just as stressed as the characters seem. This makes for a very enjoyable- and also intense- reading experience.

And as Mr. Riordan said on his official blog, this book ends in a “literal cliffhanger.” It is wonderfully- if not maddeningly well- written. It left me craving the next book immediately, which unfortunately, will not come out until October of 2013. Until then, I will be left wondering and imagining what could possibly happen next.

So start reading the books today!! I assure you, they won’t disappoint!!