What a week!!! We've seen the new cover and we've gotten not one, but two new book synopsis'. Talk about information overload! I've sifted and surfed through the book descriptions for you, picking out the juicy bits of yummy goodness. That is to say, I've pulled out clues and I'm bringing my theories about our beloved Camp Halfblood, it's inhabitants, and (my favourite part) the strawberry fields straight to you. Ok, so there aren't any strawberries, but there are some pretty good ideas....but you can't eat thoughts, so if you're hungry, go grab a pack of Delphi Strawberry Co. strawberries out of the fridge and enjoy the article.

We've been handed two different discriptions. The first comes from our friends down under in Australia, who will be able to get their copy of the Lost Hero in September. It goes something like this:


"AS OLD ENEMIES AWAKEN, CAMP HALF-BLOOD’S NEW ARRIVALS MUST PREPARE FOR WAR . . .
When Jason, Piper and Leo crash land at Camp Half-Blood, they have no idea what to expect. Apparently this is the only safe place for children of the Greek Gods – despite the monsters roaming the woods and demigods practicing archery with flaming arrows and explosives.
But rumours of a terrible curse – and a missing hero – are flying around camp.
It seems Jason, Piper and Leo are the chosen ones to embark on a terrifying new quest, which they must complete by the Winter Solstice. In just four days time.
Can the trio succeed on this deadly mission – and what must they sacrifice in order to survive?"


The second synopsis we've been handed comes from the American version of the book. Although I retrieved it from Amazon.com a few days ago, it seems they have taken it down.



Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she’s his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids.” What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?

Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What’s troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all—including Leo—related to a god.



So, you're probably wondering what the Hades I've pulled out of the descriptions? Well, read on.



Facts
: : Jason, Leo, and Piper are definately the main characters of this book.

: : Leo is a child of Hephaestus, without a doubt. Hephaestus cabin, I'm sure, is the only one decked out with tools. So, sorry to all of the Hermes fans, you don't get Leo.

: : Piper and Leo DO NOT know about their Olympian parentage. Which, according to what we've been presented means that Piper's mom is absolutely, positivly the Olympian.

: : Piper, Leo, and Jason must complete their first quest by the Winter Solstice, which is 4 days away. This doesn't mean that they are given the quest the same day they arrive at camp, but they will recieve the quest on December 16.

: : Percy is missing and it has everybody at camp stirred up.

: : Piper's dad is missing, too, and he's been missing ever since Percy disappeared.

: : Piper is having vivid nightmares about her father.

: : There will be sacrifices made on the quest...No, not animal sacrifices! Are you crazy?

: : Here's the biggie, there is a curse!




Now that we've covered the facts, lets move on to theories.




Theories



: : We will meet the seven demigods of the Prophecy in the book, but only Jason, Leo, and Piper will get a quest this time around. I think the other's will be split, like one will get a mission in the next book, and so on and so forth. I also think that each of the other demigods will also have the help of one of the main demigods (Piper, Leo, and Jason) and possibly an experienced camper (i.e. Clarisse, Nico, Annabeth.)

: : I do believe that Piper's dad and Percy were taken by the same person and that they are in the same place. It may have been the Anemoi Thuellai that abducted them, or maybe the Mistress, herself.

: : The story is starting in the middle of a big event for Camp Half-Blood. I can only assume this because Percy is missing, there is a curse being talked about all over camp, and in the Australian synopsis, the first line mentions preparing for war.

: : It's the dead of winter, so I'm doubting that there will be a lot of demigods hanging around camp, but I think a good number of campers present in the last series will be there.

: : I'm sure Annabeth will be with the trio on their quest, because, if my asumption is correct, they are looking for Percy.

: : Piper will have an alterior motive during the given quest. While I assume they will be looking for Percy I seem to believe that Piper will be searching for her father.

: : Although I like the character, I think Piper may be tempted to the other side, and may become an enemy. If she does, I don't think it will last, she will rejoin the good side in time.

: : Due to the line in the last synopsis that talks about what will be sacrificed, I can only assume that each of them are going to have to give up something major. For Piper, it might be her dad. Leo, something that he has made, perhaps that giant mechanical dragon we all saw on the cover. I'm not sure what Jason would have to give up, because we haven't got the slightest clue about his past other than he has knowledge about the gods locked deep inside his brain.

: : We are going to get a good look into all of the kids' heads. We will most likely see Piper's dream sequences, and when Jason remembers something, we'll be the first to know. I also think we will get to see how children of Hephaestus make magical items through Leo.

: : I'm thinking that the Curse has something to do with the breaking of an oath, whether it be the Oath of the Big Three, the claiming of all demigods, or the oath that the minor gods would get cabins. I remember R.R. saying something about how Oaths work in the series'. He said that if a god breaks an oath, the punishment falls to their demigod children. So, I'm thinking, that there were oaths broken and the demigods are paying for it. I'm also thinking that Percy was the first to be subjected to the curse, thus him being M.I.A.





Whether or not any of these theories come true, I can garantee that this series is going to be amazing, and the book will be an exellent read. There are going to be new characters to meet, there will be new quests to enjoy, and a whole new story to lose yourself in. We are slowly, but surely moving closer to October 12, when it will be released in the US. If you need a refresher, the sample chapters can be found link, incase you don't know yet, the password is newhero. If you want to look at the Australian description yourself, it can be found link. Unfortunately, when I rechecked Amazon today, the book synopsis had been replaced by a generic pre-cover description.



If you want to indulge yourself in a new book over the summer, I recommend "Quicksilver" by Stephanie Spinner. It's a review of some of the biggest happenings in Greek Mythology, as told by the OP (Original Pranksta)....you probably didn't get that reference....Hermes. It's witty, sarcastic, and informative. It's not a long read ( I finished it yesterday... it took me only about two days, which is fast for me).



That's it for today, folks. I'll see you next week when the new edition of H of O will be out. Don't forget to head over to the forum and leave your picks for the next article on the link thread.