The House of Hades by Rick Riordan J Rio

Rick Riordan does it again with the fourth book in his Heroes of Olympus series. The earth goddess Gaea is stirring and releasing giants and monsters back into the world through the Doors of Death. The only way she can be stopped is by sealing the Doors of Death from both sides. The end of Book Three saw Percy and Annabeth plummeting into the underworld to make their way to that side of the doors, while the rest of the demigods on this quest make their way to Greece to find the location of the mortal side of the doors.

The story is fast-paced, the descriptions vivid, and the intensity of the plot is lightened by injections of humor in just the right places. Some of that humor is provided by the characters; some of it is just Riordan's excellent writing.

If you haven't read any of the books in this series, well, why not? Start with The Son of Neptune and work your way through. Because you will be captivated and won't want to quit reading, you will finish the first four well ahead of the scheduled October 2014 release of Book 5, The Blood of Olympus.