The Lost Hero: Chapters 42–56

by Rick Riordan
This first book of The Heroes of Olympus series introduces fifteen-year-olds Jason Grace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez, who are unaware that they are demigods until they are attacked on a school field trip and transported to Camp Half-Blood, where they also learn that Percy Jackson has disappeared and Hera has been imprisoned.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–18, Chapters 19–27, Chapters 28–41, Chapters 42–56

Here are links to our lists for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. nemesis
    a personal foe or rival that cannot be easily defeated
    Mother Gaea made each of us giants with a specific purpose, designed to fight and destroy a particular god. I was Athena’s nemesis, the anti-Athena, you might say.
  2. ricochet
    spring back; spring away from an impact
    Two rocks ricocheted and struck their throwers.
  3. stupor
    a state of being half-awake
    Her voice energized him, shook him out of his stupor.
  4. preordain
    decree or determine beforehand
    “My fate is preordained,” Enceladus said. “Giants cannot be killed by gods or heroes.”
  5. carnage
    the savage and excessive killing of many people
    All around them was carnage. The Earthborn had melted into piles of clay, leaving behind only their rock missiles and some nasty bits of loincloth, but Jason figured they would re-form soon enough.
  6. improvise
    manage in a makeshift way; do with whatever is at hand
    Piper needed only a few words through Leo’s improvised bullhorn to convince the pilot to land on the mountain.
  7. suave
    having a sophisticated charm
    He was a star. He was confident, stylish, suave—always in control.
  8. listless
    lacking zest or vivacity
    But the words were muttered listlessly, in a semi-trance.
  9. tarmac
    a paved road or surface, especially at an airport
    “Let’s give them a minute,” Jason said, and they took the pilot a few yards down the tarmac.
  10. rationalize
    defend, explain, or make excuses for by reasoning
    She’d heard him talk about protecting her before, but she’d never believed it. She’d always thought he was just rationalizing.
  11. altimeter
    an instrument that measures the height above ground
    Piloting the chopper, he went back and forth between confidence and panic. If he didn’t think about it, he found himself automatically flipping the right switches, checking the altimeter, easing back on the stick, and flying straight.
  12. malevolent
    wishing or appearing to wish evil to others
    Leo wasn’t sure, but something about this storm seemed conscious, malevolent—like it was intentionally slamming them.
  13. hew
    make or shape as with an axe
    Behind them loomed Jack London’s dream home—a massive ruin of red and gray stones and rough-hewn timber beams.
  14. exasperation
    a feeling of annoyance
    She crossed her arms and sighed in exasperation. “Don’t inspect me like I’m one of your machines, Leo Valdez. Get me out of here!”
  15. intervene
    get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action
    “Hey,” Jason intervened. “Thalia—Sis—I know. But this isn’t the time. You should help your Hunters.”
  16. maw
    the mouth, jaws, or throat
    At the edge of the pool, the wolf opened its maw and dropped the statue for them to see—an ice sculpture of a girl, an archer with short spiky hair and a surprised look on her face.
  17. asset
    a useful or valuable quality
    Jason had already pulled his biggest ace, calling down Zeus’s lightning when he’d fought Enceladus, and he doubted he’d have the strength or the cooperation from above to do it again. Which meant his only assets were one whiny imprisoned goddess, one sort-of girlfriend with a dagger, and Leo, who apparently thought he could defeat the armies of darkness with breath mints.
  18. minion
    a servile or fawning dependent
    Lycaon’s off in a cave somewhere, no doubt licking his wounds, but his minions have joined us to take revenge for their master.
  19. depose
    force to leave an office
    Soon enough, when my new masters have awakened, I will depose Boreas and take the throne of the North Wind, but not just yet.
  20. impose
    compel to behave in a certain way
    It took all Jason’s willpower to impose his own wishes and bring the horse under control.
  21. tempest
    a strong storm with violent winds
    Its mane flickered as it circled around the empty pool, its hooves causing miniature thunderstorms—tempests—whenever they touched.
  22. dubious
    fraught with uncertainty or doubt
    Leo looked dubious, but he held up the plug, and a breeze whisked it into the horse’s flank.
  23. provision
    supply with a stock of food or supplies
    She has provisioned us with many fine servants.
  24. invincible
    incapable of being overcome or subdued
    What you see before you, child, is only my weakened form. I will grow stronger by the hour, until I am invincible.
  25. consul
    one of the two magistrates elected annually in ancient Rome
    “I’m a child of Rome, consul to demigods, praetor of the First Legion.”
  26. bane
    something causing misery or death
    I am the bane of Zeus. I was created to destroy your father, which means I know exactly what will kill you.
  27. supernova
    a star that explodes and becomes luminous in the process
    He watched as Hera turned into a supernova, exploding in a ring of force that vaporized every monster instantly.
  28. vestige
    an indication that something has been present
    Every vestige of winter was gone from the valley. No signs of battle, either.
  29. rendezvous
    meet at an appointed place
    But we’ll meet soon. I’ll rendezvous with you back at Camp Half-Blood.
  30. intercede
    act between parties with a view to reconciling differences
    “You’ll see them there safely? It’s the least you can do.”
    “It’s not your place to tell me—”
    “Queen Hera,” Piper interceded.
  31. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    They were smiling tentatively, their eyes flitting from Piper to Drew like this might be a very interesting tennis game.
  32. vet
    examine carefully
    A new staff had been hired and personally vetted by Tristan McLean’s “life coach,” Gleeson Hedge.
  33. ploy
    a maneuver in a game, conversation, or situation
    According to the paper, Mr. McLean claimed to have no memory of the last week, and the media was totally eating up the story. Some thought it was a clever marketing ploy for a movie—maybe McLean was going to play an amnesiac?
  34. lucrative
    producing a sizeable profit
    And that ranger pilot who helped us? She’s got a very lucrative offer to fly for Mr. McLean.
  35. remorseful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    “I’m sorry the Wilderness School didn’t work out, but you were right. Jane was wrong. I was a fool to listen to her.”
    Ten seconds left, maybe. But at least her dad sounded sincere, like he really did feel remorseful.
  36. schematic
    diagram of an electrical or mechanical system
    Everything was just as Leo had left it—giant machines, worktables, old maps and schematics.
  37. dicey
    of uncertain outcome; fraught with risk
    This map is from the final dark days of 1864, the last time the two groups fought. We’ve had several close calls since then. The nineteen sixties were particularly dicey. But we’ve managed to avoid another civil war—at least so far.
  38. praetor
    an annually elected magistrate of the ancient Roman Republic
    Then the long trip south to...he couldn’t remember, but he had flashes of his old life. The day he’d gotten his tattoo. The day he’d been raised on a shield and proclaimed a praetor.
  39. contradiction
    opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
    He looked down at his orange camp shirt and the tattoos on his arm, and he knew these things should not go together. He had become a contradiction—a mixture as dangerous as anything Medea could cook up.
  40. counterpart
    a person or thing having the same function as another
    My counterpart, Lupa, is not exactly the sharing type.
Created on Tue Apr 25 14:04:49 EDT 2017 (updated Sat Aug 19 11:39:25 EDT 2023)

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