Another wonderful edition to the Percy Jackson series, The Sword of Hades is a small story that occurs before the last book of the series. For a reader who doesn't know the world of Percy Jackson, this story might be confusing though the plot does not affect the overall series plot. Percy is pulled along with two other demi-gods to the other world to find the Sword of Hades for Persephone and the story is a quick and enjoyable read.

A reader who is not terribly familiar with the tale of Hades and Persephone might find this a good entry point just as the books act as a wonderful springboard to other readings of the Greek Myths. For World Book Day 2009, this book was paired with Horrible Histories: Groovy Greeks so that the young reader is able to move from a well known fantasy world to a funny but true look at history.

The vocabulary is not terribly complicated so that a younger middle school reader will enjoy this as much as an older reader who has been reading through the series as it is published. There is some slightly violence and discussion of death that is dealt with in an honest and thoughtful manner. ( )