The House of Hades, by Rick Riordan, is set in the present and evolves over the course of two weeks. There are eight protagonists, all demigods fighting against Gaea. Two demigods, Percy and Annabeth, have fallen into Tartarus, the most abysmal and treacherous part of the underworld, where no Olympian god has dared to go. Tartarus is also the god of the abyss. The other six protagonists travel from Rome to Greece, where Hades' house is located. All eight protagonists are looking for the doors of death to close them. Percy, is the son of Poseidon; he is a charismatic and powerful leader, he can control water. Annabeth is the daughter of Athena and Percy's girlfriend. She is extremely intelligent and strategic. Bob is a titan. Most titans hate gods and demigods and have fought with them for centuries. But Percy pushes Bob into the River Lethe, which washes away the memories and Bob forgets everything. Percy then becomes friends with Bob. When he and Annabeth are attacked in Tartarus, Percy calls Bob to save them. Jason is also a protagonist, he is the son of Jupiter. He is a good leader and takes over the group in Percy and Annabeth's absence. Piper is Jason's girlfriend and also a demigod. She is the daughter of Aphrodite and has the gift of a enchanting tongue. The Spellspeech is occasionally granted to the children of Aphrodite; it's the ability to persuade someone to do anything with your voice. Leo is another protagonist and the son of Hephaestus. He has the very rare gift of being able to produce flames from his hands and is impervious to fire. Often feels excluded and unappreciated. Hazel is one of the protagonists and is the daughter of Pluto, god of the underworld, and therefore can perceive the tunnels... in the middle of the paper... and the sun for him. The conflict in the story is good versus evil. Eight demigods battle Gaea and her evil monsters to close the gates of death. Gaea wants to conquer the world and destroy all humanity and the gods. At the end of the book there is still conflict because Gaea, the immortal, is a static character still trying to emerge and control the world. The tone of this book is one of adventure and suspense. The eight demigods are on a dangerous mission to close the gates of death and they don't have much time. The House of Hades is told in third person, but with many details about the protagonist and his feelings. The adventures and points of view of the seven main characters alternate in the chapters, but the story is always told in the third person. The theme of this book is nothing is impossible when you have support and are with friends..