I hate when you finish a book and realize the series isn't done yet, and not only that, that the author hasn't finished the next book! Oh, Rick Riordon... *sigh*
Such was the case with The Mark of Athena. I thought it was the final book, but the closer I got the the end, I realized there was another one coming... *oh well* It's bittersweet, because we don't want to wait, but it will be good to have another book with the characters that we love. Eventually. Anyhow... on with the review.
The Story: The demigods at Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood have to work together to defeat Gaea and her forces of Giants. This is easier said than done, given the traditional animosity between the two groups. The schizophrenic nature of the Gods, torn between their two versions, is not helpful to them. Neither is the fact that evil possessing spirits took over Leo, as he was at the controls of the warship The Argo II, and caused him to open fire on the Roman camp, starting an all-out war. The seven demigods from the two camps chosen for the prophecy have to escape the Roman forces that are chasing them, and make their way to the original seat of the gods in Rome, and defeat the forces of Gaea all along the way. Gaea isn't going to make it easy for them, and sometimes working together isn't the easiest thing in the world, even for friends. As if that wasn't hard enough, Annabeth has the task of facing her deepest fears to follow the Mark of Athena to try to restore an ancient treasure stolen from a temple to her mother Athena in ancient times. It may just hold the key to the success of their mission.
The Good: These are the characters we've come to know and love over the previous books. The story feels familiar, but not stale. The friends have to learn to work together as a group, while working on their personal relationships (with three sets of couples and Leo as the seventh wheel, things can get sticky). The battles are exciting and the journey is riveting. It is neat to see the group traveling to Rome, and how they view the ancient land. Gaea is a really menacing presence. The giants all have their distinct personalities and make good adversaries, too. And the cliffhanger... oh, the cliffhanger is so good, we can't wait for the next book to be published!
The Bad: Because there are so many characters, sometimes the story can feel a bit scattered. There are a lot of subplots. Some of them are really interesting, and some feel a bit forced. As the demigods are older than in the earlier books, some of the interpersonal relationships can get a bit serious for perhaps a 9-year old like Evalina to appreciate. There is a lot of kissing and declarations of love. This is not a bad thing, necessarily, but it's something to be aware of. The book was quite long, just over 600 pages, and while that's not a bad thing, it feels like it was pretty packed with story, and some of it wasn't really pertinent to the main plot.
The Verdict: If you have read the rest of the series (and you should), absolutely read this one. It's really good, even if it can be a bit long and winding. Evalina LOVED it. Amazon recommends it for 10+ and I say that's appropriate for solo reading. We love Rick Riordan's books and will be reading the Egyptian mythology series soon. Because of this series, Evalina has become a crazy Greek (and now Roman) mythology buff, and that's something I love to see. Read this series, with or without your kids.
Showing posts with label Heroes of Olympus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heroes of Olympus. Show all posts
Friday, January 11, 2013
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Heroes of Olympus: Son of Neptune
We finished Son of Neptune a while back, but I just haven't had a chance to blog about it until now. Evalina is chomping at the bit to finish this series, and we just got the final book (Mark of Athena) last night, so I thought I would try to play catch up and get the books we have read in between written up.
The Story: Percy Jackson has no memory. He woke after sleeping for months, with a wolf, Lupa, telling him that he was a demigod, and told him his name, but not much more. He has memories of his girlfriend, Annabeth, but not much else, and he sets off for the demigod encampment that Lupa sent him to, but nothing seemed familiar. When he gets there, he meets Hazel, daughter of Pluto, who was dead but came back to life (this is not a widely known fact), and Frank, who has not yet been claimed by his Godly father. Percy joins the legion with the other sons and daughters of the Roman gods at Camp Jupiter, but is not widely accepted, as he is unknown and has strange ways. Frank and Hazel are some of the only ones to accept him, and together they embark on a quest to free Thanatos (the God of Death) from the hands of an ice giant in Alaska, beyond the realm of the Gods, in an attempt to defeat Gaia, in her attempts to waken and overthrow all the Gods. The Prophecy of Seven is close to coming to pass.
The Good: Evalina was thrilled to see Percy back, after his disappearance in the last book. It was interesting to get to know the Roman aspects of the Gods, and Frank and Hazel are totally likeable characters. The growing threat from Gaia was nerve-wracking, and there were some close calls and nights when we "had" to read more than one chapter because the cliff-hanger was just too big. I'd call that a good. Frank and Hazel both go through some serious transformative moments and they both grow from slightly timid, unsure newbies to strong and confident heroes. There were times when we grabbed out the Mythology book to get some background on the Roman mythology. That's a good.
The Bad: At times, it seems like the odds are just too much against Percy and the crew. It's nerve-wracking at times. And also bad? When we finished this, the final book in the series hadn't been released yet! Neither of us is much good at waiting for books. There is more overt romance in this book, I think, than in the others, which is ok, but something to be noted. It is also hard to read the book, knowing that Annabeth and Tyson and the others from Camp Half-Blood are looking for Percy, and fighting the same enemy, but not knowing what they are doing! I know that this is not really a bad, but something to think about.
The Verdict: Another really fun read from Rick Riordan! Can't wait to read the last one in the series, and then on to the Red Pyramid series, about Egyptian mythology. The recommended reading level is age 10 and up, and although she has since re-read it, Evalina (age 9) was probably better off reading it with me first, so I'd call that about right. It was on the longer side, so that's something to be aware of. Overall, thumbs up, for sure!
The Story: Percy Jackson has no memory. He woke after sleeping for months, with a wolf, Lupa, telling him that he was a demigod, and told him his name, but not much more. He has memories of his girlfriend, Annabeth, but not much else, and he sets off for the demigod encampment that Lupa sent him to, but nothing seemed familiar. When he gets there, he meets Hazel, daughter of Pluto, who was dead but came back to life (this is not a widely known fact), and Frank, who has not yet been claimed by his Godly father. Percy joins the legion with the other sons and daughters of the Roman gods at Camp Jupiter, but is not widely accepted, as he is unknown and has strange ways. Frank and Hazel are some of the only ones to accept him, and together they embark on a quest to free Thanatos (the God of Death) from the hands of an ice giant in Alaska, beyond the realm of the Gods, in an attempt to defeat Gaia, in her attempts to waken and overthrow all the Gods. The Prophecy of Seven is close to coming to pass.
The Good: Evalina was thrilled to see Percy back, after his disappearance in the last book. It was interesting to get to know the Roman aspects of the Gods, and Frank and Hazel are totally likeable characters. The growing threat from Gaia was nerve-wracking, and there were some close calls and nights when we "had" to read more than one chapter because the cliff-hanger was just too big. I'd call that a good. Frank and Hazel both go through some serious transformative moments and they both grow from slightly timid, unsure newbies to strong and confident heroes. There were times when we grabbed out the Mythology book to get some background on the Roman mythology. That's a good.
The Bad: At times, it seems like the odds are just too much against Percy and the crew. It's nerve-wracking at times. And also bad? When we finished this, the final book in the series hadn't been released yet! Neither of us is much good at waiting for books. There is more overt romance in this book, I think, than in the others, which is ok, but something to be noted. It is also hard to read the book, knowing that Annabeth and Tyson and the others from Camp Half-Blood are looking for Percy, and fighting the same enemy, but not knowing what they are doing! I know that this is not really a bad, but something to think about.
The Verdict: Another really fun read from Rick Riordan! Can't wait to read the last one in the series, and then on to the Red Pyramid series, about Egyptian mythology. The recommended reading level is age 10 and up, and although she has since re-read it, Evalina (age 9) was probably better off reading it with me first, so I'd call that about right. It was on the longer side, so that's something to be aware of. Overall, thumbs up, for sure!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Heroes of Olympus Series: The Lost Hero
When we finished the original Percy Jackson series, we immediately went on to the next part of the series, The Heroes of Olympus trilogy.
The first book in the series is The Lost Hero, and like the Percy Jackson series, Evalina simply gobbled it up.
The Story: Piper and Leo attend a kind of school for delinquents, called The Wilderness School, with their friend (and Piper's boyfriend), Jason. At least, they think they do. The problem is, Jason doesn't remember ever having seen them before he wakes up on the bus to the Grand Canyon field trip. And then, at the field trip, things start going even worse. The bully jock in the class turns out to be a crazy storm spirit out to kill all of them, and their coach is actually a satyr who gets kidnapped trying to protect the kids. On top of that, Piper falls into the canyon... and Jason jumps in, and flies to her rescue. Yes, he flies. And that's just the beginning. As fans of the Percy Jackson series might suspect, these kids are demigods, but somehow they weren't brought to Camp Half-Blood before the story starts, and they are older than the normal age of being claimed by their godly parents. Bad things are rising - worse than the Titans which Percy and the other demigods defeated recently. Jason's memory has been taken by Hera, who is the prisoner of a force so strong that no one wants to name it. Camp Half-Blood is in turmoil because Percy Jackson has disappeared without a trace. The three newcomers are finally claimed by their godly parents - Leo is the son of Haephestus, Piper is the daughter of Aphrodite, and Jason... he seems to be the son of Zeus, but something is off... pieces of the puzzle don't quite fit, and he can speak Latin. His memory is still gone, but he starts to suspect he is not the son of Zeus after all, but instead the son of Jupiter, Zeus' Roman aspect. And that's just the tip of the iceberg...
The Good: It's neat how the new characters are definitely the center of this story, but the older characters aren't forgotten, and are interwoven into the new line of story. As in the Percy Jackson series, the writing is exciting and the mythology behind it seems pretty true to the original stories. The reasons for the strife between the Greek and Roman gods and their children seem to make sense. The Big Bad is really well done, and we both loved the new central trio.
The Bad: There is more teenage angst in this one than in previous books by the same author, and I know it is simply because this trio is older to start with - I think 16 in the beginning, whereas Percy started somewhat younger. The book was also really long - nearly 400 pages, so it took us a while to get through. The previous books by the same author were maybe 300 tops. Some chapter cliffhangers were simply too much to put the book down... not that that's necessarily a bad thing...
The Verdict: We can't wait to start the next book in the series! Read this if you have read the Percy Jackson series. It is really really well done and a great read.
The first book in the series is The Lost Hero, and like the Percy Jackson series, Evalina simply gobbled it up.
The Story: Piper and Leo attend a kind of school for delinquents, called The Wilderness School, with their friend (and Piper's boyfriend), Jason. At least, they think they do. The problem is, Jason doesn't remember ever having seen them before he wakes up on the bus to the Grand Canyon field trip. And then, at the field trip, things start going even worse. The bully jock in the class turns out to be a crazy storm spirit out to kill all of them, and their coach is actually a satyr who gets kidnapped trying to protect the kids. On top of that, Piper falls into the canyon... and Jason jumps in, and flies to her rescue. Yes, he flies. And that's just the beginning. As fans of the Percy Jackson series might suspect, these kids are demigods, but somehow they weren't brought to Camp Half-Blood before the story starts, and they are older than the normal age of being claimed by their godly parents. Bad things are rising - worse than the Titans which Percy and the other demigods defeated recently. Jason's memory has been taken by Hera, who is the prisoner of a force so strong that no one wants to name it. Camp Half-Blood is in turmoil because Percy Jackson has disappeared without a trace. The three newcomers are finally claimed by their godly parents - Leo is the son of Haephestus, Piper is the daughter of Aphrodite, and Jason... he seems to be the son of Zeus, but something is off... pieces of the puzzle don't quite fit, and he can speak Latin. His memory is still gone, but he starts to suspect he is not the son of Zeus after all, but instead the son of Jupiter, Zeus' Roman aspect. And that's just the tip of the iceberg...
The Good: It's neat how the new characters are definitely the center of this story, but the older characters aren't forgotten, and are interwoven into the new line of story. As in the Percy Jackson series, the writing is exciting and the mythology behind it seems pretty true to the original stories. The reasons for the strife between the Greek and Roman gods and their children seem to make sense. The Big Bad is really well done, and we both loved the new central trio.
The Bad: There is more teenage angst in this one than in previous books by the same author, and I know it is simply because this trio is older to start with - I think 16 in the beginning, whereas Percy started somewhat younger. The book was also really long - nearly 400 pages, so it took us a while to get through. The previous books by the same author were maybe 300 tops. Some chapter cliffhangers were simply too much to put the book down... not that that's necessarily a bad thing...
The Verdict: We can't wait to start the next book in the series! Read this if you have read the Percy Jackson series. It is really really well done and a great read.
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