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This is a SPOILER filled review. Expect many SPOILERS.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
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Cover: I adore these covers.
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Goodreads Blurb: At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?
They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.
Published/ing: October 8th, 2013 Disney Hyperion
Rating: 6/5
Review:
I can't even with this book.
This is my favorite Percy Jackson book out of both series.
And these are my reasons why:
Character Development and Individual Personality
Rick tells the story in multiple points of view. He started out the series just in Percy 's point of view, and then in the newer series, he usually did four points of view.
But, oh how he takes it up a step in this book.
I believe there were 7 points of view.
7
That is a HUGE risk in the writing world, especially Middle grade/young adult literature.
But Uncle Rick took it by the throat and really used it to his best advantage. He made sure each character was distinct and had their own personality and struggles.
So, speaking of characters, I'm going to go over each one.
Percy Jackson
He has developed perfectly. From the very daft twelve year old, to a matured (sassy) sixteen year old. We see how his opinions and definitions have formed. I really adored seeing my baby grow.
Truth be told, Percy is such a great character. He is hero. He represents hope and restoration for people who live with struggles each day. He can bring a smile to your face in seconds with his wittiness. He influences so many people. But he still stays modest. I will miss him so much after The Blood of Olympus.
“Architecture,” Percy murmured. The fog started to clear from his eyes. “Thought you’d like the houses, the parks. There’s one street with all these cool fountains.”
Annabeth started making progress against the current. Her limbs felt like bags of wet sand, but Percy was helping her now. She could see the dark line of the shore about a stone’s throw away.
“College,” she gasped.
“Could we go there together?”
“Y-yeah,” he agreed, a little more confidently.
“What would you study, Percy?”
“Dunno,” he admitted.
“Marine science ,” she suggested. “Oceanography?”
“Surfing?” he asked.
She laughed, and the sound sent a shock wave through the water . The wailing faded to background noise. Annabeth wondered if anyone had ever laughed in Tartarus before— just a pure, simple laugh of pleasure. She doubted it.
Annabeth Chase
I want to be her. She should be a role model to all girls everywhere. She perseveres and fights in the hopeless of situations. She's been heartbroken by people who are supposed to be her family and people who are supposed to protect her and be her friends. She has been neglected by both her mothers. She lost her best friend of four years and boyfriend for two months for six months. Can you imagine that? She had every right to be depressed and hopeless.
But no.
She fights. She stands tall. She is proud.
And I think we really get to see this in House of Hades. We see how she can make a brilliant plan in a snap of your fingers. She cheers Percy up. She is suspicious at Bob the Titan, which was absolutely a wise thing to be skeptical about.
And we also see weakness. And that is important to a character too. Showing that they are scared. Frightened. Vulnerable. And think we also get to see that side too.
She is a strong beautiful character.
Annabeth stumbled toward him. She looked like a corpse wreathed in smoke, but she felt solid enough when she gripped his arms.
“Percy, please don’t ever…” Her voice broke in a sob. “Some things aren’t meant to be controlled. Please.”
His whole body tingled with power, but the anger was subsiding. The broken glass inside him was beginning to smooth at the edges.
“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, okay.”
Jason Grace
I don't know what to think of Jason just yet. I think he just isn't developed well enough yet. I want to see more emotion and personality. I did think Jason treated Nico's situation right. He didn't push him to tell the others. Rather, he helped to protect Nico. He wants to become his friend. I thought that was brave of Jason, and hope we see more of that in the future.
“Yes, Jason Grace.” Favonius arched an eyebrow. “I fell in love with a dude. Does that shock you?”
Honestly, Jason wasn’t sure. He tried not to think about the details of godly love lives, no matter who they fell in love with. After all, his dad, Jupiter, wasn’t exactly a model of good behavior . Compared to some of the Olympian love scandals he’d heard about, the West Wind falling in love with a mortal guy didn’t seem very shocking. “I guess not. So… Cupid struck you with his arrow, and you fell in love.”
Nico scowled .
Jason still felt the resentment and anger rippling off him.
“But it’s your call,” Jason added . “Your decision to share or not. I can only tell you—”
“I don’t feel that way anymore,” Nico muttered. “I mean… I gave up on Percy. I was young and impressionable, and I— I don’t…”
His voice cracked, and Jason could tell the guy was about to get teary -eyed. Whether Nico had really given up on Percy or not, Jason couldn’t imagine what it had been like for Nico all those years, keeping a secret that would’ve been unthinkable to share in the 1940s, denying who he was, feeling completely alone— even more isolated than other demigods.
Piper McLean
Wow. Just Wow. She has grown so much as a character. We see insecurities and self-loathing. We see a breaking through of stereotypes. We see power. I also adored her relationship with Hazel.
We see Piper become a true hero in this book. We see her at her full potential. I love that she looks to Annabeth for advice too. And she takes in all those years she had been looked down upon, and uses them to fuel her power. She has grown into a powerful character.
"What will you do to stop us, Piper? A hero? Ha! You are a joke.”
Her words stung like sleet, mostly because Piper had had the same thoughts herself. What could she do? How could she save her friends with what she had? She came close to snapping— flying at her enemies in a rage and getting herself killed.
She looked at Khione’s smug expression and she realized the goddess was hoping for that. She wanted Piper to break. She wanted entertainment.
Piper’s spine turned to steel.
She remembered the girls who used to make fun of her at the Wilderness School. She remembered Drew, the cruel head counselor she had replaced in Aphrodite’s cabin; and Medea, who had charmed Jason and Leo in Chicago; and Jessica, her dad’s old assistant, who had always treated her like a useless brat. All her life, Piper had been looked down upon, told she was useless.
It has never been true, another voice whispered— a voice that sounded like her mother’s. Each of them berated you because they feared you and envied you. So does Khione. Use that!
Havel Levesque
We also get to see serious strength from her. We saw a lot of inner turmoil in Son of Neptune and Mark of Athena, but here we get see strength. And gods, she was awesome. Absolutely spectacular. When she was fighting Pasiphae we saw physical strength. But when she was traveling on her own and the pressures of Hecate were burdened upon her, we saw mental and emotional strength. It was absolutely moving.
“I’ll succeed,” Hazel promised. “And Hecate? I’m not choosing one of your paths. I’m making my own.”
Frank Zhang
Same with Hazel, we really get to see his true strength form too.
Honestly, an emotional part for me was learning that Frank was no longer baby-faced. He had grown to look more like a man. And this also reflects when he becomes praetor and leads the dead Legions. I was blown away by his courage and bravery.
I also though we saw some development in his relationship with Leo.
He had always been wary of the kid. But I don't blame him. His weakness was fire and Leo was fire. We see him form a sort of trust for Leo when Leo presents him with the fire proof case. He no longer is jealous of Leo are angry with Leo.
I hope we see some serious Frank/Leo bromance in The Blood of Olympus.
He took her hand, his fingers completely covering hers. She couldn’t believe how much taller he’d gotten. He had changed into so many animals, she wasn’t sure why one more transformation should amaze her… but suddenly he’d grown into his weight.
No one could call him pudgy or cuddly anymore. He looked like a football player, solid and strong, with a new center of gravity. His shoulders had broadened. He walked with more confidence.
Leo Valdez
At first, we got the classic Leo: cute, elfy, and joking.
But we see Leo really grow as a character. He matures, without loosing that perfect Leo-ness we all know and love.
I thought the part with Leo and Calypso was absolutely exceptional. I did not expect that kind of situation. But I think we get to see a whole new side of Leo. A cute side.
But overall, he was just priceless throughout the book.
Frank studied the two of them, quietly marveling how the tension between them had disappeared. Whatever had happened to Leo during his five days of exile, it had changed him. He still joked around, but Frank sensed something different about him— like a ship with a new keel. Maybe you couldn’t see the keel, but you could tell it was there by the way the ship cut through the waves. Leo didn’t seem so intent on teasing Frank.
He chatted more easily with Hazel— not stealing those wistful, mooning glances that had always made Frank uncomfortable. Hazel had diagnosed the problem privately to Frank: “He met someone.”
Frank was incredulous. “How? Where? How could you possibly know?”
Hazel smiled. “I just do.”
As if she were a child of Venus rather than Pluto.
Frank didn’t get it. Of course he was relieved that Leo wasn’t hitting on his girl, but Frank was also kind of worried about Leo. Sure, they’d had their differences; but after all they’d been through together, Frank didn’t want to see Leo get his heart broken.
Nico di Angelo
I think Rick really took a risk doing this. He was already taking a risk with the whole output on Greek mythology and gods, but wow. And I think he did the right thing by doing it. Nico is so alone in this world. Being a son of Hades and gay. And I think he represents all the kids of the world, that are alone. In so many different ways; parent loss, social exclusion, and everything else. He is just a beautiful character, that I hope finds a resolution in the end.
“I had a crush on Percy,” Nico spat. “That’s the truth. That’s the big secret.”
He glared at Cupid. “Happy now?”
For the first time , Cupid’s gaze seemed sympathetic. “Oh, I wouldn’t say Love always makes you happy .” His voice sounded smaller, much more human. “Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you’ve faced it now. That’s the only way to conquer me.” Cupid dissolved into the wind.
On the ground where he’d stood lay an ivory staff three feet long, topped with a dark globe of polished marble about the size of a baseball, nestled on the backs of three gold Roman eagles. The scepter of Diocletian. Nico knelt and picked it up. He regarded Jason, as if waiting for an attack. “If the others found out—”
“If the others found out,” Jason said, “you’d have that many more people to back you up, and to unleash the fury of the gods on anybody who gives you trouble.”
Nico scowled. Jason still felt the resentment and anger rippling off him. “But it’s your call,” Jason added. “Your decision to share or not. I can only tell you—”
“I don’t feel that way anymore,” Nico muttered. “I mean… I gave up on Percy. I was young and impressionable, and I— I don’t…”
His voice cracked, and Jason could tell the guy was about to get teary-eyed. Whether Nico had really given up on Percy or not, Jason couldn’t imagine what it had been like for Nico all those years , keeping a secret that would’ve been unthinkable to share in the 1940s, denying who he was, feeling completely alone— even more isolated than other demigods.
“Nico,” he said gently, “I’ve seen a lot of brave things. But what you just did? That was maybe the bravest.”
Other Characters:
Bob the Titan
I adored Bob. Oh gods. I couldn't even guess he'd be in this! And he played such a large role! It was so poetic and exceptional, I just couldn't keep my emotions in check.
But that’s exactly what happened. The Titan was ten feet tall, with wild silver Einstein hair, pure silver eyes, and muscular arms protruding from a ripped-up blue janitor’s uniform. In his hand was a massive push broom. His name tag, incredibly, read BOB.
Damasen
I think this struck me the most out of anything in the book (besides, ya know, everything else). I didn't even realize that Ares giant would be peaceful, but it makes SO MUCH SENSE! I though he was just such a mind blowing character and made a great part of the story.
“Peaceful for a giant, at least .” Damasen sighed . “I wandered the fields of Maeonia , in the land you now call Turkey. I tended my sheep and collected my herbs . It was a good life. But I would not fight the gods. My mother and father cursed me for that . The final insult: One day the Maeonian drakon killed a human shepherd, a friend of mine, so I hunted the creature down and slew it, thrusting a tree straight through its mouth . I used the power of the earth to regrow the tree’s roots, planting the drakon firmly in the ground . I made sure it would terrorize mortals no more. That was a deed Gaea could not forgive.”
Calypso
I thought it was awesome seeing a new side of Calypso! We only got a smidge of her in The Battle of the Laybrinth, but I loved seeing her whole personality here.
She is strong, and caring. Although, she is extremely harsh on Leo at the beginning. But she comes through. They develop such a cute relationship.
She also knows right from wrong; the good guys from the bad guys. I hope we get to see more of her in The Blood of Olympus.
You do not have to be here when that happens, Gaea promised. Join me now. Kill this boy. Spill his blood upon the earth, and help me to wake. I will free you and grant you any wish. Freedom. Revenge against the gods. Even a prize. Would you still have the demigod Percy Jackson? I will spare him for you. I will raise him from Tartarus. He will be yours to punish or to love, as you choose. Only kill this trespassing boy. Show your loyalty.
Several scenarios went through Leo’s head— none of them good. He was positive Calypso would strangle him on the spot, or order her invisible wind servants to chop him into a Leo purée. Why wouldn’t she ? Gaea was making her the ultimate deal— kill one annoying guy, get a handsome one free!
Calypso thrust her hand toward Gaea in a three-fingered gesture Leo recognized from Camp Half-Blood: the Ancient Greek ward against evil. “This is not just my prison, Grandmother. It is my home. And you are the trespasser.”
Conclusion
This is such a great book. The quests and adventures. It is absolutely beautiful. The characters become close to your heart and you want to fight with them. Rick's analogies and his voices are so precise
and perfect. It is all so great.
They have become so close to my heart. They are like family to me and have helped me through the toughest of times. It is going to be hard to say goodbye.
Future News:
The Blood of Olympus is scheduled to be published October 12, 2014 (OH MY GODS). It will be the last installment in the Percy Jackson era. In 2015, Rick will release his new series based on Norse Mythology.
That's it for now. Have a nice night!
~Monty
