The story continues with our intrepid hero Percy being kicked out of yet another school when he's attacked by mythological monsters in the guise of homicidal cheerleaders. But upon returning to Camp Half-Blood his best friend Grover is in danger of losing his life-long dream to find the wild god Pan, and his equally best friend, Annabeth, is pegged for an almost certainly lethal quest: finding the heart of the Labyrinth. To help them both Percy must use all his skills and wits to stay alive in the not-so-mythical deadly maze.
This is the BEST Percy Jackson book I've read so far. Depending on the fifth book, it may be my favorite. The other Percy Jackson books I have certainly enjoyed, but there's something about the style of writing and pop culture references that made it seem very much a flash in the pan type of book and not sustainable over the years. This one, however, surpasses the campy fun of the first three and qualifies, in my opinion, as seriously well-written children's fiction.
The reason I feel is while Riordan still had amusing modernizations of the myths (such as homicidal cheerleaders) he seemed to take them more seriously. There's a reason Greek myths have endured this long and it's always best when writers use that to their advantage. There was far more psychological depth to the characters and their motivations, and I think he was more effectively balancing the humor with the serious. But at the same time it was still an exciting and stirring adventure.
And now for spoilers and horse chickens!
Here's where I'll discuss specifics of the novel. So if you haven't read it, you may not want to read this. But I add this for those who have read it and like to hear others thoughts on specific story elements. So here goes.
This is the BEST Percy Jackson book I've read so far. Depending on the fifth book, it may be my favorite. The other Percy Jackson books I have certainly enjoyed, but there's something about the style of writing and pop culture references that made it seem very much a flash in the pan type of book and not sustainable over the years. This one, however, surpasses the campy fun of the first three and qualifies, in my opinion, as seriously well-written children's fiction.
The reason I feel is while Riordan still had amusing modernizations of the myths (such as homicidal cheerleaders) he seemed to take them more seriously. There's a reason Greek myths have endured this long and it's always best when writers use that to their advantage. There was far more psychological depth to the characters and their motivations, and I think he was more effectively balancing the humor with the serious. But at the same time it was still an exciting and stirring adventure.
And now for spoilers and horse chickens!
Here's where I'll discuss specifics of the novel. So if you haven't read it, you may not want to read this. But I add this for those who have read it and like to hear others thoughts on specific story elements. So here goes.
I was afraid this book would actually be my least favorite because of the love triangle with Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel. I usually hate love triangles (despite having one in my own novel...) Plus, I was originally really dubious of Rachel's character. I didn't like that she introduces herself as Rachel Elizabeth Dare (who does that?!) and they often refer to her by that full name. Plus, in the audio version of The Titan's Curse, her voice was REALLY irritating. But I read this book which I think did a lot to help her character grow on me since her voice was far less irritating in my head. Plus, I firmly believe she turned out to be a good character in the end.
But I'm still a firm Percy/Annabeth shipper.
I was worried about Annabeth's jealousy, but it wasn't too bad because even Annabeth seemed to realize at points that she was being unreasonable and tried to be friendly. That's all I really ask of a person. The other reason I hate love triangles is they often turn good characters into bad ones. I just find it irritating when girls are portrayed (or are in real life) uniformaly jealous and how that often overshadows every other aspect of their personality. But a little jealousy, as long as it's acknowledged and the person does make an effort to fight it, is a perfectly understandable human flaw.
Aside from the romance aspect, I also really enjoyed how Riordan seemed to feel he could finally try to say something important with his fiction. I thought the Sphinx in this book was a great satire on this country's test-obsessed school system "How will I be exceptional without my test scores?!" A little obvious, but still pure gold in my opinion. I had to smile.
The environmental message of the ranch they visited felt a bit heavy-handed to me, but I won't quarrel with the truth of it. I still also LOVED that he had hippalektryons! Horse chickens! Ever since I read as a child that these creatures were only ever found on Greek pottery but never in any stories, I desperately wanted to write a story with them in it. But it never fit into any of my own fiction. So, YAY! Thank you Riordan! You've brought the hippalektryon back to life.
Plus, I thought Pan's death was a very well-done and moving environmental message that we cannot wait for a god to come and fix this.
I also thought that Quintus was Icarus, but for the first time in a Riordan mystery, I was WRONG! Very refreshing. It still wasn't exactly Agatha Christie, but he managed to fake me out.
On a random note, the imagery of when Percy erupts the volcano with the power of his water pressure is amazingly beautiful, and I wish I could draw a picture of how I see it in my head.
So, yeah, eve if you read the spoilers without reading the book, then I still recommend you read it.
But I'm still a firm Percy/Annabeth shipper.
I was worried about Annabeth's jealousy, but it wasn't too bad because even Annabeth seemed to realize at points that she was being unreasonable and tried to be friendly. That's all I really ask of a person. The other reason I hate love triangles is they often turn good characters into bad ones. I just find it irritating when girls are portrayed (or are in real life) uniformaly jealous and how that often overshadows every other aspect of their personality. But a little jealousy, as long as it's acknowledged and the person does make an effort to fight it, is a perfectly understandable human flaw.
Aside from the romance aspect, I also really enjoyed how Riordan seemed to feel he could finally try to say something important with his fiction. I thought the Sphinx in this book was a great satire on this country's test-obsessed school system "How will I be exceptional without my test scores?!" A little obvious, but still pure gold in my opinion. I had to smile.
The environmental message of the ranch they visited felt a bit heavy-handed to me, but I won't quarrel with the truth of it. I still also LOVED that he had hippalektryons! Horse chickens! Ever since I read as a child that these creatures were only ever found on Greek pottery but never in any stories, I desperately wanted to write a story with them in it. But it never fit into any of my own fiction. So, YAY! Thank you Riordan! You've brought the hippalektryon back to life.
Plus, I thought Pan's death was a very well-done and moving environmental message that we cannot wait for a god to come and fix this.
I also thought that Quintus was Icarus, but for the first time in a Riordan mystery, I was WRONG! Very refreshing. It still wasn't exactly Agatha Christie, but he managed to fake me out.
On a random note, the imagery of when Percy erupts the volcano with the power of his water pressure is amazingly beautiful, and I wish I could draw a picture of how I see it in my head.
So, yeah, eve if you read the spoilers without reading the book, then I still recommend you read it.
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