The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan children's fantasy book reviewsThe Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan children's fantasy book reviewsThe Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

The fifth and final book in THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS pentalogy sees our seven demigods finally go up against the threat that’s been brewing for the last four books: Gaia, the primordial goddess who’s been deliberately pitting the Greeks and the Romans against one another. With the training camps of young half-blood youths preparing for war and many of the gods torn between their Greek and Roman personas, our young protagonists have only a prophecy to guide their quest for peace: one that suggests they’re not all going to make it out alive.

After the previous book in the series, The House of Hades, Rick Riordan thankfully scales things back a bit by only providing only five narrative points-of-view instead of the previous seven. It made for a cacophonous reading experience given all the switching back-and-forth between characters, whereas The Blood of Olympus (2014) sticks with Jason, Piper and Leo’s perspectives, as well as Reyna and Nico’s for the first time. This means Percy, Annabeth, Frank and Hazel feel more like supporting characters this time around, but they’ve had their chance to shine in previous books.

Given this story started with the trio of Jason, Piper and Leo, and that Reyna and Nico have probably had the most dramatic character development over the course of the series, it’s fitting that they get the spotlight here.

Heroes of Olympus (5 Book Series) Kindle Edition by Rick Riordan

THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS

The Blood of Olympus’ plot is split between Nico and Reyna’s attempts to get the protective Athena Parthenos statue to the Greeks at Camp Half-Blood, and the heroic seven (Percy, Jason, Leo, Piper, Hazel and Frank) making their way to the Acropolis where Gaia is destined to rise from the earth — and gathering the ingredients for a healing potion on the way as insurance against the fatal prophecy.

Of course there are plenty of obstacles on the way (both internal and external) as they visit places like Pompeii, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and the Peloponnese — most of them updated versions of the Greek/Roman pantheon, like Apollo and Artemis as emo-teenagers, Orion as a psychotic frat-boy, and Asclepius as a doctor obsessed with health insurance. If you’ve already read your fair share of Greek mythology, it’s always a treat to see how Riordan will reimagine the familiar characters.

Riordan still writes at a fast-pace with plenty of humour and insight into the teenage mind, but as with the last book, some of the “side-quests” can get a little repetitive, with our characters forced to divert their attention away from the larger task at hand in order to deal with minor inconveniences that have little to do with the overall plot. Sometimes they can be worked into the bigger picture, but often they slow the story down and aren’t quite clever enough to justify their existence.

But I’ll always appreciate Riordan’s commitment to the diversity of his protagonists, comprised of both genders and a range of ethnicities, which fits in perfectly with The Blood of Olympus’ theme of working together in adversity. One even comes to terms with his sexuality and long-standing crush on another male character, something I never thought we’d see in a book like this! Riordan makes sure each character gets the chance to contribute his or her unique talents to the quest, and though most of the teens get paired up, there’s just as much emphasis on the importance of friendship and self-respect as there is on romantic love.

So although I didn’t enjoy THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS quite as much as the original PERCY JACKSON books, which had a tighter storyline and a wittier first-person narrative, the follow-up series was a lot of fun, with plenty of room left over for more adventures.

Published in 2014. Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother Gaea Her giants have risen all of them and they re stronger than ever They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens She needs their blood the blood of Olympus in order to wake The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half Blood The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter led by Octavian is almost within striking distance Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island where it might be able to stop a war between the two camps The Athena Parthenos will go west the Argo II will go east The gods still suffering from multiple personality disorder are useless How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea s army of powerful giants As dangerous as it is to head to Athens they have no other option They have sacrificed too much already And if Gaea wakes it is game over.

Author

  • Rebecca Fisher

    REBECCA FISHER, with us since January 2008, earned a Masters degree in literature at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Her thesis included a comparison of how C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman each use the idea of mankind’s Fall from Grace to structure the worldviews presented in their fantasy series. Rebecca is a firm believer that fantasy books written for children can be just as meaningful, well-written and enjoyable as those for adults, and in some cases, even more so. Rebecca lives in New Zealand. She is the winner of the 2015 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best SFF Fan Writer.

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