Book Nerds Across America: Heroes of Olympics

Sunday, October 14, 2012

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

"In a fantastical ship called the Argo II, seven demigods journey by air across the United States and by sea to Rome on their quest to defeat the earth mother, Gaea. Meanwhile, war is breaking out between the Roman and Greek demigods they left behind, and only Annabeth holds the key to restoring peace." (from HeroesofOlympus.com)

Flo's Summary

OH MY GODS. I have been seeing all my friends reading this simultaneously (it just came out this month) and giving it five star reviews on Goodreads. I was even warned by one: "FLO. THE ENDING WILL KILL YOU. I'm not even joking. You will die."

They were right. Rick Riordan was at the top of his game with The Mark of Athena. It had everything I've come to know about love about his books: action, suspense, adventure, cleverness, romance. These seven demigods are all fantastic, and it was so great to see them all learning how to work together and trust each other. I was amazed how something would come up in one part of the book that seemed like and inconsequential at the time, but ended up being something quite huge later on. As always, the settings were fantastic -- I loved seeing both places I've been (like Atlanta) as well as places I could only imagine through the eyes of the demigods. I have never flown through a 600 page book so quickly! Rick left us almost literally with a cliffhanger, so now I guess I have to face the long year ahead of me as I wait for The House of Hades.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

"In The Lost Hero, three demigods named Jason, Piper, and Leo made their first visit to Camp Half-Blood, where they inherited a blood-chilling quest:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death

Who are the other four mentioned in the prophesy? The answer may lie in another camp miles away, where a new camper has shown up and appears to be the son of Neptune, god of the sea. . . With an ever-expanding cast of brave-hearted heroes and formidable foes, this second book in The Heroes of Olympus series offers all of the action, pathos, and humor that Rick Riordan fans crave." (from Rick Riordan's website, where you can read Chapter 1 for free.)

I love Percy Jackson. Can I marry him? I know he is only 16 years old and also a fictional son of an Olympian god, but that kind of stuff has never stopped me from having crushes before.

I loved The Lost Hero, the first book in Rick Riordan's new series about demigods -- children with one mortal parent and one Olympian godly parent. I anxiously awaited the second book in The Heros of Olympus series, and it did not disappoint! While one of the great things about The Lost Hero was seeing Camp Half Blood through other eyes besides Percy's, one of the strengths of The Son of Neptune was seeing a whole different camp.

We are introduced to two more demigods who are part of the Prophecy of Seven -- Hazel and Frank. Just like Piper, Leo and Jason in the first book, I learned to love these new two characters for their strengths as well as their vulnerabilities. With them, we have the seven half-bloods of the prophecy: Hazel, Frank, Jason, Leo, Piper, Annabeth, and Percy Jackson.

Riordan does an amazing job of crafting his story. The action left me rushing through the pages and I continue to be in awe of how well all the littlest details end up connecting. I breezed through this book in a few short days and now have to wait in agony for the third book, The Mark of Athena, which will be released in Fall 2012.

If you haven't read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series yet, do so -- because they are incredible. If you have, and you miss Percy and his adventures, then pick up this series because Rick Riordan continues to bring the goodness.

~Flo~