Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson and the Olympians — (2005-2009) Ages 9-12. Publisher: Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse — Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends — one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena — Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

Available for download at Audible.com

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (series review)

Rick Riordan’s five-book series takes the world of Greek mythology, complete with gods, monsters, titans, Mt. Olympus, heroes, etc. and weaves it into the modern world under the premise that as the gods are manifestations of Western culture and move as the culture moves. And so when Athens was the pinnacle, Mt. Olympus was in Greece, but now that the seat of Western power has moved to America, Mr. Olympus is on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building. We all move through a sea of mythical creatures but we don’t see any of them thanks to the cloak of the Mist, a strange phenomenon that either hides them completely or makes mere mortals see the creatures and their actions as somewhat explainable (if sometimes odd) events that we can understand.

The series focuses less on the gods than on their children born to mortals — the demi-gods — who are brought at a certain age to Camp Half-Blood to learn their heritage and be trained to survive. The major character is Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. Other major characters are his two best friends, Annabeth (daughter of Athena) and Grover (a satyr “seeker” who finds demi-gods and takes them to the camp).  New characters are added as the series continues.

Book one, The Lightning Thief, details 12-yr-old Percy first learning of his demigod background (which goes a long way to explaining his difficulties in school as well as his dyslexia), though he doesn’t learn for sometime who is true father is. We’re introduced to Camp Half-Blood, watch as Percy meets his new friends and learns his background, and then Percy is given a quest to find Zeus’ stolen lightning bolt. He has to deal with his personal revelations, the monsters that would love nothing better than to kill a demi-god, and the jealousy and mistrust among the gods themselves, all of whom seemingly have a grudge against each other and none more so than the big three (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades) who long ago took a pledge not to have any more mortal children due to a prophecy of doom surrounding one of their children reaching age 16 (all of them broke their oath). At the end of book one, the big villain is revealed: Kronos, former lord of the titans who was overthrown by Zeus and his fellow Olympians and who is now trying to reform himself and take his revenge, as well as regain the throne of the world.

The other books follow the same quest pattern, each one detailing a focused journey and quest (search for the Golden Fleece, find a missing god and monster, find the Labyrinth and its creator Daedalus), each of which advances the major plot of the war between Kronos/the titans and the Olympians/Half-bloods.

Overall the Percy Jackson series is highly recommended. It has its flaws and sometimes it can be a little predictable or a bit derivative of other fantasies, but it is generally of high quality and nearly always enjoyable. The main characters are all likable and believable as adolescents, the books are tightly-plotted and move along quickly and in exciting fashion. The gods are presented as individuals with sharp personalities. Riordan writes with a light, humorous hand throughout but sprinkles in enough moving or more serious moments so that the books aren’t all light and froth. The characters change and grow from book to book — none of them, including even many of the gods, are the same by the end (The Last Olympian), nor is the world, and many of the characters have hidden sides revealed. There are lots of good lessons in there and for the most part Riordan avoids presenting them as Lessons to be Learned, allowing them to simply reside naturally in the plot. And his latter books are, I’d say, even stronger than the early ones, so the reader can look forward to heightened tension, higher stakes, and stronger quality as the series goes on.

Each book resolves the single quest that is that book’s focus, while continuing to move the major story arc of the war forward. And while The Last Olympian brings the series arc to a complete resolution, it also sets in motion what will obviously be a new series set in the same world. Highly recommended children's fantasy. —Bill Capossere

The Lightning Thief

Recently, in an attempt to find something a little lighter to read, I began browsing some Young Adult fantasy. Now, this was largely an exercise in cynicism, accompanied by thoughts along the lines of "Oh, just slap the name Harry Potter on the front and get it over with already, would you?" I mean really, just how many eleven-year-old orphaned secret witches/wizards/sorcerers/apprentices/other does one genre really need?

Then I came across The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and was pleasantly surprised and intrigued by the blurb. It actually made me chuckle. I was actually kind of excited to read it. And I kept telling myself, Beth, don't get your hopes up, you know what happens when you do that. But even so, my heart kind of skipped a beat when I opened the book and started reading the chapter titles. They were actually funny. Whoa. Could Riordan really keep this going for a whole book?

The answer is Yes. And spectacularly, as The Lightning Thief is some of the most fun I've had reading in quite some time. Oh, you could draw the occasional Harry Potter parallel if you wanted, but honestly I found The Lightning Thief far too fresh, funny, and genuinely witty to do it that disservice.

Aside from the humor and fun, my favorite aspect was the chemistry between Percy and his main female opposite, Annabeth. A lot of authors would think, oh, they're twelve-year-olds, they don't need to have chemistry — which is a huge mistake. Their interaction has all the hallmarks of early unresolved tension of the very best sort (you know, the sort TV writers always mess up when those two characters finally hook up). It adds an extra undefinable something to Percy's voice, which is already humorous and sympathetic, and very clearly defined.

The plot is a relatively basic heroes going on a quest fare on the surface — which is perfectly suitable, as Greek heroes were pretty prone to the whole quest thing. But it's a quest through a modern day world bound to ancient Greek myths and legends, adding some unique flavor. It is the strength of the characters and their dynamic together, though, along with Riordan's pleasant sense of humor that saves this from being just any adolescents save the world type book.

Any gripes I had with the book were minor enough that they didn't hamper my enjoyment. One of those was a bit of predictability, and to be fair, most of this was simply a product of knowing Greek mythology. Though Mr. Riordan might want to work on his shocking betrayals a bit. Also, occasionally it's a bit baffling to watch these kids walk into some of the traps they walk into — especially Annabeth, who you can't help feeling ought to know better — but on the other hand, they are just kids. And in the end, their ordeals demonstrate character strengths, weaknesses, and growth very nicely. (There is a third gripe, but due to its nature and my own personal feelings, I won't get into it.)

All in all, I must admit I was a little tiny bit in love with Rick Riordan by the end of at all. And really hoping the next one would be just as good. —Beth Johnson

The Lightning Thief

I had been hearing good things about Rick Riordan's young adult fantasy series, but it wasn't until a half-price sale at the bookstore and the release of the movie (which I still haven't seen) that I finally decided to catch up with the bandwagon. I knew that it followed the basic premise of the typical coming-of-age drama in a fantasy setting, in which a troubled youngster discovers that he has innate power and a lot of trouble to go with it. To harness his power, achieve his goals, and discover his place in his newly discovered world is Percy Jackson's ongoing character arc. Though it is clearly inspired by the success of Harry Potter (right down to the format of the titles: variations of "Hero's Name and the Intriguing Noun"), it's never openly derivative.

Percy Jackson is a twelve-year-old boy who finds it difficult to stay out of trouble. Constantly expelled from school for bad behavior, he's finding his current position in a private school palatable thanks to a sympathetic teacher and a good friend with a muscular impediment in his legs. But he struggles with his dyslexia and fumes over his unhappy home life (his mother is married to a beatnik), he becomes swiftly aware that there are stranger things going on around him.

His teacher Mr. Brunner and his friend Grover clearly know something about him that they're not sharing, and after a terrifying encounter with a nasty teacher, Percy discovers the truth. As you probably already know from the blurb, Percy (and many others like him) is the child of a mortal and a god, a "half-blood" whose very existence makes him a target of malevolent powers in the world. The only safe place is Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for the children of the gods, where they can learn about their skills, heritage and powers. There he discovers the real identities of Mr. Brunner and Grover (a centaur and a satyr, respectively) — but he loses someone infinitely precious to him on the way.

As he goes through his training he learns more about this new sub-world, particularly that each half-blood is expected at some stage to undergo a quest to prove themselves, much like the demi-god heroes of myth and legend. Percy and his new friend Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, get their chance when a conspiracy is uncovered. Someone is trying to foster discord among the gods by stealing the master lightening bolt of Zeus, casting the blame on Percy for the theft. To clear his name and prevent a catastrophe, Percy sets off toward Los Angeles where the entrance to the Underworld awaits, with Annabeth and Grover in tow.

This is really only the barebones of the plot, as this first installment of Percy Jackson’s books is surprisingly complex. Basically, Percy has a lot of stuff to do and there's no time to waste! From his home life to his camp life to his journey across America, things barely slow down in a plot that contains everything but the kitchen sink. Riordan's most innovative feature is his "updating" of Greek mythology into a contemporary setting, and it is the readers who know their rudimentary legends that will derive the most enjoyment out of seeing familiar characters pop up in their modern forms.

Percy himself is a nice enough kid, struggling with his differences but keeping a hopeful outlook whenever things seem to be at their worst. Told in first-person narrative, it's Percy's own voice that guides us through the story, and he remains chatty and natural throughout. Grover makes for a great sidekick/best friend, with a back-story and personal problems of his own, and though Annabeth initially comes across as the typical feisty "I ain't no damsel in distress" love interest, she also comes into her own as the book progresses. But at times the trio can be unforgivably stupid. Say that you're on a dangerous mission, and know full well that deadly monsters are attacking you at every available opportunity. Would you take time out to go sightseeing in the Gateway Arc? Would you enter a suspicious casino where the waiters ply money into your hands and cater to your every need? Would you follow a creepy waterbed salesman into his shop? Every time the kids fall for this sort of thing, my respect for them dropped as swiftly as their IQ points.

If anything, the plot is perhaps a little too busy, with the protagonists racing at breakneck speed from one dangerous situation to the next, several plot coupons floating in and out of the story, and the themes of parental abandonment, responsibility, teenage delinquency, and the power of friendship piling up. And was anyone else a little disappointed that after all the fuss over Zeus's lightening bolt, it never actually got used? (Judging from the trailer, the film rectifies this problem).

Still, this was an immensely satisfying read, and a sympathetic hero, a race against time, a fusing of past and present, the mystery of a missing parent, action and adventure, and plenty of material leftover for the sequels, means that The Sea of Monsters is definitely on my reading list.  —Rebecca Fisher

The Sea of Monsters

Truth be told, I wasn't hugely impressed with the first Percy Jackson book, The Lightning Thief. It was entertaining, yes, but somewhat convoluted, derivative and predictable. Well, with Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, I take it all back. With a more rewarding plot, stronger characterization, and smoother pacing, the second book in the five-part series is an improvement in every respect.

Percy Jackson has recently discovered that his missing father is none other than the sea god Poseidon, and as a demigod he is constantly under threat from various Greek monsters that still roam the earth. Enrolled at a summer camp for training half-bloods, Percy's last adventure involved (among many other things) coming to terms with his parentage, learning about the powers he possesses, making friends with Grover and Annabeth (a satyr and the daughter of Athena, respectively) and learning about a plot to overthrow the gods.

It is a hectic, frantic, sprawling plot, but now that the characters and world have been introduced, the second book is on much firmer ground. There are fewer time-wasting side quests, and the characters are more comfortable with their powers, motivation, and relationships. The fact that most of the action takes place outside Camp Half-Blood means that there is less room for comparison with Harry Potter's Hogwarts (though the presence of a monstrous half-brother inevitably brings Hagrid and Grawp to mind). The villain's master plan that bubbles below the surface of the hero's quest is far less convoluted (not to mention less obvious), and culminates in a genuinely clever twist. Essentially, there is just more time to breathe.

After a deadly game of dodge-ball at his newest school and a series of troublesome dreams about Grover, Percy is whisked back to Half-Blood camp by Annabeth. There he finds the camp in chaos thanks to the poisoning of the great oak tree on its borders. It was once Thalia, the daughter of Zeus, who was turned into a tree after being fatally wounded. The tree protects the land around it, but now that she's dying, monsters are invading the camp and endangering the students housed there.

A plan is formed: to rescue Grover and retrieve the Golden Fleece (an object which will heal Thalia), and Percy and Annabeth sneak away with Percy's large but slow friend Tyson in tow, a character who ends up being more than he seems. With a rival camper determined to beat them to it, and the reappearance of an old enemy on their tails, Percy and Annabeth have a legitimately nail-biting quest ahead of them. The story hurries along at a swift pace, with several cameo appearances from the gods, though frustratingly, the protagonists are *still* walking into obvious traps which only exist in order to introduce an updated version of a Greek monster.

Rick Riordan is clearly having a lot of fun updating certain aspects of Greek mythology and placing it into a contemporary setting. Some of these innovations are ingenious (having established that the gods' power moves with the centre of Western civilization, it makes perfect sense that the Sea of Monsters is in the Bermuda Triangle), some...not so much (apparently the reason that fast-food chains are so lucrative is because they're magically linked to the life force of a monster... or something).

Characters are improved though; Percy's first-person narrative is less annoying and Annabeth is less stand-offish. Grover is a little understated, but some interesting shades of grey have been mingled into Clarisse, the daughter of Ares, who was previously just a one-note bully. Now that the traitor of the last book has been unveiled, there is a personal element to the foe that the protagonists are facing, and although each book so far has a kidnapping/rescue mission (Percy's mother in the first, and by the looks of it, Annabeth in the third), the fact that we're already interested and invested in Percy's friendship with Grover means that the stakes are higher, something that wasn't particularly apparent when Sally Jackson was snatched. (Plus, there's always the chance that Grover could fall to the dead best friend cliché...)

All things considered, I think Sea of Monsters is a vast improvement on its predecessor. The plot is better structured and not as needlessly complex, and merging of Greek mythology and urban life is more successful, and the characters are more familiar (and therefore more likeable) this time around. I hope the trend continues for The Titan’s Curse.  —Rebecca Fisher

The Titan's Curse

To briefly bring you up to date: the five-part Percy Jackson series revolves around updated versions of the Greek gods and their half-blood children. With Olympus currently situated in New York, many of the gods' children (who often don't know who their godly parent is, having been raised by their mortal one) attend Camp Half-Blood where they can learn to control their abilities and fend off the monsters that they attract like magnets. Percy's coming-of-age story involves him undertaking number of dangerous quests to defeat the growing power of Kronos, an ancient Titan who wants to overthrow Olympus.

Percy is now fourteen years old, and about to embark on his next big adventure. If you haven't read the two previous Percy Jackson books, then there's no use starting here, you'll need to backtrack to The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters, as Rick Riordan makes few concessions for readers who have come to the party late. Along with his friends Thalia (daughter of Zeus) and Annabeth (daughter of Athena) Percy joins Grover, the guardian satyr, in the attempt to recruit two new possible half-bloods at a boarding school.

In the skirmish that follows, Bianca and Nico di Angelo are saved, an unlikely goddess comes to Percy's rescue, and Annabeth goes missing. Armed with a pesky prophesy from the Oracle and a band of squabbling fellow heroes (including Thalia, Bianca, Grover and Zoe, one of Artemis's maiden huntresses), Percy goes in search of Annabeth, Artemis, and the monster that many believe will herald the downfall of the Olympian gods.

The Titan's Curse begins a little shakily, with yet another rescue mission providing the impetus of the plot, the urgency of which is sapped as our heroes simply hang out in Camp Half-Blood, playing capture the flag while they wait for each other to come up with a decent plan to save Annabeth, but once things get cracking the story races along at its usual breakneck pace. As Percy is haunted by dreams, his own power, monsters, and his difficult-to-get-along-with teammates, Riordan manages to gather together a lot of disparate threads and weave them together in an exciting road-trip adventure.

Most rewarding is the way in which Percy, Thalia, Zoe, Bianca and Grover learn to work as a team, relying on each other's strengths and covering for each other's weaknesses. Interestingly, Percy gives up the leadership role in favor of Thalia in this installment, and the two have an interesting dynamic going on as they try to figure out whether they're meant to be friends or rivals. Throughout the story there are plenty of nice quiet moments in which Riordan takes the opportunity to explore the heroes' softer sides, as well as their dark back-stories.

Sadly, Annabeth is largely MIA this time around, but the di Angelo siblings get a nifty plot-twist (any semblance that Nico may have to Colin Creevey is certainly gone by the end of the book) and Zoe is so much more than the straw-feminist that she first appears to be. Also noteworthy is the fact that Riordan allows for mere mortals to display moments of heroism, whether it be the teenagers' birth parents, or simple bystanders that help out in small but important ways.

More gods make their first cameo appearances, particularly Apollo (who drives a red convertible) and Aphrodite (who, in a nice touch, appears as whatever her audience finds most attractive; when Percy first sees her, he's reminded of Annabeth... aww).

As always, it's the humor that's the real selling point of the book. With chapter titles like "I Wrestle Santa's Evil Twin" and "I Go Snowboarding With a Pig," and pages that are littered with jokes, sarcasm and puns, all presented in Percy's dry first-person narrative, it's impossible to suppose that you won't find something worth laughing over. Though many of the gags may be hit-and-miss, their rapid fire pacing means that the ones that don't work are easily forgotten by the time the next dozen or so pop up. On one page alone, we get these:

• Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was under his restrictions and most of us were underage. With a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke. Nobody drank that either.
• Zoe started off the meeting on a positive note: "This is pointless."
• "Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and ping pong balls and spraying them with topping.

On a more serious note, there are still some problems with the structure of the story. Although the teens are no longer wandering into situations that have TRAP written all over them, Riordan does cheat a little with his distribution of exposition. He'll add a little bit of intrigue by having a character allude to a past mishap or a deep dark secret, only for Percy to decide not to enquire further. Had these been resolved in this book it wouldn't have bothered me as much, but plenty are left dangling for future installments in the series. Likewise, he often relies on quite literal dues ex machina, wherein the teenagers find themselves in dire straights, and simply pray to various deities to help them out. I don't have a problem with adults coming to their offspring's rescue, but it does lessen the tension a little, and leads to a bit of logic-fail when one asks why the heroes don't simply call upon their supernatural parents whenever they get into the least bit of trouble. Despite ending on a rather odd cliffhanger (out of all the plot-threads at work in this story, the whereabouts of the god Pan is probably the least pressing), everything is all set for the stakes to be raised even higher in The Battle of the Labyrinth. —Rebecca Fisher

The Battle of the Labyrinth

Just as every Harry Potter book began with the requisite tormenting of the Dursley family, every Percy Jackson book begins with the destruction of a school, a trend that continues in the fourth book starring the young demi-god son of Poseidon. Unless you're familiar with the three previous books, you'll probably find yourself lost with what's going on here. About to celebrate his fifteenth birthday party, Percy is still up to his neck in problems, ranging from his mother's new boyfriend to the Greek monsters that keep trying to kill him. Luckily he has his friends to help him out: the satyr Grover, who is on a quest for the missing god Pan, his half-brother Tyson, a Cyclops, and Annabeth, the daughter of Athena — except lately Annabeth has been acting a little strangely...

After rejoining his friends at Camp Half-Blood, the summer camp for teenagers who have one divine and one mortal parent, Percy learns of the latest activities of Olympus's enemies. Led by ex-camp member Luke Castellan, with the goal of resurrecting the evil Titan Kronos, a range of monsters are attempting to invade the camp and eradicate the half-bloods. Their idea is to use the legendary Labyrinth as their way in. The Labyrinth was designed by the famous inventor Daedalus, and though it was originally located on the island of Crete, it has since grown and evolved to encompass the entire earth — it's the perfect underground traveling system, if one can navigate it properly.

Percy's only option is to go down himself, find Daedalus's workshop in the centre of the maze, and beg him not to help Luke find his way out. This is not as simple as it sounds considering the monsters that dwell there, the ever-changing tunnels and passages, and the fact that it can drive people crazy if they're down there too long. Led by Annabeth and joined by Grover and Tyson, the quartet of heroes have a range of obstacles and personal challenges to overcome, in what is another fast-paced and humor-filled adventure that successfully builds on the growing plots of the previous books without repeating itself.

Although The Titan’s Curse remains my favorite installment (so far), Battle of the Labyrinth has the most cohesive plot. In previous books the story-lines can be a bit haywire, with our protagonists running about with no clear idea of what they're doing or why, but here the goals are decided upon swiftly and the setbacks faced with maturity. Our heroes are growing in more ways than one, and for the first time a touch of tension exists between Percy and Annabeth that has nothing to do with their external circumstances. Other little subplots and mysteries are continued (such as Nico de Angelo's misplaced anger at Percy for the death of his sister) or introduced (a new teacher known as Mr. Quintus seems to have an unclear agenda at the camp), and resolved in satisfactory ways.

The Labyrinth is a great imaginative effort, a large semi-conscious organism that is ever-changing and evolving, filled to the brim with monsters, traps, secrets and danger. Percy and his friends certainly find more than they expect down there, and Rick Riordan has great fun satirizing certain aspects of contemporary culture, updating the old Greek myths in clever ways (I loved his take on the riddle-speaking sphinx).

I'm always amazed by the sheer amount of material that Riordan manages to pack into any one Percy Jackson book without things getting slow. There's even room for a poignant chapter in which Percy comes across Calypso's island and finds himself faced with the same dilemma that Odysseus of old once did. There's also a reappearance from Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the mortal who can see through the concealing Mist that hides supernatural activities from normal human beings, a visit to Triple G Ranch where the steeds and cattle of the gods are pastured, resolution to Grover's attempts to find Pan, and an introduction to Hera, the Queen of Heaven. Whew!

By the end of the book the game has changed, the stakes have been raised, and we're all one step closer to the prophecy that dictates either Percy or Nico will make a world-changing decision in the coming battle between Titans and Olympian Gods in the fifth and final book: The Last Olympian.
—Rebecca Fisher

The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian is Rick Riordan’s conclusion to the well-received Percy Jackson series which involves the attempt by Kronos, the titan displaced ages ago by Zeus and the other Olympians, to rally his fellow titans, as well as assorted monsters, demigods, and disgruntled minor gods, to take down the Olympians and their allies, especially the Olympians’ children — the demigods of Camp Half-Blood led by Percy Jackson (son of Poseidon), Annabeth (daughter of Athena), and Grover (a satyr).

As one might expect of the concluding book, the action reaches its peak and Kronos is as close as he will ever be to achieving his aims. The Last Olympian opens with a bang, as Percy is on a mission to blow up an ocean liner filled with Kronos (who in the previous book reincorporated himself in the body of Luke, a former member of Camp Half-blood who gave himself over to Kronos) and hordes of monsters. From there, Percy and his friends Annabeth, Grover, and new-friend Rachel Dare (a mortal who can see through the Mist that cloaks supernatural activity from regular mortals) careen from crisis to crisis. Along the way, we see more of the Great Prophecy that has driven much of the action — one that seems to indicate Percy will die; we travel with Percy to his father’s underwater palace as its under siege by the Titan Oceanus; we watch Percy go with Nico (son of Hades) to the Underworld and take a bold, unexpected risk; and we learn more of Luke’s early childhood and his relationship with Annabeth.

In the final quarter of the book Percy and his friends must defend Manhattan, in particular Mt. Olympus (the 600th floor of the Empire State Building) from Kronos’ invading army while the Olympians travel out West to try and slow the steady march to Manhattan of Typhon — the greatest monster of all and one that almost destroyed the Olympians in the first war of the Titans. The half-bloods fight one desperate holding battle after another on their own as the Olympians gradually give ground to the seemingly unstoppable Typhon. Meanwhile, amidst all the military mayhem, Percy has to deal with his warring emotions over Annabeth (his feelings for her, her feelings for Luke) and Rachel, as well as his newfound doubts about whether or not his opponents might actually have an argument to make about the Olympians’ rule the past few millennia.

The Last Olympian, like the series as a whole, is a wild, enjoyable ride, with a great overlay of Greek mythology — a mix of the well-known and the lesser-known (obscure monsters, lesser gods such as Morpheus or Hestia) as well as reoccurrences of past mythological events (the sulking of Achilles in his tent, the charge of Patroclus) that are dressed up in the modern plot in simply wonderful fashion. The book zips along with very few lags, there are several compelling subplots including Luke’s background and the question of a spy among the half-bloods, the dialogue is crisp, the adolescent characters act like adolescents (albeit with lots of power), heroes come from obvious and far-less obvious sources, and Riordan layers a sophisticated level of greyness over many of the events and characters, so that it doesn’t simply become an overly-simplistic battle of good vs. evil. Humor runs throughout despite the seriousness of the events and we never lose touch of the fact that Percy and his friends, for all their powers and responsibilities, are adolescents with all the baggage that comes with that age. And it’s nice to see that Riordan has resisted the urge to pad these latter books just because the books are popular — they remain tightly plotted and constructed.

The ending is relatively strong, though perhaps a bit predictable for adults, and certainly many of The Last Olympian's elements have been seen in other fantasies, including relatively contemporary ones: animated statues, a prophecy that seems to indicate the main character must die, a desperate defense a la Hogwarts, flashbacks into a villain’s childhood, etc. And Riordan may rely a bit too much on Percy’s dreams as a way of cluing him into what his enemies are doing. But these minor flaws are quickly forgotten in the rush and enjoyment of the plot and characters.

Fans of the series will be happy to know that while The Last Olympian brings the war of Kronos and the Olympians to a satisfactory resolution, the ending clearly points the way to more stories in this world. While I often wince at the way fantasy series, especially YA ones, have lately begun to spin out in seemingly endless fashion so as to ensure a constant flow of dollars (and movie rights), Riordan so far shows no signs of exhausting his world of gods and demi-gods and I’ll look forward to seeing what he does next in it. —Bill Capossere

The Last Olympian

So I finally come to it, the fifth and final book in the PERCY JACKSON series and the culmination of his coming-of-age story. At the age of twelve our hero found out that his father was the god Poseidon, making him a demi-god with a place waiting for him at Camp Half-Blood, the summer camp designed to teach and train the children of the gods. As Percy quickly realizes, it's a dangerous world if you're a half-blood, particularly since he attracts monsters like a magnet.

Under the guidance of the centaur Charon and his best friend Grover the satyr, Percy thrives in his new environment and has already proven his worth by having undertaken several quests over the course of the past four books, alongside his friend Annabeth (the daughter of Athena) and various other camp members: the children of Hermes, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephasteus and other gods of the Greek pantheon.

But always hanging over Percy's head is a prophecy declaring that on his sixteenth birthday he will make a decision that will either save or destroy Olympus. With the rise of Kronos and the Titans, who are steadily gathering their allies and building up their armies for an assault on Mount Olympus, Percy and his friends prepare their own defences. It's a grim battle that awaits them, for leading the assault is their former friend Luke, who was corrupted by Kronos and is currently possessed by his spirit.

Needless to say, if you have not caught up on the previous PERCY JACKSON adventures, you'll be rather lost jumping on the bandwagon this late in the game — you'll have to start back with The Lightning Thief and work your way up. Now with his birthday fast-approaching, and his allies spread thin across the land, sea and air in their attempt to hold back the forces of the Titans, Percy is astonished to find himself the appointed war-general of the half-blood campers, defending Manhattan from the onslaught of Kronos's army of monsters.

Though most of the book is straight-out action sequences, in which Percy (having made a startling strategic decision early on in the book) fights the legion of monsters bombarding New York, there is also time for some back-story into Luke's tragic past, the threat of a spy in the Olympian's midst, a strange destiny unfurling before Percy's mortal friend Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and an internal crisis when Percy ponders the possibility that maybe the Titans have a point when it comes to their vendetta against the neglectful, vindictive, irresponsible gods.

Essentially, if the previous books were all set-ups, this final instalment is all pay-off — though whether or not you think Riordan delivers is up to you. Riordan has kept careful track of his various plot arcs and dangling threads, and there's very little left hanging by the end of the book. Most of the characters introduced in the previous books return here to help or hinder our heroes, whether they be mortals, half-bloods or gods, and Riordan ensures that each of them gets their personal moment of glory.

Completely gone is the usual formula of the cross-country adventure fraught with monsters, (just as well, as this was getting rather stale). The Last Olympian rushes by at a turbulent pace that never slows down for a second, from the opening act in which Percy attempts to blow up Luke's cruise ship, to his secret mission alongside Nico de Angeli to secure invulnerability for himself, to the battle for New York, which takes up most of the book. Some may find that this battle gets rather repetitive after a while: the half-blood campers fight furiously against a variety of monsters, only for a third party to arrive at the most opportune moment.

As always, Riordan keeps Percy's first-person narrative, a dangerous technique in the wrong hands, but which ends up being the strongest element of this series. Percy's inner monologue is self-effacing and down-to-earth, with plenty of snarky commentary on himself, his world, and the crazy scenarios that he finds himself thrown into. I'm going to miss his voice. In fact, at the risk of scandalizing the throngs of HARRY POTTER fans, I find myself enjoying the character of light-hearted Percy far more than that of moody Harry. Although your opinion may wildly differ from mine, I found that when the time came for the protagonist of each series to make his character-defining choice, Percy's decision was more stirring than Harry's. Perhaps not as heart-breaking, but certainly more life-affirming. At the conclusion of the PERCY JACKSON series, I got the sense that Riordan felt it was not enough to simply save the world — it had to be changed as well.

Speaking of HARRY POTTER, the comparisons are inevitable. This is a series named after its lead hero, concerning a battle between good and evil fought with magic by teenagers, with a romantic subplot, plenty of monsters and a prophecy that probably doesn't mean what the protagonists think it does. The world of Percy Jackson is (much like the wizarding world of Harry Potter) a secret world within our own, in which updated versions of the Greek gods still continue their immortal lives, just as carelessly, recklessly and hypocritically as they did back in Ancient Greece. Because they are manifestations of Western culture and tradition, they move along with the shift of power in the world, which means that Mount Olympus is currently located on the top of the Empire State building in New York. It's a nice twist on the old stories, and for those with foreknowledge of the Grecian myths, it'll be even more rewarding to see what Riordan does with his updated versions (I especially liked the replaying of the Achilles and Patroclus friendship replayed between two half-bloods).

All in all, I've enjoyed reading the PERCY JACKSON series. It's had its flaws and its quirks, and it's doubtful that the movie franchise will take off in the same way the HARRY POTTER films did, but for the duration of the five books it was a wild ride — with a pretty big hint that there's more to come in the sequel series, The Heroes of Olympus.

Oh, and if you're wondering who "the last Olympian" of the title is... you'll be surprised.
—Rebecca Fisher