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The Mark of Athena hit bookshelves early last week. We've read it from cover to cover
and we're here to share the good, the bad, and the monstrous.
Rick Riordan doesn't disappoint with his latest installment in the Heroes of Olympus
series. His trademark humor is spot on, causing more than one real-life LOL. All the silly
monsters and clever lines that we fell in love with when we read The Lightning Thief
are new, improved, and back with a vengeance. We've got fresh retorts and the latest Greek
god-inspired spoofs (our favorite one being, "So you think you can weave better than
a goddess?"), and each one packs a serious punch.
The Mark of Athena sees representatives of the two camps -- Half-Blood and Jupiter -- together
in the same place, but not necessarily united under the same flag. Seven demigods have to
venture forth on the quest of a lifetime, but the hardest part might prove to be working
together. They must fly on the Argo II, the Greek trireme adorned with the head of our
favorite dragon Festus, cross the United States, traverse the ocean, and end up in Rome -- one
of the most dangerous places in the world for demigods. (Go figure, right?)
The story is told from four different points of view: Piper, Leo, Percy, and Annabeth.
On the whole, the book was another success as far as we're concerned. The funny moments
weigh equally with the emotional bits, and the suspense keeps you turning pages as if
the fate of the world is resting on your back (or maybe that was just Atlas wanting a quick
break). The most exciting part had to be when the demigods finally made it to Rome. Despite
the fact that they knew what they had to face there, the crew of the Argo II and the readers
alike take a moment to appreciate finally stepping foot in one of the birthplaces of
all those legends.
The book slows down periodically to take note of everyone's situation. There are a lot
of characters aboard the ship, and taking stock of what each one is thinking or doing
can become tiresome. This book is as much about relationships as it is about finding
a way to stop Gaea, and while that's all fine and dandy, sometimes we (as in this writer
in particular) just wants to see some ancient mythological monster's head flying instead
of hearing about how everyone feels about everyone else.
Gone are the days of the 12-year-old boy who just found out his father was Poseidon. (Can
we just take a moment here as well to say that we really miss those snarky chapter titles
from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series?) Percy is almost 17 and the tone of the book
reflects this. The various couples find themselves alone more often and we sense that our favorite
characters are almost fully-fledged adults. The humor is sometimes in contrast to this
and doesn't fit as well with the story as when our characters were pre-teens. On the
other hand, we can't say we didn't laugh when a giant with an affinity for ballet popped
up in a blue tutu and insisted on performing a pirouette with every attack.
The novel on a whole answered a lot of questions, although we probably have just as many new
ones for the following book. But these set us up perfectly for the next installment as
well: we know the goal (to save the world...again), but it's an impossible task under an impossible
deadline. It's nothing new for our heroes, but we wouldn't want it any other way.
Oh, and the ending? Well, we're obviously not going to give that away. But don't say
we didn't warn you.