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savage_book_review 's review for:
The Mark of Athena
by Rick Riordan
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Percy and Annabeth are finally reunited, and the quest to save Olympus from the wrath of Gaia and bring together the Greek and Roman demigods begins...
It hit me as I was reading this that a big reason that I'm enjoying this series more than 'Percy Jackson' is that the books flow into one another with one continuous story arc. It was one of my bugbears with PJ that it felt so choppy and hard to get back into the world at the beginning of each book; it was like each book was trying and failing to be a standalone. But with Heroes of Olympus, there's no such worry - this one picks up as the last book ends and, once again, you're immediately thrown into the action.
Something else that works in this that usually bugs me is the shifting perspectives. With seven stories to tell, this should just be a complete tangle and lead to utter confusion. But actually the author has got it spot on! You know and care about whose perspective the narrative is being told from, and somehow he manages to work it so that each shift feels natural and easy. Nor does it feel like each separate plot line is placed on hold in turn when a new character comes to the fore.
The one thing I'm struggling to get my head around is the ages of the characters. Percy is just 16! And yet he, Annabeth, Jason and the others (some of whom are younger than that) are all written with such maturity. Even someone like Leo, with all his madcap ideas, comes across as much wiser than his years. I definitely get the Percy/Annabeth 'ship now, but when I read about them I just can't help imagining them in their mid-20s.
I do love the continued weaving in of various Greek myths to create extra heroes and villains for the piece. In this one I particularly liked Echo (hoping she makes another appearance!) and Arachne. The fact that the concept hasn't stopped bearing fruit yet us a testament to the author's skills as a writer; it's so clever how he maintains the vast majority of the myths intact, but manipulates them to work for him as part of the story.
Now I just need to find a paperback version for my bookshelf!
It hit me as I was reading this that a big reason that I'm enjoying this series more than 'Percy Jackson' is that the books flow into one another with one continuous story arc. It was one of my bugbears with PJ that it felt so choppy and hard to get back into the world at the beginning of each book; it was like each book was trying and failing to be a standalone. But with Heroes of Olympus, there's no such worry - this one picks up as the last book ends and, once again, you're immediately thrown into the action.
Something else that works in this that usually bugs me is the shifting perspectives. With seven stories to tell, this should just be a complete tangle and lead to utter confusion. But actually the author has got it spot on! You know and care about whose perspective the narrative is being told from, and somehow he manages to work it so that each shift feels natural and easy. Nor does it feel like each separate plot line is placed on hold in turn when a new character comes to the fore.
The one thing I'm struggling to get my head around is the ages of the characters. Percy is just 16! And yet he, Annabeth, Jason and the others (some of whom are younger than that) are all written with such maturity. Even someone like Leo, with all his madcap ideas, comes across as much wiser than his years. I definitely get the Percy/Annabeth 'ship now, but when I read about them I just can't help imagining them in their mid-20s.
I do love the continued weaving in of various Greek myths to create extra heroes and villains for the piece. In this one I particularly liked Echo (hoping she makes another appearance!) and Arachne. The fact that the concept hasn't stopped bearing fruit yet us a testament to the author's skills as a writer; it's so clever how he maintains the vast majority of the myths intact, but manipulates them to work for him as part of the story.
Now I just need to find a paperback version for my bookshelf!