I haven’t mentioned him much, but over the course of the series, Octavian has really grown into a bigger annoyance than anticipated. Up until this installment, he just lurked as something to deal with on top of Gaia’s evil plot. However, in this book, he became almost overtly scummy. It was exaggerated to the point that I found myself wanted him to have a redemption arch a la Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. An actually satisfying redemption would be a tall order for a single novel, especially considering how many other things were happening, so I’ll take never having to deal with him again as my happy ending.

Readers also continued to meet new characters as the group continued their quest. The one that sticks out the most to me is a minor sea goddess that Percy calls Kym. She seems like a fun, chaotic-neutral character I kind of want a mini story where she becomes like an annoying older sister to Percy. Kym just seemed to give off similar vibes to some of the characters we met in later Percy Jackson and the Olympians books; that is to say, it felt like set up for a future story.

 I - as an older reader and general fan of mythologies of all flavors - didn’t like how Riordan portrayed some of the Olympians. Namely, I disliked his versions of Hades and Persephone. Throughout Percy Jackson and the Olympians and even this series, Riordan has does measured efforts to flesh out the Lord of the Underworld. The final stretch I needed came in this book where Hades tells Nico, out of all his children, he was most hoping that Nico would be the one that found happiness. We see how he cares for his wife and children in a way that makes much more sense than the cold hearted god we had been told he was in previous book series. I really appreciated this addition to not only his character, but to his relationship with Nico.

The biggest highlight from my reading was the introduction of Nico into the perspectives. Of the Argo II’s crew, he’s one of the ones readers have known the longest, and the one we know the least about. While I missed not having his insight in The House of Hades (which would have been amazing considering it was his father’s domain), Riordan did a nice job reaching to past events to provide context for the complicated emotions Nico was processing.  

This book also brought another unexpected but lovely surprise in Nico’s friendship with Reyna. With her coming from her own difficult past, I think it helped Nico realize that he wasn’t alone, which I sensed was a big obstacle for Nico to overcome. Coming directly from my notes, “Nico’s making friends! He’s starting to be happy! I love my dead gay son so much!”

The Blood of Olympus felt very similar to The Last Olympian in terms of a quickening pace and the build up to a battle. This isn’t a bad thing, but following The Mark of Athena and The House of Hades made it feel like a bit of a step down. As much as I loved Riordan finally introducing Nico into the proper narrative, it wasn’t enough to fully level up this book.

For as much “screen time” Riordan is giving the statue, I hope it ends up being some unexpected key to winning the war against Gaea. I also want it to be just a statue. In this world where magic is real, it would somehow chepen the story of the statue’s loss if it were actually something fantastic, especially if it comes alive or something. I don’t have any idea how these two sentiments of mine would work together, I can only hope Riordan continues to be more creative than me.

Speaking of magic, though, Hazel. I think it’s so fascinating that Hecate takes an interest in her. It touches on how magic functions in a world of demigods. I mean, they seem to have their truly god-given talents, what with Jason’s ability to fly and Percy to command water, but I can’t remember ever having seen a demigod command magic outside of enchanted items. My current going theory is that magic use by an inherently non-magical creature is usually used for evil purposes, so it’s not a popular option for camp extracurriculars. I also think it’s really cute how Hazel wants Percy and Annabeth to be proud of her for taking command of the quest in their, uh, absence.

Also, my baby Frank seemed to really grow into his title of Son of Aries. He is more confident in himself and in his ability to lead a battle. Additionally, he feels more at home in his skin, which is in part to the physical change bestowed upon him by his dad and by his increasing comfort with his family’s magic ability. The events of The Heroes of Olympus take place roughy over a year, meanwhile Percy Jackson and the Olympians take place over five. However, we see a similar growing up tale reflected in Frank that we saw in Percy, which has me feeling like a proud mom.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous reviews for The Heroes of Olympus, Riordan brings an element of maturity to this new series by reflecting on the fight between good and evil. Percy spends most of his time in Tartarus contemplating if the monsters he slays are really to blame. Now that he’s walking through the place that he’s sent them all, his empathy for them makes it hard to justify his heroic but possibly ignorant actions. We really see that Percy has grown up and is not the 12-year-old we met at Clancy Academy.

While The House of Hades did not have as much personal pay off for me the same way that The Mark of Athena had, it provided enormous growth to our characters and made the world more well-rounded. I wish there was more of a focus on Nico given the title-matter, but also see that Riordan packed so much into this book that would potentially asking too much. In conclusion, I can’t wait to read the final book!

To start, I don’t know what Annabeth, the great strategist, was thinking showing up to a known army with less than a handful of demigods and a magic dragon ship. I know Camp Half-Blood usually only sends three people out on quests, but Mission: Rescue Percy is not a quest. Speaking of, when you show up out of the blue with an airship, I don’t blame the Romans for not liking the Greeks. Most interactions like that seem to be a declaration of war.  

Looking at the interactions between the Greeks and the Romans, it seems to come down to different beliefs - individualistic versus collectivist. You can see how coming from a vast empire and now being tied to a permanent city versus a simple summer camp makes Romans more considerate of the majority versus “I can do this, so I will” sort of execution style of the Greeks.

One difference between the two camps concerning Annabeth was the matter of her parentage. It got brought up once, but in a way that stuck out to me. Annabeth is told the reason New Romans stare at her is not so much that she is Greek, but that her mom, Athena, is supposed to be a virgin Goddess. Annabeth had previously explained the same issue to Percy when they were younger, saying that she was a literal brainchild. Something along the lines of “Romans take vows of celibacy very seriously” is said and I just really wanted Annabeth to point out that Zeus is MARRIED, but Athena can’t like a man enough to think up a child? I didn’t want a total change of perspective, but I would’ve liked Reyna to commiserate with her about the misogynistic judgement. Instead, Annabeth feels like she’s a freak of nature, which just felt out of character for her.  

Riordan begins to ask deeper questions of his characters in this book. One of the best questions Riordan asks is what is the limitations of a demigods’ power?

Percy notes how Jason can fly but Thalia can’t. He theorizes it’s because she’s afraid of heights, which spells bad news for him as he begins to have a fear of drowning suffocation. We also see some deeper contemplation about what our heroes originally believed to be right and wrong. Being able to examine the grey area in the fight between good and evil elevates the story to a more mature place; it’s grown older the same way Percy has.

I related so much to Annabeth in the original series, so to get a book that more or less focused on her was extremely satisfying. She spent most, if not all, of Percy Jackson and the Olympians as part of Percy’s quests, but the search for the statue was one given to her alone and by her own mother, no less.

Her journey underground was perfectly suited to her strengths. Someone else might read that as it all being too easy for her. Instead, I read it as putting her money where her mouth is; pride is her mortal flaw. I think it’ll be hard to tell her not to be proud of recovering the statue.

After establishing that both Greek and Roman gods are real in this universe and introducing the main characters of this series in the first two novels, I thought that was going to be the end of Riordan expanding the world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Then, he ends The Mark of Athena on the most devastating cliffhanger that I’ve read in a while.

Percy and Annabeth get cast into Tartarus.

Maybe it’s just because we returned to Percy’s POV, but The Son of Neptune felt like a better fit with the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series. It also seemed to feature more of Riordan’s signature wit and humor. I felt like this book was harkening back to the Lightning Thief with Percy’s sudden arrival at camp before being immediately sent off on a dangerous quest. Although, Percy was more confident in his abilities to complete the quest than he was when he was twelve, so good for him.

There’s an interesting contrast between New Rome/Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood. Of course, both are separate from mortal society, however their level of involvement is very different. I would have thought New Rome would be the one spilling out into society, given how far the Roman empire had spread. Instead, it’s the Greek campers that go onto incorporate themselves into the mortal world and New Rome remains concealed in it’s single, mountain city. There’s also a major difference in the strictness of the camps. Camp Half-blood felt like it appeared, like a summer camp, but Camp Jupiter was a war camp. It is not a place where Mr. D could be so unconcerned or where the Stolls could pull off their pranks. Camp Half-Blood made you feel safe, but Camp Jupiter made you feel anxious for a fight you knew was coming.

As a fascinating result, though, older demigods weren’t scattered to the wind. While Camp Half-Blood no doubt taught the kids how to survive, we didn’t actually see it. It gave readers (and Percy) the knowledge not all demigods die a gruesome, young death at the hands of monsters. It also opens up an interesting line of thought about what were to happen if two demigods have children. As all Percabeth shippers will tell you, this is not a new idea, but it takes it from speculation to something concrete in the text. Personally, I would like to see if they get claimed or have any sort of godly affinity. Even though Camp Jupiter did not house families together like the Cabins of Camp Half-Blood, godly parents still seem to play a large part in the identities of those in New Rome.  

While we return to a familiar character in The Son of Neptune, we also get introduced to several new ones. I was thrilled by these new faces despite Riordan drawing some parallels between the friends back at Camp Half-Blood and the folks we meet in Camp Jupiter.

To start with a new face I did not like, Octavian was slimy. I saw a similarity between him and Clarisse in how they treated Percy upon arrival, but at least Clarisse was honest. I have a feeling my dislike of him will only grow over the series.

However, I really enjoyed meeting Hazel and Frank. In comparison to Piper and Leo, I’d say I think this pair were more my favorite. Hazel is young, but has a mature perception of the world, and “hits the Percy-shaped nail on the head,” according to my notes, when she makes a mental note not to underestimate the goofy boy she took Percy for when she first met him. As for Frank, I immediately gravitated toward him. People didn’t take him seriously and he doesn’t seem comfortable with himself, but I have a feeling he’s going to have a very interesting story-arch.  

While I have a lot to say about the new characters, I don’t have much to say about the actual plot of The Son of Neptune. Perhaps it’s because it felt so similar to Percy’s original adventures or because it felt like more set up for the series like The Lost Hero.

Because of the introduction to new characters and a new quest with only minimal ties to The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune felt like another first book in the series. I know it’s what happens next chronologically, but I sort of doubt if it would matter which one you read first. Also, due to the similarities to the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians plot lines, I found myself more attracted to learning about the new characters and new camp than what actually happened in the book. While I can’t say I’m jazzed about it, it does excite me for what Riordan has in store for the rest of the series.