Showing posts with label Heroes of Olympus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heroes of Olympus. Show all posts

May 5, 2014

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2)
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus, #2
Source: Bought
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: October 4, 2011
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.

Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn't ring any bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn't do a very good job of it. Sure, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem — when the Voice took over her mother and commanded Hazel to use her "gift" for an evil purpose, Hazel couldn't say no. Now because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk. Hazel wished she could ride away from it all on the stallion that appears in her dreams.

Frank is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn't see it. He doesn't even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery — although not good enough to win camp war games. His bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially infront of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely — enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart.

Beginning at the "other" camp for half-bloods and extending as far as the land beyond the gods, this breathtaking second installment of the Heroes of Olympus series introduces new demigods, revives fearsome monsters, and features other remarkable creatures, all destined to play a part in the Prophesy of Seven.

Honestly, I'm sure you all remember how much I missed Percy, so I won't go into details - but I missed him. A lot. But in The Son of Neptune, we get him back. And really... it was kind of strange.

Imagine knowing every detail of the characters background - while they don't know anything. You know every move that they make, and why they feel strange about certain things - always. And they don't - it's just very... trippy, I guess. When I said I missed Percy, I meant the one who remembered everything - and while it was great to have him back, even sans memories... I still missed him. He was there but he wasn't, you know?

And on top of that... Camp Jupiter is a totally different world than Camp Half-Blood. You can see the similarities, but Camp Jupiter is much more war driven (versus fun), and there was actually a city type set up. Once you're of age, you can stay. Interesting, but I think I'd still take Camp Half-Blood - they're a lot more chill about everything.

I liked Frank and Hazel. They both had very complicated histories, but they both show exciting promise. They're braver than anyone. I'm positive! I loved the sweet romance between the two, and I think that they're perfect together. Both of them are adorable in an underdog way, but especially Frank. He's just a big huggable bear! (hee hee)

Everything that happened in this book was interesting, but I'm just not completely sure at where I stand on this series. It feels like something very big is going to happen, and I don't know what. Which is killing me. All in all, The Son of Neptune is a good book. I'll definitely give it that.

May 2, 2014

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, #1)
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: October 12, 2010
Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.


Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.

My thoughts on The Lost Hero can pretty much be summed up like this: I CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO PERCY! Huh. Interesting, I like this Leo boy. Jason and Piper are okay, I guess. BUT I MISS PERCY. Wow. I'm in love with Coach Hedge. BUT IT DOES NOT CHANGE MY LOVE FOR PERCY.

Basically, I missed Percy. I think that's a little bit on the expectations of a spinoff - you want to love it just as much as the original, but.... you miss the original characters. It's kind of a let down, honestly. I absolutely missed Percy throughout every second of this book, and I kept waiting for him to just... pop up or something. His character being missing... it just takes a little bit of life out of the series. He's obviously my favorite, and I felt so bad for Annabeth! (BTW, I'm totally waiting for Annabeth's POV.)

Honestly, I'm not sure that multiple points of view was the right way to go with this. It's not that I didn't like it, but... I don't know. It didn't really grab me. The characters were all good in their own ways, but I really think that the only reason I liked Jason is kind of dumb... he reminded me of Percy. And Piper? I didn't care for her very much. I can't trust the girl, that's for sure. Leo was a fun character, but sometimes... he annoyed me a little bit.

The one character that I loved to death? Well, that would definitely be Gleeson Hedge. The love that I feel for this faun is absolutely ridiculous - and well deserved! His sense of humor was freaking amazing - he's like a really old version of Grover! I really liked him!

All in all, The Lost Hero really wasn't bad. It just wasn't Percy Jackson, you know? I'll still be continuing the series, because I know that Percy does show up soon, but I'm not sure what my end thoughts on this series will be.