So, the new cover has been released

 

I haven't read past the lost hero (because I hated it), but dat cover made everything worth it again.

 

Well, Lost Hero was by far the worst book of the series and it is up hill from there. Son of Neptune and Mark of Athena were actually rather good, so, if you finished Lost Hero, would be worth picking them up again.

 

Yeah, the Lost Hero was ok to me, no more. The rest of the series has been much better.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJm2PydCn_4

So yeah.

 

Can't wait for it. am actually considering watching the new Percy Jackson movie. Mostly because Nathan Fillion is in it and maybe with the faint hope that i can't possibly suck as much as the first one.

Mostly Fillion though. Has anyone watched it already?

As to the book, yeah, looking really good. Not sure whether it will be Percy and Annabeth focus only. On one hand, I would love that, on the other, it would mean that the next book would be most likely without those two and I don't really want that.

 

So, this is totally ignorant of me, but... does the new series revolve around Percy? If I've read through Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, would it be worthwhile to read the others? As enjoyable as the former books?

 

Well, kinda. The books are no longer from Percy's 1st person POV. So far, there are three books out, Lost Hero, Son of Neptune and Mark of Athena.

Percy doesn't appear in Lost Hero at all. While this is not the sole reason, it is, however, a big reason as to why that book sucks compared to the rest of the series. The other three protagonists, Jason, Piper and Leo are, overall, mostly poor replacements, at least for me. Leo is really the only decent one among them.

Son of Neptune and Mark of Athena however, have Percy again, albeit as a 3rd Person POV character who shares this position with 2 and 3 others, depending on the book. Son of Neptune has Percy, Hazel and Frank while Mark of Athena has Percy, Annabeth, Piper and Leo.

Son of Neptune however, has a more Percy centric feel to it, overall, and both, SoN and MoA are worth reading if you are fan of the previous series. Especially Annabeth's POV is a nice addition.

So, yeah, Percy plays a big role, however, he is not the sole main character any more and shares that position, kinda. It is weird though, since we got to know Percy very well and at least I didn't take to well to have to share that. Annabeth is really the only other POV that I enjoy character-wise.

So, overall, if you liked the first series, this one is worth checking out as well. It's just not Percy centric any more, which makes it better in some areas and worse in others. (mostly worse but hey, still enjoyable)

 

Thanks man, appreciate the thoughts. I think I'll take a stab at them - the only thing I'm really not looking forward to is having so many POV characters. I never take to books like that well.

 

Book's out. I'm still reading, but Percy and Annabeth are having a pretty shitty day so far, while Frank and Hazel have their own problems. Frank's done a bit of a one-eighty in me head though; I like him better now.

Also, Ares and Mars are hilarious.

 

Do you think the library have the book now?
Or is an Epub version already available?

 

God damn it. No. No. Fucking no. Not fucking

Spoiler

Calypso. Not fucking Leo/Calypso. 'Leo and Calypso Auto Repair Shop'? Oh my fucking God no. I mean, what the hell? He falls for her because she...likes to get her hands dirty. And she falls for him because he...what? Likes to work? Fuck.

Outraged reaction aside:

Spoiler

Still fucking know. Spoiler: Gods dicked over Calypso and didn't release her. Percy was, you know, getting kidnapped, put in a coma, and getting his memories wiped, so, yeah. But this doesn't call for a ham-handed romance, here--Percy got reminded of Calypso in an amazingly powerful way in this same book. What this calls for his him breaking some motherfuckers balls until they keep the promise they swore on the Styx less then a year ago. I like Leo, but God, this shit. Ugh! No.

Still a good book. But this part just fills me with rage.

 

Yeah, I'm not really pleased with this outcome either. Also, I kind of liked the reveal that

Spoiler

Nico is in love with Percy, and the way it is dealt with, but on the other hand it validates a fuckton of shitty slash fanfics.

 

I'm just pleased Rick was brave enough to do it--and not in a pussyfooted way or anything, but outright and in an important way that makes sense.

Also, it's not like the fandom was producing many not sucky fics, so I don't really care, there.

 

^^Agreed. There's something really wrong about a fandom where some of the only readable fanfiction (and I use that term loosely) I could find was reading-the-books stories. And Rick definitely did do things the right way. I think all of the major characters got at least a bit of good development in this book, and overall I think this is my favorite of HoO books so far, though there are a couple of things, like the one Ryuugi mentioned before, that I did not appreciate or were not executed as well as they could have been.

 

Praetor Frank leading the dead roman legion into battle was awesome. Reyna has reached Thalia and Annabeth levels of epicness. Jason choosing greek side over roman side. Bob the titan kicking monster butt with a spear!broom

 

Honestly, I feel like Reyna managed to be a bit too epic and too convenient.

Spoiler

Granted, she by herself probably didn't draw nearly as much attention/enemies as the 7, but it sounded like even without the direct opposition of Gaea traveling in that region should have been way too dangerous for any demigod going alone, even Percy or Jason.

EDIT: Also, an idea just occurred to me for the best way the Leo subplot could be resolved without the entire thing feeling like a copout, though it would be really sad.

Spoiler

Percy speculated in Battle of the Labyrinth that part of the curse on Ogygia/Calypso is that she and whatever hero is sent to her fall in love-if this is true, then possibly if/when Leo successfully returns and frees Calypso they will realize there is actually nothing between them, and Leo will once again be cast aside.

 

Ok, so, finished the book today. Overall, I rather liked it, worth reading although I do think Son of Neptune and Mark of Athena were overall better.

Spoiler

1. The Nico thing was rather awesomely done. Concur with you guys, Riordan handled this very well and I am rather impressed that he decided to include this in his rather successful young adult series, even if it happened rather late into the series. Still, a good inclusion that one doesn't see very often in a "big" hit such as this. It was pretty much the best moment of the book, actually. Cupid was hardcore, man.

2. Annabeth's and Percy's time in Tartarus was really interesting although I can't help but blame ryuugi shi for being a bit disappointed that it wasn't like his version with the absolute dark- and nothingness. Kinda found that scarier on principle rather than just a shitty place full with monsters. A bit disappointing, really. Tartarus really only was scary because they had no equipment and rations. Could have just as easily been any other place that was infested with monsters.

Really, the best parts were the things like the air being made out of acid, glass shards being the sand and so on. Felt a bit..mundane, still I enjoyed both characters here and I liked how they interacted. Those two are really my favourite characters of the series and I kinda wish they had more focus here. Also liked how they put a spotlight on a lot of Percy's flaws and misdeeds he did over the series. Really, never checking up on Calypso seemed quite douchy. Although, I think the wariness he still seems to have here for Nico, like warning Jason about him or telling him all that much about his adventures seems out of character for Percy.

Hope that Annabeth reclaims the Laptop at some point, seems shitty that she loses her important items while others just get new stuff. Sure, she has a new weapon, but the laptop was more important.

3. Calypso's inclusion I really hated. Not only was she turned into a tsundere, complete with a "not that I like you or anything...baka", this becoming Leo's love-interest is fucking bullshit and felt really contrived. I am glad she appeared again but I don't like how Leo was made part of her story. Really, this made me like him less, especially seeing how much of a douche he was just to be a douche.

This whole ranting thing seemed out of character for Calypso as well, I get that she is livid, rightfully so, but I imagined her anger to be more subtle and less...anime-ish.

Really, this whole "falling in love" thing with Leo is just dumb, but seeing that Riordan is working rather hard to pair everyone up...

Like the idea that it was only the magic of the island that did so, though. Hope it is something like that and we won't see this Leo's and Calypso's shop bullshit.

4. Have to say, Piper, Jason and Frank are still rather meh characters overall, and I just didn't warm up to them. They all got decent development here and I am so fucking glad there was no boyfriend drama from Piper, instead we got that from Frank and Leo who just seemed whiny, especially Leo, whom I liked less due to this book. He made me laugh a few times, seeing that he does get good lines but still. Hazel did become more interesting with the magic thing, which I found was a nice inclusion and I did like Hecate and her spiel with the crossroads and stuff.

Frank was meh as well, he does have cool abilities, (really, Hazel, Frank and Leo seem to have outstripped Jason in terms of raw power) but I am not sure I liked his transformation. His promotion didn't make much sense, since Percy had replaced Jason as a Praetor, how did he have the authority left to promote Frank at that point? Still, a cool moment, though.

5. Liked Reyna and her thing, although, she really does seem to be getting the short end of the stick overall. Losing her pegasus, losing her rank, probably going to lose her dogs as well if this trend continues, all because she is the one person in the roman camp capable of making good decisions.

Overall, yeah, liked it, had some weak points though. Still, 4/5.

 

After reading this book my only thought is, Percy/Fem!Nico OTP