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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth Book Review

Rawr Reader,

    Completely unrelated to anything, but I started this review before finishing the prior. Hehehe. This is the fourth book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series, The Battle of the Labyrinth. The synopsis is provided by Goodreads:


 Percy Jackson isn't expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to diabolical. 

In this latest installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop them, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth-a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn. Full of humor and heart-pounding action, this fourth book promises to be their most thrilling adventure yet.


Reference:
   Thee first three books mentioned something about another book. xD

Review:
(safe for those who haven't read this review yet)
   Okay, this series has to stop being so freakin' amazing! (Please next book don't take my words to heart.) This book dealt mainly in the labyrinth and while I was afraid I was going to get a little bored with the repetitiveness of mazes in general (we took a right, we took a left, we took so many turns I was lost), I felt the suspense intertwined with it that I didn't even notice they were in a labyrinth at times. This book continues with Percy facing a bunch of new monsters and other ancient Greek creatures and Titans. 
   I don't have much to say about this book, other than I'll say this book is second to The Sea of Monsters as my favorite in the series. I don't know why, but I just felt myself loving the concept of the Labyrinth and I loved all the monsters and places Percy visited. I had so much fun learning of even more creatures (and yes every time a new one is introduced I look it up) and while I undoubtedly am no expert in Greek mythology, I loved learning how many more that I never heard of. Most of the Greek stories I hear about get quite repetitive with monsters and heroes (Hercules, Theseus, Medusa, Minotaur, etc), but we also read in this book of other important historical Greek figures.
    What makes this series so far so epically (I know that isn't a real word but I can't think a better word) fantastic is that Riordan has taken what we already know of our favorite ancient Greek heroes and gods and monsters and just twisted them to better situate them in a contemporary world. "Obviously!" some of you may be thinking, but hear me out. These are gods who live in America, that still control (to an extent) the world but no longer emphasize blind faith and sacrifices from mere mortals. They still have children to this day, and these kids are like the heroes of old. Only, these heroes are unique people themselves, and need to prove themselves different from their ancestral counterparts. And they need to continue in a modern America, living by modern means but needing to still abide by and live by older ways as well (the sacrifices to their parents, allegiances to their parents-- if they're good, being trained and studied in all the classical fighting and histories). I mean, they even live alongside centaurs, satyrs, nymphs, and even for this century alongside one of the twelve Olympians, Dionysus. This world is just so unbelievably mind-blowing, I have to applaud Riordan in thinking of this world, parallel and ever so present to our real world. (Sorry for saying world so many times in one paragraph, and saying it again even now.)
    The characters become even more diverse and complicated in this book, and while they haven't before (because they have each book following the next), this book really began to show true feelings for several characters and it is a perfect set up for the next and final book in the series. I simply cannot wait to see what Riordan has in store!
    Nico is possibly my favorite character in this book, because not only was he revealed to be the child of Hades, but he just became a beast. (No, it has nothing to do that he has the first four letters of my name ;D ) He is so incredibly powerful and I can't wait to see what role he plays in the next book. Seriously, Nico is going to be possibly the key player in whether the Olympians win or not. I'm calling it here and now. It's going to be him. He's going to reveal something or know something that is going to blow this war into another level of epic. Ahhhh! Okay, Ill calm down now. xD
    Well, after this: Annabeth and Percy. *sighs* If you read my review on The Sea of Monsters, you know that I wanted to see their relationship develop. Whether for good or bad, I wanted them to confront their feelings and I'm glad they did a little in this one (because they sure didn't in the third book). I really can't wait to see how these two work it out (or not, I haven't read the next book yet) and see what the future holds for them. (If they win at all, but I'll take a shot in the dark, they will.)
    There were a couple moments that I forgot some characters names, like Janus and some other name I can't recall that starts with T (Typhon or something like that-- and no it isn't Tyson). This monsters keep piling on top of one another and most have only one chapter when they're no longer mentioned again. It can get slightly overwhelming, not in a bad way, but just in a way next time I'll take to writing down everyone's name.
    Probably one of my favorite things about this series is the prophesies. They continue to reveal that nothing is what it first seems and to never expect an easy answer for them. They are riddles in a way, so I should treat them with more respect than what I usually do. Most prophesies I read in books (there aren't a lot), but sometimes I feel a little let down when I learn what they are, and I'm very satisfied with Riordan's renditions.
    Alright, this ending was quite-- something. It wasn't as cliffhanging as I thought it would be, because I think the second and third book did excellent job with preparing for the next book. And I do like this ending, (seriously the last chapter overall was great) however I was expecting a little more, especially that it's the last book before the big finale. But yes, stuff definitely happened that I wasn't expecting. (Check spoilers below!) :)

I give this book 5/5 stars.



Author's Quote:
I shifted umcomfortably. "What about you? What do you do normally?"
Rachel shrugged. "I paint. I read a lot."
Okay, I thought. So far we are scoring a zero on the similarities chart.

That's when I ran. There wasn't even any thought to it. No debate in my mind about—gee, should I stand up to him and try to fight again? Nope. I simply ran.


My Goodreads:


Next To Read:
Percy Jackson: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan


River Song's Spoilers:
(unsafe for those who haven't read this book yet, so don't read this section)
    Oh holy gods! (Hehehe) So many gods introduced and I love love love it! I'm a little scared Riordan will do it again in the next book. ;D
    Okay, where to even start? Nico, clearly developed and grew. We see him at his worst, then at his best. I love him so much, it makes it even sadder to see him missing his sister so much. And even though it was in the third book that he backlashed on Percy and called him a liar and traitor and such, in this book we see more into his despair and more into his life. I think while the third book was for Bianca, this book is definitely for Nico and I like what Riordan did with him than with his sister. 
   Oh yeah, and I called it in my review on the third book. Rachel Elizabeth Dare did serve an important role in this book. I wonder how she's going to play in the finale. I don't understand why, because I love Annabeth so much and want her to end up with Percy, but for some reason that she doesn't (like she ends up with Luke maybe (eww no I hope not) or even maybe dies in the final battle), I want Percy to end up with her. She's like Percy's mom, she can see through the Mist and not only that, but she cares for Percy. She clearly does, I mean Riordan just shows it so innocently and sweet, unless you're a major Team Annabeth, you probably are thinking the same thing. Sure, they're different, but hey they complement each other. Not everyone can be with someone who's just like them. Plus that's not a challenging life if we always agree with the loved one. Life and love is challenging, so I think they would do that for each. (Sorry I look way too much into my character's lives.)
    When I was reading the "Lost god speaks" chapter, I stupidly had to think who that was. I mean, who else right? Grover's been searching for Pan since the first book, and here I was wondering who it could be. Though-- in my defense, there were a ton of god and Titan names thrown at me. One thing I was a little confused on was why then for so many centuries satyrs searched for Pan in the Sea of Monsters when that is no where near where he was. I figured it might have been close then if so many satyrs died there, but it turns out he was in the Labyrinth somewhere in New Mexico. Yeah, a couple thousand miles off the target, I'm sure any one could be confused by that.
   Annabeth and Percy kiss! Yay! Haha, thank you romantic side of Nicole... It isn't much, but after reading so much tension between them and neither acknowledging their mutual feelings, and finally one of them acted on it, I was just happy. Happy for fictional characters. Because who else in the world is going to care about them as much. Oh, I think it's obvious I need to take a break from reading.
    Maybe another day! Until then...
    I don't know why but I feel like I didn't care that much for Calypso. Her story was sad, yes, but I felt like the love card was pulled too quickly and too out of nowhere. I don't know if maybe Riordan was trying to make a mini "love triangle" with her and making it seem like Percy was tempted to stay, but I didn't get that. In fact, I think Rachel was more of the other point to the love triangle since she's more of a threat to Annabeth because she's simply a mortal and doesn't really possess much. But Calypso's punishment is really harsh. I'll give that to the girl.
    There's so many monsters in this book I don't even want to attempt discussing them all. But I'll end with the hellhound Mrs. O'Leary. I wish I had her as a pet. I mean, she'd be the perfect protective dog and she's undoubtedly loyal and adorable. I think Riordan described her as a mastiff, and while I don't know if that was just an expression or not, but I think I fell in love with that dog now. Please tell me I'm not alone. Any other people love that scary furball?
    The Labyrinth like I said earlier was probably the thing that stood out the most as to why I loved this book so much. I love mazes and the puzzle of trying to find your way out (though the mazes I've been in have maps I follow instead of blindly walking around), so this book was just so much fun simply because of that. Plus the fact that distance and time have different rules when you enter, so when you exit the labyrinth, who knows where you'll be and how long you would have been gone? Yeah. Fantastic idea. (Though I was waiting for the Minotaur to appear out of no where.)
    That ending was jaw-dropping. I don't know why I was so shocked to see Poseidon. But when I read his name, I was probably more surprised than Percy's mom. (Which by the way, I knew Paul Blofis (hehe what a name!) was going to ask Percy if he could propose to her.) But him showing up after who know how many years, I think it was all of Percy's life so 15 year, I couldn't believe it. And while I know nothing can happen between him and Sally, I'm glad that Sally has moved on. But when Nico showed up at the end, I was expecting a little more information that would make me stop what I was doing to pick up the next book. Which, I mean isn't going to stop me from doing it now. Review will be up tomorrow! :)     


Until Next Time,
Nicole Ciel

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