{Review} The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

The Mark of Athena
by Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus #3
Pages: 574
Release Date: October 2, 2012
by Disney Hyperion

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Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace. And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close—the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her? Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side. Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare...

If someone was to ask me to recommend them an author with fast-paced, thrilling, addictive, funny books, the first name that would come out of my mouth is “Rick Riordan”.  He is my go-to guy if I want an adventure.  In my opinion, he’s hasn’t been able to top his Percy Jackson series, but this series is the closest he’s come.  This book was simply amazing.  I loved how he got right into the action from page one, which is what he tends to do every book.  I really love his writing style, and the staging and story line were absolutely perfect.  I will admit that some of the life-or-death situations had really easy solutions, and I was kind of annoyed by that, but only because he has done so many great solutions in his other books.  He’s kind of set the bar really high for himself.  But the majority of his solutions were totally thrilling and absolutely ingenious.  Another thing that I didn’t really like (in the beginning) was all the romance.  Usually Riordan is all action and humor, but he threw in a bit of romance at the beginning of the book, and it just doesn’t seem like his style to write kissing scenes.  But he eventually dialed it down and made it a cool part of the book, so in the end I enjoyed it.  And OH MY GOD THAT ENDING!  Really Riordan, really?  You had to do that cliffhanger?  You had to put me through that?

One thing that I love about Riordan’s books is his humor, his outrageousness, and his characters.  In this book you will find killer manatees, deadly Wonder Bread, and a Cornucopia which is used as a weapon because it can spray food everywhere.  How great is that?  But his characters are the best.  The spin he puts on what we already know is so entertaining to read.  Did you guys know that Archimedes was actually the son of Hephaestus?  And that Dionysus loves Diet Coke?

I absolutely loved all of Riordan’s main characters, and there were quit a lot of them.  Percy Jackson and Annabeth we all know very well, but the new kids are Hazel, Leo, Jason, Frank, and Piper.  This is a group full of personality, kick-ass-ness, and humor.  Each person has their own special power, and each person really completes the other.  The personalities that really stood out to me were Leo’s, Percy’s, and Annabeth’s.  For me, those were kind of the main characters, and Riordan focused mostly on them.  But I did enjoy the other four characters a lot.

Riordan will never cease to amaze me with his ideas, imagination, characters, and writing.  He is like the god of the mythology genre, and I really can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

5 pink flowers

Favorite Quotes :

No spoilers!

Narcissus was nocking an arrow, but it was so old and brittle, it broke into splinters.

“Ow!” he yelled very attractively. “My manicure!”

~Page 96

“Oh, what a mighty weapon!”

“Indeed,” Bacchus (*who is the Roman Dionysus*) agreed.  “I’m glad someone in your group is smart.  The pinecone is a fearsome tool of destruction!

…”I fought side by side with the gods and some other demigod…Harry Cleese, I think.”

“Heracles?” Piper suggested politely.

“Whatever,” Bacchus said. “Anyway, I killed the giant Ephialtes and his brother Otis.  Horrible boors, those two.  Pinecone in the face for both of them!”

~Page 126

“So I have a better plan.  You’re not leaving.  You’re VIPs – Very Important Prisoners!”

~Page 199

Leo was holding on to the eagle’s feet, and even from the ship, Annabeth could hear him screaming and cursing.

~Page 243

“The ordeals!” Annabeth said.  “I know about them!”

Another round of incredulous gasping.

“Fire or dagger,” Annabeth guessed.

Even the pater looked stunned.  Apparently he hadn’t remembered there were victims of past punishments lying on the floor.

~Page 414

Percy swung behind a column, grabbed a garbage bag full of Wonder bread, and threw it at the monster.

~Page 517

“I will destroy you!” Arachne promised. “I mean…no, I’ll be very nice to you if you let me out.”

~Page 557

Series:

The Lost Hero (#1)

The Son of Neptune (#2)

The Mark of Athena (#3)

The House of Hades (#4)

Review: The Son of Neptune



Author: Rick Riordan

Series: Heroes of Olympus #2

Pages: 521

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4/5

Summery:

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 and 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.

Review:

The last book of Rick Riordan’s I read was The Throne of Fire, and, to put it lightly, it sucked.  So I was kind of nervous before I started this book because I really wanted it to be amazing.  It was.

Rick Riordan is a magician.  Seriously, he is.  He has ten mythology books out, and somehow, in each book, he comes up with a completely original, imaginative, action-filled story.  I honestly have no idea how he does it, and the best guess I can come up with is that he really is a magician.  This book had an amazing idea, amazing story line, AMAZING writing, and perfect staging, all leading up to a breathtaking climax.  A perfect story.  I will admit that at some points I was lost because I completely forgot most of what happened in the first book, The Lost Hero, because I read it so long ago, but as the story progressed, my memory, like Percy’s, gradually returned, so I eventually caught on.  The ending set up a third book perfectly, and I am expecting an amazing story.

I haven’t read many books with guys as the main character, but I must admit that Percy is my most favorite.  He is soo fierce, CUTE, and kick-ASS.  I just love him!

While I didn’t like him as much as Percy, I did like Frank.  I loved how he grew over the course of the story, from a low-confidence sap to a fierce warrior.

I also really like Hazel.  She’s so kick-butt and feisty, she is my second favorite character in this story.

This book is a huge improvement over Riordan’s last book, and I really can’t wait to get my hands on another of his stories.

What do you guys think?