Thursday, November 13, 2014

The Blood Of Olympus

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan


Guys, I have this book displayed proudly on my bookshelf now. I can't believe I forgot to review it. Though I do recall deciding to wait because I would post spoilers. Better late than never though, right?


Synopsis:

Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.
 
(Source: Goodreads)

Personal Opinion:

*incoherent sobbing*

Where to start...? 

At this point, all the characters have grown up nicely. They've all developed far away from what they were when we met the majority of them in The Lost Hero. Most of the characters started out insecure and shy, but throughout the course of the story and various ups and downs, they grow up and discover their own powers and confidence. 
I won't lie that the character development is one of my favorite things about Rick Riordan's writing. 
The character's character development isn't just symbolic here. These are actual changes that I can see anyone going through. Okay, I guess it is a little bit symbolic, but it's mostly showing that through facing trials where each character was sure they were going to die made them stronger and able to be more comfortable in their own skin. I'm 25, and I've noticed people around me change as well as watching myself change, and being able to see the characters in a book change the same way is really awesome. 
We all know that I love a good dose of realism in my fantasy,  so being able to see that realness inside these characters is amazing. Because after following a series for so long, these characters become your friends. I mean sure, we won't ever have to fight mythical creatures or save the world, but we all do grow up and having a series like this that grows up with you is pretty cool, not gonna lie. 

One of the (spoilerish) things that struck me about character development in the book was Jason's waivering character after seeing his mother's mania. That hit home with me for a number of personal reasons as well as bookworm-ish reasons. It's a prime example that character development can go into remission, which is something we don't always see in novels. Jason is so shaken by her and suddenly doesn't know who he is anymore which, given the imperial gold wound he received, is literally killing him. Again with the sheer realness of it. This actually happens to people. Everything a person knows about themselves can be shattered in a second and with the illusion of who they were goes their spirit with them. 
Not only does Rick Riordan know how to write, he knows people. I also can't get over how he is skilled enough to put such a deep message inside a novel that is technically considered middle-grade.  

I have a bad tendency to read between the lines when I read a book. There are so many more words inside a book than just the ones that are printed on the pages. I like to find them. 

Before I go full philosophy lesson on everyone I'll get back to the actual book.

Everyone is all grown up now, and they are all facing serious peril. 
There is no worst case scenario, because every outcome seems to have it's downs. Godly parents are talking to their children as if they will be the one who dies, and all of them fight hard to pretend that they don't care if it will be them as long as they go down fighting. It's a lot to take in, especially since on top of fighting their physical enemy, which is Gaea and all her troops, each one of our heroes has to fight their own demons, just like Jason as I talked about above. 
I felt like the fight with Gaea was a little anti-climactic, not going to lie. It was very quick. It was good don't get me wrong, it's just.. 5 books worth of build up and she was beat so easily?
However, I do have to take into account that they had already begun forming the idea as to how to beat her in The House of Hades. They did have a plan after all. 

Also, Magnus Chase is Annabeth's cousin.
So look forward to that.
And now, a pyramid poem;

Oh
I ship
Solangelo
Oh, my feels 
Precious babies 
Write me fanfictions 

Ahem, I know I'm forgetting things. I'll probably just add them later to be honest.

All in all.. This was a good way to end the series.

Favorite Quotes:

"Oh, come on!" Percy complained. "I get a little nosebleed and I wake up the entire earth? That's not fair!” 

 “YEAH! WHO DIED? WHO CAME BACK? WHO’S YOUR FREAKIN’ SUPERSIZED McSHIZZLE NOW, BABY? WOOOOOOOO!” 

"I don't want a place in their camp, Nico snarled. "or in yours. When this war is over I'm leaving both camps for good."
Will Solace made a sound like he'd been punched. "Why would you do that?" 
Nico scowled. "It’s none of your business, but I don’t belong. That’s obvious. No one wants me. I’m a child of –"
"Oh, please." Will sounded unusually angry. "Nobody at Camp Half-Blood ever pushed you away. You have friends – or at least people who would like to be your friend. You pushed yourself away. If you’d get your head out of that brooding cloud of yours for once –” 

Choosing only three quotes was super hard. Just want that on the record here. 


Overall Rating: 

5/5

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