Heroes of Olympus, The, Book Two: The Son of Neptune (Hardcover)
With The Son of Neptune Rick Riordan continues his immensely popular Heroes of Olympus Saga. Neptune does a brilliant job of picking up where the first book in the series, The Lost Hero, left off. It deftly moves the series forward introducing new plot lines even while it answers some of the questions that fans of The Lost Hero have been wondering about for a year now.
Of course, the big question that gets answered in this book is: What happened to Percy Jackson? In The Lost Hero we learned that he had disappeared but only got vague hints of what might have happened. In The Son of Neptune, Percy returns as one of the main characters. At the very beginning of the novel we find Percy Jackson stripped of his memories and being hunted by two gorgons. He encounters Juno in the form of an old lady and she gives him a choice. He can regain his memories and save the gods by going to the Roman half-blood camp or stay where he is and be assured of his safety.
Percy's decision to go to the Roman camp becomes a launching point for introducing the Roman demigods and initiating a new quest. The Roman camp, where Percy lands, is in and of itself fascinating. Awash with Lares (house gods) and divided into legions similar to those of the Roman army the camp beautifully introduces readers to aspects of Roman culture as well as the differences between Greek and Roman mythology.
At the Roman camp, Riordan introduces us to new demigods. Although Riordan's capacity for outstanding character development does not shine quite as brightly as it did in The Lost Hero, I still really enjoyed the new heroes that take center stage in The Son of Neptune. The most striking of these is Hazel, the daughter of Pluto. Hazel has inherited the wealth aspect of Pluto so she can make precious metals and jewels spring from the earth but the people who find or accept them are inevitably cursed. The other key actor is Frank Zhang, a son of Mars, who is gifted in archery and carries around a quiver of special arrows. The three of them soon find themselves sent on a quest by Mars himself. Thanatos, the guardian of the underworld has been taken into captivity. We learn that Thanatos's absence is what has been allowing monsters to keep reforming after they are slaughtered. Mars sends the three demi-gods to Alaska to free Thanatos and thereby prevent Gaea from releasing more monsters into the world.
The Son of Neptune picks up nearly all of the key threads that were started in The Lost Hero. We get further hints as to the meaning of the prophecy about the seven half bloods. We also learn more about Gaea's plots to destroy the gods and how the half-bloods are supposed to stop her. As always, Riordan demonstrates an incredible flair for expressing teenage language and emotion. I am an adult reader, but I am always impressed by how Riordan's ability to create very real teenage characters reminds me of what it felt like to be an angst filled adolescent. The diversity of the characters in this series remains one of its strengths. Their different ethnicities and backgrounds make them believable and relatable in ways that the characters in many other young adult novels are not.
Unlike in the Percy Jackson series, which was written entirely in the first person, Heroes of Olympus, The Son of Neptune with the third person narrative that Riordan used in the first novel of the Heroes of Olympus series. Here he switches back and forth between the perspectives of Percy, Frank and, Hazel. This style feels more mature in many ways and I admire how Riordan uses it to get readers invested in all of the key characters.
Fans of the Heroes of Olympus Series who have been waiting for the next installment for the last year will undoubtedly be very satisfied with this action packed, page-turning continuation of Riordan's epic saga. Thanks to Riordan, a generation of young Americans will gain and appreciation for the mythologies of ancient Greece and Rome and the rich cultures that they were a part of. The only hard part will be waiting another year for the third volume.
With The Son of Neptune Rick Riordan continues his immensely popular Heroes of Olympus Saga. Neptune does a brilliant job of picking up where the first book in the series, The Lost Hero, left off. It deftly moves the series forward introducing new plot lines even while it answers some of the questions that fans of The Lost Hero have been wondering about for a year now.
Of course, the big question that gets answered in this book is: What happened to Percy Jackson? In The Lost Hero we learned that he had disappeared but only got vague hints of what might have happened. In The Son of Neptune, Percy returns as one of the main characters. At the very beginning of the novel we find Percy Jackson stripped of his memories and being hunted by two gorgons. He encounters Juno in the form of an old lady and she gives him a choice. He can regain his memories and save the gods by going to the Roman half-blood camp or stay where he is and be assured of his safety.
Percy's decision to go to the Roman camp becomes a launching point for introducing the Roman demigods and initiating a new quest. The Roman camp, where Percy lands, is in and of itself fascinating. Awash with Lares (house gods) and divided into legions similar to those of the Roman army the camp beautifully introduces readers to aspects of Roman culture as well as the differences between Greek and Roman mythology.
At the Roman camp, Riordan introduces us to new demigods. Although Riordan's capacity for outstanding character development does not shine quite as brightly as it did in The Lost Hero, I still really enjoyed the new heroes that take center stage in The Son of Neptune. The most striking of these is Hazel, the daughter of Pluto. Hazel has inherited the wealth aspect of Pluto so she can make precious metals and jewels spring from the earth but the people who find or accept them are inevitably cursed. The other key actor is Frank Zhang, a son of Mars, who is gifted in archery and carries around a quiver of special arrows. The three of them soon find themselves sent on a quest by Mars himself. Thanatos, the guardian of the underworld has been taken into captivity. We learn that Thanatos's absence is what has been allowing monsters to keep reforming after they are slaughtered. Mars sends the three demi-gods to Alaska to free Thanatos and thereby prevent Gaea from releasing more monsters into the world.
The Son of Neptune picks up nearly all of the key threads that were started in The Lost Hero. We get further hints as to the meaning of the prophecy about the seven half bloods. We also learn more about Gaea's plots to destroy the gods and how the half-bloods are supposed to stop her. As always, Riordan demonstrates an incredible flair for expressing teenage language and emotion. I am an adult reader, but I am always impressed by how Riordan's ability to create very real teenage characters reminds me of what it felt like to be an angst filled adolescent. The diversity of the characters in this series remains one of its strengths. Their different ethnicities and backgrounds make them believable and relatable in ways that the characters in many other young adult novels are not.
Unlike in the Percy Jackson series, which was written entirely in the first person, Heroes of Olympus, The Son of Neptune with the third person narrative that Riordan used in the first novel of the Heroes of Olympus series. Here he switches back and forth between the perspectives of Percy, Frank and, Hazel. This style feels more mature in many ways and I admire how Riordan uses it to get readers invested in all of the key characters.
Fans of the Heroes of Olympus Series who have been waiting for the next installment for the last year will undoubtedly be very satisfied with this action packed, page-turning continuation of Riordan's epic saga. Thanks to Riordan, a generation of young Americans will gain and appreciation for the mythologies of ancient Greece and Rome and the rich cultures that they were a part of. The only hard part will be waiting another year for the third volume.