Percy Jackson

The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus)

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The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus) by Rick Riordan

Goodreads Synopsis:

Jason has a problem.

He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper. His best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids”, as Leo puts it. What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret.

Her father, a famous actor, has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?

Leo has a way with tools.

His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What’s troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all—including Leo—related to a god.

My thoughts:

I was found it really hard to decide between 4 or 5 stars – This book is fast paced and I found it really enjoyable.

I was hesitant to delve into the next Demigod Hero series by Riordan knowing that Percy Jackson wasn’t going to be that main character all the time. I’m glad I did. With every Percy Jackson book I got drawn into his world a little bit more and that continued with this book.

So it seems with this series we still get all our favourite characters from the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series, plus we get new demigod heroes.

In this book we get three new heroes and it really does open up endless possibilities and breathe new life into the world that Riordan has created. I really enjoyed this book, maybe even more than the Percy Jackson books, but they all tie in together and I think I really liked this book as much as I did because I already cared about the background characters, Percy, Annabeth, Chiron, Rachel etc.

In this the first of the ‘Heroes of Olympus’ series The Lost Hero (1 of 5), Riordan gives us four new characters you can’t help but like – Jason, Piper, Leo & Coach Hedge. “What about a compromise? I’ll kill them first, and if it turns out they were friendly, I’ll apologize.” (Coach Hedge) Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero.

It took me Four-Five books to fall in love with Percy, I liked him for the very start, but he really got me in the last two ‘The Battle of the Labyrinth’ and ‘The Last Olympian’. Just after this one book I’m already in love with Leo Valdez.  “Can we just call them storm spirits?” Leo asked. “Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks.” (Leo Valdez) Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero. Obviously when I say ‘in love’ I don’t mean romantically, just that I adore the Characters. I’m too old to romantically fall for the characters but I can see girls going crazy for them and I can imagine a younger version of myself going crazy for them!

Reading books

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As a generalisation I won’t read a series until it’s finished. I hate the waiting. I dread falling in love with a book and not being able to read it’s follow up straight away and having to wait another year or so. I’m rather impatient in all aspects of life actually, one of my major flaws, causes me all sorts of grief, but that’s a trillion different stories right there.

I purchased all of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter books at once, then read them back to back! I read all five of Douglas Adams’s HHGTTG in one go, all The Percy Jackson series, hunger games trilogy etc. I’ve got Shadows of The Realm and A Time of Darkness sitting on my book shelf and I’m waiting for Dionne Lister to publish the third instalment so I can sit down and read them all.

I know you’re thinking ummm you bought the whole series before reading the first book, what if you don’t like it? – In my defence, I read reviews to get a feel of the book and see whether I think I’m going to like it or not, I can’t just read for readings sake, it’s got to draw me in! Normally the first book will come out and I’d decide I wanted to read it, if I find out it’s a series I’ll note it down to keep track of it and wait for all the books to come out, then buy the first book, read it and see if I like it before buying the rest – but by waiting till they all are published I can go and buy the next one straight away, no anguish waiting.

Yeah, I should just learn to be patient hey!

My big problem with reading at the moment is my ‘want to read’ list keeps getting longer, my bank out keeps getting lower and I can’t seem to get much time to read, hmmm I’m wasting reading time right now!!

Night All.

The Demigod Diaries (Heroes of Olympus)

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The Demigod Diaries (Heroes of Olympus) by Rick Riordan

Goodreads Synopsis:

What dangers do runaway demigods Luke and Thalia face on their way to Camp Half-Blood? Are Percy and Annabeth up to the task of rescuing stolen goods from a fire-breathing giant who doesn’t take kindly to intruders? How exactly are Leo, Piper, and Jason supposed to find a runaway table, dodge a band of party-loving Maenads” (“who just might be a little psychotic), and stave off a massive explosion…all in one hour or less?

With his trademark wit and creativity, Rick Riordan answers these questions and more in three never-before-seen short stories that provide vital back-story to the Heroes of Olympus and Percy Jackson books. Original art, enlightening character interviews and profiles, puzzles, and a quiz add to the fun in this action-packed collection.

My thoughts:

I found it very cute the way Riordan set up and linked the short stories as a training manual for Demigods. While I only gave this three stars as an adult, I think if I were a young teen (the demographic that this books is aimed at) I would go crazy over this and have loved it.

In this book we get a story from Luke Castellan’s point of view, a first-person Percy Jackson story, a Leo Valdez story and a short story debut from Riordan’s sixteen year old son Haley.

I will add that the short story by Haley Riordan is quite good and I think he’ll be an emerging author to watch.

The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5)

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The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5) by Rick Riordan

Goodreads Synopsis:

All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of a victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows.

While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time.

In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy’s sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate

My Thoughts: 

NOOOOOO!!!! It’s over. I just wanted to keep reading, I couldn’t stop! I’ve got a major book hangover now, I don’t want to move on. I want to know how Percy and Annabeth’s lives turn out.

This the final instalment of the Percy Jackson series is fast paced from the start and I LOVED the opening line: ‘’The end of the world started when a Pegasus landed on the hood of my car’’ Blackjack is pure awesomeness in Pegasus form. Action, action, action, Kronos defeated (for now!), Nico getting his chance to shine, a twist with Rachel Elizabeth Dare and even a little bit of romance, Percy and Annabeth together at last. There is so much packed into this book, but it flows wonderfully. It also finishes leading the way for Riordan’s follow up series ‘’Heroes of Olympus’’ which gives us a fresh new bunch half-blood campers to get to know and have adventures with.

I wasn’t all that drawn in when I first started to read this series, but oh boy in the end it got me. I’ve just downloaded ‘’The Demigod Diaries’’ short stories involving well you guessed it Demigods, then I guess I’m going to have to purchase and read the “Heroes of Olympus” book series so I can keep living in this world Riordan has created (I better get my looooong to read down a little bit first, or the husband will be mad at me for buying more books hehehehehe)

Brilliant!! Five Stars!! Mr Riordan

The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)

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The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4) by Rick Riordan

Goodreads Synopsis:

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 worse.

In this fourth instalment 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 the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth – a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn.

My Thoughts:

Oh wow, jam packed teenage action awesomeness!! This the fourth book of the Percy Jackson series and is By Far My Favourite (so far). So much happens in this instalment and the ending leaves you wanting to open the fifth book straight away.

I don’t even know where to begin.

All my favourite characters back together, Tyson, Percy, Grover & Annabeth Yay!!! And they all return alive by a mortal miracle. There’s danger at every turn, Pan is found, non-stop action the whole way though, Kronos awakens. We even get some teen angst romance in this instalment. This book reads really fast because you don’t want to put it down. But I will point out that you have to read the previous three books to know the characters backgrounds and to understand the drama or otherwise you’d be like “what the hell are these teenagers running around doing”.

Five Stars!!!!!

Well that’s all I’m going to say, I’m off to read number five now!!!!!

The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #3)

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The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #3) by Rick Riordan

Goodreads Synopsis:

IT’S NOT EVERYDAY YOU FIND YOURSELF IN COMBAT WITH A HALF-LION, HALF-HUMAN.

But when you’re the son of a Greek god, it happens. And now my friend Annabeth is missing, a goddess is in chains and only five half-blood heroes can join the quest to defeat the doomsday monster.

Oh and guess what. The Oracle has predicted that not all of us will survive…

My thoughts:

Oh dear. . . I hate it when a book lets you down, it’s like being betrayed by an old friend. I liked the first book in the series, loved the second, than felt let down by the third. I would think that the third’s down fall was probably be due to the second being so good.

For some reason I didn’t like the presence of the character Thalia, I can’t explain it. I really like the way Annabeth and Percy bounce off of each other and of cause as it’s Annabeth Percy’s off to save (among others) she’s not present for most of the book.

However I like the ending as Grover is off on his search for Pan again and I do so want the ‘Goat Boy” to succeed.

I must remember that this series is aimed at kids and that if I was fourteen, I probably would have been enthralled the whole way through. Even though I had to force myself through parts of the third installment of the Percy Jackson saga, I would still highly recommend this story for younger teens – there are lessons to be learnt, thrown in with fun, action and adventure.

As a ‘whole’ the series is quite good and I am enjoying reading it. I think I’ll take a break and read from another genre before I then return to the fourth book.

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2)

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The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2) by Rick Riordan

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The heroic son of Poseidon makes an action-packed comeback in the second must-read instalment of Rick Riordan’s amazing young reader’s series. Starring Percy Jackson, a “half-blood” whose mother is human and whose father is the God of the Sea, Riordan’s series combines cliff-hanger adventure and Greek mythology lessons that results in true page-turners that get better with each instalment. In this episode, The Sea of Monsters, Percy sets out to retrieve the Golden Fleece before his summer camp is destroyed, surpassing the first book’s drama and setting the stage for more thrills to come

My thoughts:

I’m glad I persevered after reading the first one and not loving it, because this the second book in the series is awesome! For one I feel it’s faster passed with more action. Our hero’s Percy and Annabeth have to try and save one of my most loved characters from the first book Grover! Riordan also gives us another character to fall in love with in the form of Tyson! Of course at the end of the second book Riordan gives us a cliff-hanger ending propelling us into wanting to read the third instalment. The second is a much more engrossing book, but you would need the first to feel so.

Five Stars!! For young and old.

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1)

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The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan

Gosh dang! Where to start!

Synopsis from goodreads.com:

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school… again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’ master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’ stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

My thoughts:           

I made the fatal mistake of seeing the movie adaptation of this book before reading it! Hence I roughly knew what was going to go down and kept trying to place the parts of the movie into the book. The movie was good, the book was better, but I knew too much so it didn’t really pull me in at first.  Luckily I know nothing of the other four in the series and don’t intent to find out until I’m reading them. Also seeing the movie first, I had figured the main character to be around fifteen/ sixteen (forgive me it has been a couple of years since I’ve seen the film) and in the book he is only twelve. I found Percy being only twelve and doing the things he was doing a bit hard to swallow, I had to keep reminding myself Harry was only eleven at the beginning of his adventures. I had to get my head in the right mind space to enjoy this book, I struggled but by the end it had got me and I will go on to read the next book. So while seeing the movie made this book less impressive, it did introduce me to the series and that’s a good thing.

I would recommend this book to a younger audience and those still in touch with their inner child. While I rate this book a three I think I could have been a four or five if I hadn’t seen the darn movie.

Most of the time if I see a movie I like the look of and see that’s it’s based on a book, I read the book, that’s only fair to the original story and that’s how I found Lee Child and Jack Reacher (now there’s a movie that DID NOT live up to its book) I read all the twilights before I saw the movies etc etc. In fact bar the Harry Potter series this is the only time I saw the movie first, I watched all the Potter movies before I opened the first book, but they were so good that the movies and the books stand up as awesome on their own. Never again my friends will I watch the movie first, always always read the book first.