ORB 2 review

2nd quarter outside reading book review
The last Olympian by Rick Riodan Disney books, 2008 genre: fantasy


The book starts out with Percy relaxing with his friend Rachel, the calm before the storm, so to speak. Percy, the son of Poseidon, has been fighting the lord of the titans, Chronos, for years. The prophesy about him deciding the fate of the Olympians and the world draws closer. His 16th birthday fast approaching, the date of the final battle, Percy struggles to figure out his destiny, whose side to chose, and how to win a hopeless fight against the greatest army the world has ever know. With no gods to help him, Percy and his friends have to take a final stand for all of mankind on the slopes of Olympus, convenieated under the empire state building.

The New York Times gave this book critical acclaim, saying its “ perfectly paced, with electrifying moments chasing each other like a heartbeat”

The book is clearly written for teenagers, something Rick Riodan does remarkably well. The book delivers enough action to keep you glued to the chair you’re sitting, and a deep and complex plot worth of most adult authors. Plot twists are abound in this book, a lot of times you’ll find your mind screaming at the characters decisions. It gets kind of graphic in the fight scenes, monsters fighting, children dieing, insane mothers, evil demons, this is in no way a book you give to an 8 year old for Christmas.

The author creates rich and deep characters. These kids are easy to relate to, and at some points you want to be some of these guys. The main character, Percy, turns into a nigh unkillable god, and starts pulling of ridiculous fights that would make most action movies look like indie films. The amount of monsters these guys fight makes Harry Potter look like some guy at a Star Trek convention. Adding to this is the author’s unique and dry humor. You’ll laugh quite a lot in this book. If nothing else, the books humor will keep you reading to see the next joke.

“Are they dead?” Selina asked
Ice coated my stomach. Lines from the prophesy rang in my ears, “and see the world in endless sleep”. I remembered the conversation Grover had with Morpheus in central park, “your lucky I’m saving my energy for the main event”
“Not dead,” I said, “Morpheus has put the entire island to sleep, the invasion has started.” Page 163

I really liked this book. The characters stuck me, and I loved plot. I recommend it to anybody. This book is not for everybody though. You need to understand Greek mythology. It is very difficult to get a grasp of the story without it; you will have no clue who any body is. Make sure you read the previous books first, as you’ll feel lost with the frequent flashbacks and references. When your through, at least you will enjoy reading every second of it, and it sure does make you feel smart.