Monday, December 21, 2009

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.

5 comments:

  1. Pj seemed to really get into the book he enjoyed it and had no problems with it. He noticed the writer knew a lot about greek mythology and was very interested in it. The quote PJ chose was very well picked it gave you an idea of what there was to come in the book. His review was more interesting to me because of the topic, greek mythology is interesting to me. I would definatly consider reading the book it seems interesting!

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  2. Pj liked the book he read. he seemed to have no problems with it.

    He liked that the author seemed to know a lot about Greek mythology and Pj was very interested with this knowledge.

    Pj gave the reader a great quote cause it hints the reader of what's to come.
    His review seemed pretty interesting because Greek mythology is a very cool subject.

    I would consider reading this book.

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  3. I can tell you really enjoyed this book. You write with passion and purpose, strengthening your liking of this novel.
    You noticed the author creates very detailed and relative characters, the kind you can actualy picture yourself as.
    I really liked the passage you picked. It represents danger, but also the essence of magic.
    Your review was very analytical and interesting. I love the idea of using Greek mythology in the moderen day.
    Every time you talk or write about this series, I always want to read them. Unfortunately, I have already read two fiction novels. I do plan on reading them!

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  4. 1. The reader's impression on the book was good. They really enjoyed it obviously if they've read the past books.
    2. The reader noticed that the author used Greek Mythology as the base and made it kind of modern.
    3. The reader picked a very interesting passage because it kind of talks about a battle and makes you wonder what's happening. It makes me want to read the book.
    4. I think this reader's review stands out to me because it makes me want to read the book. Out of all the book reviews, this one made me want to read the book right away. Godd job.
    5. I would definitely read this book hands down. I have read the first three and will be reading the fourth one when i have time.

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  5. 1. PJ really like this book and said he loved the plot and characters.
    2.The authors writing style is more adultish with all the killing and gore and blood.
    3. I really liked PJ's passage. It was mysterious and left me with a question of what's going to happen.
    4.PJ so far is ranked #1 out of the three book reviews i've read so far.
    5.I would consider reading this book. it seems like i would enjoy reading this and finding out what happens to Morpheus.

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