Review: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson #5)
by Rick Riordan
Fifth and final book in the Percy Jackson series:
The Lightning Thief
The Sea of Monsters
The Titan’s Curse
The Battle of the Labyrinth
The Titan Kronos has succeeded in gathering his troops, and launches an attack on Manhattan, headquarters of the Olympian gods. The gods are occupied with Typhon, a powerful monster that has been unleashed on the West Coast, so it's up to Percy Jackson and his fellow half-bloods to protect New York City. Percy, who has bathed in the River Styx, is nearly invincible on the battlefield, but the kids from Camp Half-Blood are vastly outnumbered. When negotiations with Prometheus for a ceasefire fail, the deadliest, bloodiest battle between the demigods and the Titans begins.
Several scenes from the battle allude to the Trojan War. Percy's new indestructibility thanks to the River Styx is not the only reference to Achilles; the children of Mars refuse to fight until an imposter impersonates their leader, Clarisse. Later, after slaying a major Titan warrior, Clarisse parades its body by dragging it behind her chariot a la Achilles and Hector.
As always, Percy fully embraces the hero role. It seems like he's slicing and dicing his way through monsters on every page. But he's not the only one. It seems like every kid is given their moment to shine, through a glorious victory or a noble death. A lot of the motivation behind the “bad” kids' actions are revealed, reminding us that this isn't a black and white battle between pure good and pure evil. The gods have done a lot to deserve punishment over the years, and the anger of the Titans/traitor half-bloods is based on some genuine grievances.
The Last Olympian was a very satisfying finale to the Percy Jackson series. It ties up most of the loose ends, but doesn't entirely shut the door to the universe, which makes sense - it isn't the absolute last book set in this world. Rick Riordan is working on a second “Heroes of Olympus” series, and I'm pretty sure his Kane Chronicles series co-exists in the same universe, too.
4.5 out of 5 stars
To read more about The Last Olympian, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.
by Rick Riordan
Fifth and final book in the Percy Jackson series:
The Lightning Thief
The Sea of Monsters
The Titan’s Curse
The Battle of the Labyrinth
The Titan Kronos has succeeded in gathering his troops, and launches an attack on Manhattan, headquarters of the Olympian gods. The gods are occupied with Typhon, a powerful monster that has been unleashed on the West Coast, so it's up to Percy Jackson and his fellow half-bloods to protect New York City. Percy, who has bathed in the River Styx, is nearly invincible on the battlefield, but the kids from Camp Half-Blood are vastly outnumbered. When negotiations with Prometheus for a ceasefire fail, the deadliest, bloodiest battle between the demigods and the Titans begins.
Several scenes from the battle allude to the Trojan War. Percy's new indestructibility thanks to the River Styx is not the only reference to Achilles; the children of Mars refuse to fight until an imposter impersonates their leader, Clarisse. Later, after slaying a major Titan warrior, Clarisse parades its body by dragging it behind her chariot a la Achilles and Hector.
As always, Percy fully embraces the hero role. It seems like he's slicing and dicing his way through monsters on every page. But he's not the only one. It seems like every kid is given their moment to shine, through a glorious victory or a noble death. A lot of the motivation behind the “bad” kids' actions are revealed, reminding us that this isn't a black and white battle between pure good and pure evil. The gods have done a lot to deserve punishment over the years, and the anger of the Titans/traitor half-bloods is based on some genuine grievances.
The Last Olympian was a very satisfying finale to the Percy Jackson series. It ties up most of the loose ends, but doesn't entirely shut the door to the universe, which makes sense - it isn't the absolute last book set in this world. Rick Riordan is working on a second “Heroes of Olympus” series, and I'm pretty sure his Kane Chronicles series co-exists in the same universe, too.
4.5 out of 5 stars
To read more about The Last Olympian, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.