Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3: The Titan's Curse
by Rick Riordan
(Audio)
The third Percy Jackson book goes a little bit faster at the beginning than the first and second did, for which I was grateful. We still get some build-up as we get an introduction to the Hunters, but I didn't mind it as much here.
For a book where Annabeth is largely absent, it sure is girl power-y. Don't get me wrong, I like the new characters--even though it pays not to get too attached to anybody in these books (with the exception of Percy). Luckily, gods and monsters can't actually die... and even the demi-gods who appear to die aren't really gone ;-) It was wonderful meeting new gods and goddesses and getting to see ones from previous books. I also liked that it took place during the winter, breaking the summer vacation format from the other books.
I really enjoyed this book, though from the start it seemed a HECK of a lot darker and more forced than the other book's quests. Yes, the other two books had deadly serious quests... but this one seemed even more-so, perhaps because of the prophecy.
Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.
I guessed very wrongly about what parts applied to which characters, so I must bow to the writer for that. And I thought the situation itself was very simple but very clever and scary as well! For the first time, I was actually scared for the characters. And I'm a little scared about where the ending of this one means book 4 will have to begin. I did guess about the brother & sister's origins, so a point goes to me for that ;-) I'm also eager to find out what the events from this book mean for Percy's destiny. Good luck, little hero. I think you'll need it.