off the coast and i'm headed nowhere
Okay, so on Monday, I read The Lost Hero and yesterday, I tore through The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan - they're the first two books in the second Percy Jackson series, and now I'm really annoyed with myself because I have to wait until fall 2012 for the next book (which looks like it will center on Annabeth!).
I enjoyed the original series a lot, though I can't say much of it stuck with me beyond the most pertinent facts, but I really enjoyed this return to the world Riordan's set up, especially because here, there is a lot less expositing to do - yes, there is still some, but at least this time around, nobody seems really dumb about the mythology they're dealing with; the kids' often inexplicable lack of knowledge of myths in the first series made me facepalm a lot.
Riordan's added a bunch of new characters, so while Percy and Jason - the titular lost hero of book 1 - are both white guys, we've now also got Piper, who is Native American, Leo, who is Mexican-American, Frank, who is Chinese Canadian, and Hazel, who is African-American. (I think Leo is my favorite of the new characters, though Frank and Hazel are pretty darling, as well, and Piper is kickass.) Of course, their inclusion made me hope that other gods would be coming into play, but as of yet, that hasn't happened. We're still dealing with the Greek, and now Roman, pantheon. I'm hoping that will change in later books. Unfortunately, there are no gay kids yet, but I keep hoping.
Anyway.
Slightly more in-depth talk about each book under the cuts.
The Lost Hero
I enjoyed this, though I'm sad Percy Jackson doesn't actually appear in it (Annabeth is around briefly, and I like how Thalia Grace and the Hunters came back), as it's introducing some new demigods, but I liked Jason, Piper, and Leo a lot (especially Leo), and I'm intrigued at the idea that the gods in their Roman guises had other children who've been hidden from the Greek demigods. I have a weakness for Medea (such a fantastic play), so I was glad to see her pop up, though I guess I would have liked more nuance (the original Jason really was a dick to her; not that that excuses her actions, but it's not like he wasn't at fault for a lot of what went down there; however, naming your hero after him in a middle-grade book means that when you get to Medea, you probably have to make her the bad guy; I was also a little disturbed at how many of the villains were women in this one, but that balance is kind of restored in the next book.)
Mostly, I loved Leo and his mechanical dragon, and Piper finding her own brand of toughness, and Jason's stoicism, as he really was sort of raised by wolves. It's a quick, compelling read that made me immediately pick up the second book:
The Son of Neptune
I would give this 4.5 stars if I could, because ♥Percy♥. I don't think I realized how much I liked him until I spent a whole book without him. *snerk* But seriously, Percy is back, and his state at the beginning of The Son of Neptune mirrors Jason's at the beginning of The Lost Hero - amnesiac and being chased by monsters and heading into enemy camp to win them over. Also, I'd kind of forgotten how ridiculously powerful he is. And also how snarky - I loved his conversations with Hera - excuse me - Juno. I also enjoyed getting an outsider POV on him via Frank and Hazel.
Here, as in The Lost Hero, Riordan diversifies his core cast, adding Frank Zhang, a Chinese Canadian, and Hazel Levesque, a black girl from New Orleans, and despite Hazel's backstory being kind of a cliche, they are pretty kickass and adorable. Though, as in The Lost Hero, where I kept waiting for Piper's Cherokee heritage to mean other gods would come into play, I kept waiting for either some Chinese gods or the loas to make an appearance here, but they didn't. There's a nod to it, but I wanted more. (Also, I pictured Pluto as Baron Samedi when he appeared to Hazel's mom, for example.) And Nico is back, though he doesn't really get to do much. (is it wrong that I'm kind of picturing him as a kinder, gentler Damian Wayne now? It's wrong, but I kind of can't help it. [completely as an aside, my cursor has disappeared. It is very disconcerting to write without the guidance of a cursor. I don't think I ever knew that. Huh.])
I enjoyed seeing how the Roman camp was set up, but even though I pretty much read these without much critical thought, I'm rolled my eyes at this whole business about how civilization is predicated on Rome (and Greece, because so much of Rome was stolen from the Greeks). On the other hand, I'm excited to see the kids head to Rome and eventually Greece on this next big quest that is the fulfillment of the big prophecy that ended the last series and is the subject of this one.
On the third hand, the pop culture references were pretty hilarious - I can totally see 12yos digging that Amazon is actually run by Amazons, for example (mostly because I totally dug it). Also, that the auguries are taken by disemboweling stuffed animals. I probably shouldn't find that as hilarious as I do.
So I think if you enjoyed the first series, you'll enjoy these. If you didn't, then probably not. If you don't know for sure, well, I would recommend you check out The Lightning Thief at least, and see if you enjoy it. It's not groundbreaking, but it is fun.
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/389533.html.
people have commented there.
I enjoyed the original series a lot, though I can't say much of it stuck with me beyond the most pertinent facts, but I really enjoyed this return to the world Riordan's set up, especially because here, there is a lot less expositing to do - yes, there is still some, but at least this time around, nobody seems really dumb about the mythology they're dealing with; the kids' often inexplicable lack of knowledge of myths in the first series made me facepalm a lot.
Riordan's added a bunch of new characters, so while Percy and Jason - the titular lost hero of book 1 - are both white guys, we've now also got Piper, who is Native American, Leo, who is Mexican-American, Frank, who is Chinese Canadian, and Hazel, who is African-American. (I think Leo is my favorite of the new characters, though Frank and Hazel are pretty darling, as well, and Piper is kickass.) Of course, their inclusion made me hope that other gods would be coming into play, but as of yet, that hasn't happened. We're still dealing with the Greek, and now Roman, pantheon. I'm hoping that will change in later books. Unfortunately, there are no gay kids yet, but I keep hoping.
Anyway.
Slightly more in-depth talk about each book under the cuts.
The Lost Hero
I enjoyed this, though I'm sad Percy Jackson doesn't actually appear in it (Annabeth is around briefly, and I like how Thalia Grace and the Hunters came back), as it's introducing some new demigods, but I liked Jason, Piper, and Leo a lot (especially Leo), and I'm intrigued at the idea that the gods in their Roman guises had other children who've been hidden from the Greek demigods. I have a weakness for Medea (such a fantastic play), so I was glad to see her pop up, though I guess I would have liked more nuance (the original Jason really was a dick to her; not that that excuses her actions, but it's not like he wasn't at fault for a lot of what went down there; however, naming your hero after him in a middle-grade book means that when you get to Medea, you probably have to make her the bad guy; I was also a little disturbed at how many of the villains were women in this one, but that balance is kind of restored in the next book.)
Mostly, I loved Leo and his mechanical dragon, and Piper finding her own brand of toughness, and Jason's stoicism, as he really was sort of raised by wolves. It's a quick, compelling read that made me immediately pick up the second book:
The Son of Neptune
I would give this 4.5 stars if I could, because ♥Percy♥. I don't think I realized how much I liked him until I spent a whole book without him. *snerk* But seriously, Percy is back, and his state at the beginning of The Son of Neptune mirrors Jason's at the beginning of The Lost Hero - amnesiac and being chased by monsters and heading into enemy camp to win them over. Also, I'd kind of forgotten how ridiculously powerful he is. And also how snarky - I loved his conversations with Hera - excuse me - Juno. I also enjoyed getting an outsider POV on him via Frank and Hazel.
Here, as in The Lost Hero, Riordan diversifies his core cast, adding Frank Zhang, a Chinese Canadian, and Hazel Levesque, a black girl from New Orleans, and despite Hazel's backstory being kind of a cliche, they are pretty kickass and adorable. Though, as in The Lost Hero, where I kept waiting for Piper's Cherokee heritage to mean other gods would come into play, I kept waiting for either some Chinese gods or the loas to make an appearance here, but they didn't. There's a nod to it, but I wanted more. (Also, I pictured Pluto as Baron Samedi when he appeared to Hazel's mom, for example.) And Nico is back, though he doesn't really get to do much. (is it wrong that I'm kind of picturing him as a kinder, gentler Damian Wayne now? It's wrong, but I kind of can't help it. [completely as an aside, my cursor has disappeared. It is very disconcerting to write without the guidance of a cursor. I don't think I ever knew that. Huh.])
I enjoyed seeing how the Roman camp was set up, but even though I pretty much read these without much critical thought, I'm rolled my eyes at this whole business about how civilization is predicated on Rome (and Greece, because so much of Rome was stolen from the Greeks). On the other hand, I'm excited to see the kids head to Rome and eventually Greece on this next big quest that is the fulfillment of the big prophecy that ended the last series and is the subject of this one.
On the third hand, the pop culture references were pretty hilarious - I can totally see 12yos digging that Amazon is actually run by Amazons, for example (mostly because I totally dug it). Also, that the auguries are taken by disemboweling stuffed animals. I probably shouldn't find that as hilarious as I do.
So I think if you enjoyed the first series, you'll enjoy these. If you didn't, then probably not. If you don't know for sure, well, I would recommend you check out The Lightning Thief at least, and see if you enjoy it. It's not groundbreaking, but it is fun.
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/389533.html.
people have commented there.