#86 The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
Continuing the saga that began in The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune reunites readers with Percy Jackson. Only Percy has lost most of his 
memories, only recalling tiny pieces of the past. When Percy arrives in a camp for Roman demigods, he knows that something is not quite right. He soon befriends Hazel and Frank, two underdogs with secrets from their pasts. It doesn’t take long before Percy, Frank, and Hazel are given a quest that will bring them north to Alaska, territory where they will be beyond the help of the gods.
The Son of Neptune is the second book in the Heroes of Olympus Series. This is Rick Riordan’s second Camp Half-Blood Series, the first series being Percy Jackson and the Olympians. If you’re new to this universe, this is probably not the best place to jump in (I would at least recommend reading The Lost Hero first, if you don’t want to read Percy’s books), but returning fans will find it to be a really fun read. In The Son of Neptune, Riordan manages to take many of the strengths of his previous works (likable characters, exciting action sequences, laugh out loud humor, effective updating of ancient myths, and just a splash of romance) while making up for many of the faults I found with The Lost Hero.
Choosing to bring Percy back as one of the protagonists was a really great choice. After reading five Percy Jackson books, it can be a little strange at first to read about him from a third person perspective, but I got used to it after a few chapters. With The Son of Neptune, I found all three protagonists be really interesting, as opposed to The Lost Hero, where I enjoyed Piper and Leo, but never really warmed up to Jason. Hazel and Frank are two great characters with their own faults and challenges. Frank is a big lovable teddy bear type of a character, who’s main fault is his lack of confidence in himself. A daughter of Pluto (the Roman version of Hades), Hazel is a young woman who is dragged down by her past regrets (sometimes in a rather literal way) and her difficult powers. In continuing with the more multicultural air of the Heroes of Olympus series, both new protagonists are not white. Hazel is Black, and Frank is of Chinese ancestry.
What’s also worth mentioning about The Son of Neptune is how well Rick ends up expanding his universe. In The Lost Hero we saw shades of how Roman mythology could play into what has so far been, a very Greek centric universe. In The Son of Neptune, by bringing us to a Roman camp, Riordan really delves into this new element. I enjoyed seeing the differences between the two camps, and the two versions of the gods (for example, Mars, while not exactly warm and fuzzy, is less of a jerk than Ares was). I am interested in seeing how he will explore these differences in the next book, The Mark of Athena, where it looks like we’ll get to see these two universes fully collide, as well as the return of one of my favorite characters, Annabeth.
Rating: four and half stars
Length: 513 pages
Source: borrowed from a friend
Other books I've read by this author: The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters , and The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth. The Last Olympian, The Lost Hero, The Red Pyramid
Next I will be reviewing Graveminder by Melissa Marr and The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads
memories, only recalling tiny pieces of the past. When Percy arrives in a camp for Roman demigods, he knows that something is not quite right. He soon befriends Hazel and Frank, two underdogs with secrets from their pasts. It doesn’t take long before Percy, Frank, and Hazel are given a quest that will bring them north to Alaska, territory where they will be beyond the help of the gods.
The Son of Neptune is the second book in the Heroes of Olympus Series. This is Rick Riordan’s second Camp Half-Blood Series, the first series being Percy Jackson and the Olympians. If you’re new to this universe, this is probably not the best place to jump in (I would at least recommend reading The Lost Hero first, if you don’t want to read Percy’s books), but returning fans will find it to be a really fun read. In The Son of Neptune, Riordan manages to take many of the strengths of his previous works (likable characters, exciting action sequences, laugh out loud humor, effective updating of ancient myths, and just a splash of romance) while making up for many of the faults I found with The Lost Hero.
Choosing to bring Percy back as one of the protagonists was a really great choice. After reading five Percy Jackson books, it can be a little strange at first to read about him from a third person perspective, but I got used to it after a few chapters. With The Son of Neptune, I found all three protagonists be really interesting, as opposed to The Lost Hero, where I enjoyed Piper and Leo, but never really warmed up to Jason. Hazel and Frank are two great characters with their own faults and challenges. Frank is a big lovable teddy bear type of a character, who’s main fault is his lack of confidence in himself. A daughter of Pluto (the Roman version of Hades), Hazel is a young woman who is dragged down by her past regrets (sometimes in a rather literal way) and her difficult powers. In continuing with the more multicultural air of the Heroes of Olympus series, both new protagonists are not white. Hazel is Black, and Frank is of Chinese ancestry.
What’s also worth mentioning about The Son of Neptune is how well Rick ends up expanding his universe. In The Lost Hero we saw shades of how Roman mythology could play into what has so far been, a very Greek centric universe. In The Son of Neptune, by bringing us to a Roman camp, Riordan really delves into this new element. I enjoyed seeing the differences between the two camps, and the two versions of the gods (for example, Mars, while not exactly warm and fuzzy, is less of a jerk than Ares was). I am interested in seeing how he will explore these differences in the next book, The Mark of Athena, where it looks like we’ll get to see these two universes fully collide, as well as the return of one of my favorite characters, Annabeth.
Rating: four and half stars
Length: 513 pages
Source: borrowed from a friend
Other books I've read by this author: The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters , and The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth. The Last Olympian, The Lost Hero, The Red Pyramid
Next I will be reviewing Graveminder by Melissa Marr and The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads