#75 The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
This book has spoilers for the two previous volumes in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and only minor spoilers for The Titan's Curse.
Percy Jackson has more responsibilities than most eight graders. This is because he just happens to be the son of the Greek god Poseidon. The Titan's Curse begins with Percy, along with his friends Annabeth (daughter of Athena), Thalia (daughter of Zeus), and Grover (a satyr) tracking down two possible half bloods at a fancy boarding school during winter break. This job quickly turns dangerous when Annabeth is kidnapped. Percy wants nothing more than to save his friend, but it turns out he may have an even larger responsibility, facing down the Titan Lord Kronos's right hand man.
While reading this series, multiple people have told me “it really gets good at The Titan's Curse.” It looks like I had no reason to doubt them. The Titan's Curse is a noticeable step or two above the two previous volumes, The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters, mainly because it's more concerned with building on larger storylines and character arcs. That's not to say that The Titan's Curse completely discards what made the first two novels so enjoyable. There's plenty of big and dramatic action sequences, likable characters, and Riordan's trademark humor. Still, where The Sea of Monsters felt at times like a rehashing of The Lightning Thief, that's not an issue here. There's a definite sense that things are moving forward, which I really appreciated.
This novel is also better written than the two previous volumes. With the others books, I often felt like Riordan was really hitting the reader over the head with the foreshadowing, and the characterization was so heavy handed. I wouldn't call The Titan's Curse the most subtle book I've ever picked up. It is, after all, a kids action book. Still, it appears that Riordan has learned to use a slightly lighter touch, which I found quite satisfying. I also enjoyed watching the characters grow up from children to teenagers. Riordan begins to plant the seeds of romance in this volume, and I'm curious to see how he plans on developing them. One thing that surprised me is that The Titan's Curse is also a tad darker than the previous two books at times. Still, Riordan never seems to forget that he's writing a kids adventure story, and most of the book is light and fun.
The Titan's Curse is by far the most enjoyable book in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Like The Sea of Monsters, I experienced this novel in auidobook format (I find it keeps me from getting too drowsy on long car trips). The narrator, Jesse Bernstein, has a very cartoon-ish way of approaching voice work that can be a little surprising at first, but becomes enjoyable once you get used to it.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: I was listening to the audiobook, but the print version is 312 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
Challenges: This book is not part of any challenges
Similar book: Eion Colfer's Artemis Fowl Series and The Harry Potter Series (r ead my reviews)
Other books I've read by this author: The Lightning Thief ( my review), and The Sea of Monsters ( my revivew)
xposted to temporaryworlds , bookish , and goodreads
Percy Jackson has more responsibilities than most eight graders. This is because he just happens to be the son of the Greek god Poseidon. The Titan's Curse begins with Percy, along with his friends Annabeth (daughter of Athena), Thalia (daughter of Zeus), and Grover (a satyr) tracking down two possible half bloods at a fancy boarding school during winter break. This job quickly turns dangerous when Annabeth is kidnapped. Percy wants nothing more than to save his friend, but it turns out he may have an even larger responsibility, facing down the Titan Lord Kronos's right hand man.
While reading this series, multiple people have told me “it really gets good at The Titan's Curse.” It looks like I had no reason to doubt them. The Titan's Curse is a noticeable step or two above the two previous volumes, The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters, mainly because it's more concerned with building on larger storylines and character arcs. That's not to say that The Titan's Curse completely discards what made the first two novels so enjoyable. There's plenty of big and dramatic action sequences, likable characters, and Riordan's trademark humor. Still, where The Sea of Monsters felt at times like a rehashing of The Lightning Thief, that's not an issue here. There's a definite sense that things are moving forward, which I really appreciated.
This novel is also better written than the two previous volumes. With the others books, I often felt like Riordan was really hitting the reader over the head with the foreshadowing, and the characterization was so heavy handed. I wouldn't call The Titan's Curse the most subtle book I've ever picked up. It is, after all, a kids action book. Still, it appears that Riordan has learned to use a slightly lighter touch, which I found quite satisfying. I also enjoyed watching the characters grow up from children to teenagers. Riordan begins to plant the seeds of romance in this volume, and I'm curious to see how he plans on developing them. One thing that surprised me is that The Titan's Curse is also a tad darker than the previous two books at times. Still, Riordan never seems to forget that he's writing a kids adventure story, and most of the book is light and fun.
The Titan's Curse is by far the most enjoyable book in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Like The Sea of Monsters, I experienced this novel in auidobook format (I find it keeps me from getting too drowsy on long car trips). The narrator, Jesse Bernstein, has a very cartoon-ish way of approaching voice work that can be a little surprising at first, but becomes enjoyable once you get used to it.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: I was listening to the audiobook, but the print version is 312 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
Challenges: This book is not part of any challenges
Similar book: Eion Colfer's Artemis Fowl Series and The Harry Potter Series (r ead my reviews)
Other books I've read by this author: The Lightning Thief ( my review), and The Sea of Monsters ( my revivew)
xposted to temporaryworlds , bookish , and goodreads