The Hidden Oracle – Book Review

Finished reading

The Hidden Oracle

(The Trials of Apollo, #1)

by Rick Riordan

★★★★

Expectation

At first I wanted to read the new book from the Magnus Chase book series The Ship of the Dead. But then while I was settling in for a comfortable afternoon of reading I started noticing how much what happened at the end of the book The Hammer of Thor is actually in sync with things that are happening in The Trials of Apollo book series. This left me with having to close the book and put it back on the shelf AND in its place I took The Hidden Oracle and started with a new book series. I planned reading it anyway and I’m even buying them along with Magnus Chase books. I was a bit more interested in Norse mythology. I fully intended to learn what was happening with the characters from The Heroes of Olympus book series from which I only got a few glimpses of Annabeth of since she is related to Magnus. The last line in The Hammer of Thor left me more than giddy! All hype aside The Hidden Oracle was kinda a means to an end – finally getting to reading the last Magnus Chase book and having  a grasp on all the subplots and many characters in this mythic universe.

Summary

I am mostly out of the loop on other people reactions and comments of Rick Riordan’s book series until I finish reading them. This way I avoid spoilers since I usually don’t get to buy the books as soon as they come out. For all those who are not familiar with these books a few sentences of caution: Starting with the Percy Jackson book series the author has created the intricate collection of book series and characters who live in the same world and sometimes appear and visit each other. Percy has five books and two heartbreaking movies – heartbreaking since the plot was so messed up and different than the books in the first movie that they barely managed to scrape up enough ties and make a second movie. After the Percy Jackson five books series comes The Heroes of Olympus book series that introduces the Roman deities to the  original Greek ones. Somewhere along those lines is a separate trilogy Kane Chronicles that deals with Egyptian mythology. There are a few short stories and novellas where Percy and Anabeth meet Carter and Sadie. Otherwise the Kane Chronicles are not mentioned much. After Heroes of Olympus comes Magnus Chase book series and shortly after the first Magnus book come in The Trials of Apollo.

Now after that not so short introduction let’s get down to the actual book The Hidden Oracle. I had certain issues with grasping the character of Apollo. The plot was very easy to follow and the scenes were easy to imagine. Rick Riordan has a way of making scenes in his books easy to picture as a movie or a TV series scenes. The introductory “Fall of Apollo” was a great start of the book. Making the beautiful god Apollo mortal acne troubled teen was a punishment indeed.

I like how the story of this book builds on the books and characters from the previous books. Apollo is a likable character but I found Meg very interesting as well. I hopped along on getting to know more details on some historical figures and learning about the new bad guys.

Some might consider this next part a spoiler so be aware that I will bring out some characters from other books that drop by in The Hidden Oracle.

Reading about fan favorites like Nico and Percy and even Chiron was great. It gave me a serious craving to watch the Percy movies again even though they seriously suck in comparison to the books. Don’t get me wrong movies are kinda okay for someone who did not read the books and I can even enjoy them but thinking on how much better they could have been chafes a little…

While reading The Heroes of Olympus I grew rather fond of the character Leo Valdez and I was glad to see him come back to the story center.

Conclusion

I was a tad bit apprehensive about reading this book since I’ve grown quite fond of Percy Jackson and Magnus Chase book series. The witty banter and the slightly sarcastic humor was there but the appeal that Percy and Magnus hold for me was not really there for some reason. I liked this book and will continue with the storyline and the next book but I still love Magnus and Percy better!

The Blood of Olympus – Book Review

Finished reading:

The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus book 5) by Rick Riordan ★★★★

Expectation:

This was the last book in Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. For those who are not familiar with these stories here is a small guide:

First there was a Percy Jackson series of books.

It had five books and the first two have been made into movies. Compared to the books first movie was so bad that even recasting and filling in the plot gaps with second movie did not help much. But I must say that cast for the second movie was so much better that I felt even worse thinking how; if they only did that for the first movie; all the books could have been turned into movies. Instead they ended up like Eragon book series.

After the five Percy Jackson books comes the next five books called Heroes of Olympus series.

The Heroes of Olympus expands the Percy Jackson’s world and continues to follow Percy and few other demigods POV.  This last book promised epic battles and lots of action!

Summary

Blood of Olympus sure delivered! It was fun fast paced 450+ pages filled with deadly adventures and battle action. This book series is one of the rare books I’ve read that are so “politically correct” that covers every possible territory.  Rich, poor, white, black and all American minority in between, Hispanic, Native American, Asian,…

But what really impressed me is how the gay character was introduced trough the books. From early teens to almost grown up, we see battles with gods, monsters and humans. These characters grow and take the readers along for the ride.

Reading these books I met some really amazing characters who stole my heart and brought on “FAN GIRL MODE”. And yes it was embarrassing at times but I regret nothing!

Conclusion

I am glad I read these books. The more I read the more convinced I was that these books need a TV series of some kind, even if Disney has to make a cartoon series for it! I will continue to follow next books in the Percy Jackson universe.  Can’t wait for the next one! This one is about Norse mythology!

JULY BOOK A DAY – JULY 28

JULY 28.

28) Favorite animal character

Blackjack is a black pegasus that turns out as an animal companion for Percy Jackson trough Rick Riordan’s book series about Greek and Roman demigods.

Blackjack made his first appearance in Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson series book 2) and has been reappearing in the books ever since.

For those who are not familiar with the series you need to know that the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians series has 5 books and is continued in The Heroes of Olympus series for which book 5 is coming out October 7, 2014.

It is a mythical creature rather than an animal.The name Pegasus (plural Pegasi) comes from the Greek word for spring. Legend tells how the first Pegasus sprang from the neck of the Gorgon slain by the demigod Perseus. He was the son of the Gorgon and Poseidon, and wherever his hoof struck the ground, a spring flowed. The Pegasus flew to Olympus and brought thunderbolts to Zeus.

Pegasi are winged horses. They have been known to come in a variety of colors from brown, to white, to black, and even mixed colors (ex: brown and white). They are named after the original Pegasus. They are his offspring.