The Blood of Olympus
I applaud Riordan for the way that he writes stories that work for both girl and boy readers. I love how he writes strong women into his stories and that the girls always play a crucial role in conquering the bad guys. I thought the way Riordan resolved the Greek and Roman camps was done well. The end of this book left a lot of story lines wide open and I have no doubt that Riordan will write more about the characters that were in the Heroes of Olympus series.
This will now be the third full series of Riordan’s that I’ve completed. At the beginning of the Heroes series, I was so excited because adding in the Roman demigod twist was exciting and new, but eventually it because the same story Riordan does over and over again. He writes that story well, but it gets somewhat boring after reading over ten of his books.
I really do love Riordan’s books. I’d give them to young readers in a heartbeat and I look forward to reading them with my own children. That said, in the future I will probably read Riordan’s new books out loud with my children, rather than on my own. His books are so formulaic that by the end of this one, I was happy to see how it ended, but mostly I thought I could have just as happily read the cliff notes version to find out what happened to all of the characters I’ve come to love.
Riordan’s next series will be about the Gods of Asgard. I had hopes that the story would indeed take place in Asgard as opposed to Earth, but after some Googling it looks like it will be similar to his other series. The main character’s last name in the Asgard book is the same as Annabeth’s (Lightening Thief & Heroes series), so maybe Riordan will connect the two characters somehow. Riordan has said before that he has contemplated the connecting of the characters of his Greek/Roman and Egyptian stories and I do think that would be a fun world to explore.
I’m giving this book three stars simply because it was somewhat boring, but overall, Riordan’s writing is good and his characters are fun and go on great adventures.
Parent’s guide:
- Sex: Mild kissing between boys and girls, a boy is gay
- Language: mild
- Violence: teens killing monsters, some teens get wounded
The Blood of Olympus
The Heroes of Olympus #5
Young Adult - Fantasy
Disney-Hyperion
October 7, 2014
Hardback
528
Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen-all of them-and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood-the blood of Olympus-in order to wake.
The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it might be able to stop a war between the two camps.
The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.
I agree with you there that it’s the same story he writes. I enjoy his books as well and am a big fan. I hope that the Asgard books ties in with these because The Blood of Olympus ending did not seem complete. It left me thinking that there’s more to come. I felt the same after reading the last of the Kane Chronicles series.
I agree, Zezee. I would have liked to see more from the Kane Chronicles.