"The Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

This is the fifth story in The Heroes of Olympus series. It is a concluding novel. Like always, I promise not to include any major spoilers (e.g. how it ends), but there will still be spoilers. Again, not super-spoilers and perhaps not spoilers to the untrained eye, but spoilers all the same.

The Blood of Olympus (Oct. 7, 2014) by Rick Riordan.

There’s nothing like a countdown to an end-of-days, is there? The monsters wonder why their enemies bother trying to save the day, and the heroes continue to battle on. Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean, Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque are aboard the Argo II battling across Europe to reach Athens before the Feast of Spes and to prevent Gaea’s wakening. Naturally, Gaea has promised all of her monster children (a.k.a. allies) the world once it is devoid of gods, demigods, enemies of any kind and mere human mortals. They split up in various locations, but each is fraught with danger. There’s Kymopoleia (look her up!) at the bottom of the ocean, angry giants (they’re all over) and Nike, the Greek goddess (not the brand name), the latter of whom they abduct, and she’s really not happy about it (who can blame her?). But never fear, there’s also Festus, Buford the Wonder Table (now happily complete with a yelling Coach Hedge holographic image) and the newly invented Valdezinator (sadly, there’s only one in existence and the god of music has it).

            In other various parts of the world, Nico di Angelo, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano and Coach Hedge are trying to get the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood. They hope it will bridge the rift between the Greek demigod camp and the Roman demigod camp, Camp Jupiter, of which Reyna is still praetor (even though Octavian doesn’t heed this). Reyna is determined to present the Athena Parthenos to the Greek demigods despite being hunted by a giant who, of course, wants her to die a slow, painful death. Still, the constant threat of danger doesn’t mean she doesn’t worry about her past ghosts. And she isn’t the only one disturbed by haunted memories, painful emotions and pent-up anguish. Nico is really hurting and feels there is no one he can confide in. He’s also fighting so he doesn’t get lost in shadows. Meanwhile, Coach Hedge is very worried about his wife, Mellie, and is anxious to return to her. At least he’s able to send her paper-airplanes-on-the-wind messages.

            Like its predecessors in The Heroes of Olympus and even Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, this story is full of action and adventure, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There are dangers around every bend, meaning there’s never a dull moment. “The Blood of Olympus” has as much excitement and adventure as a ventus has air … which is to say, quite a lot and rather constant. In fact, there’s so much adventure and danger that any sporadic moment of romance feels a little awkward, but no worries. The reader will remember the monsters and the heroes and maybe even the name Kymopoleia. But that isn’t to say it’s all action and adventure and no feeling. Nico and Reyna emote the most, as both of them are also journeying toward self-love and acceptance, though Jason and Leo are trying to find where they belong, even amongst friends. The tricky part is that they’re figuring this all out while battling mythological monsters and an evil earth goddess in a fiery (sometimes literally) cataclysmic showdown of good versus evil. This prophecy-driven adventure is a wonderful tale, bound to entertain the minds of many, regardless of age. I had a great time reading this concluding novel; I found it to be highly entertaining and as fantastical as the mythology behind it.

            According to the author, this story marks the end of his focus on the Greeks (and Percy Jackson). But for those who’ve read the book, he doesn’t totally squash the idea that the adventure can’t continue later …

            Out of politeness, I didn’t include the Great Prophecy poem in my Percy Jackson compilation. At that time, I felt it was only fair to include the poem representing each book. But now that this series is concluded, I feel all right including it here, for those who want a quick reference to it. (If you don’t, quit reading now!)

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,

To storm or fire the world must fall.

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.