I wanted this to be a compilation post containing two books,
preferably three, but there haven’t been any other companion novels that have
caught my eye since this one released almost a year ago. Fortunately, as
Riordan is a favorite author of mine, I’m definitely not opposed to featuring
this book as a solo.
Welcome, new recruits. So you’ve survived your summoning by
the wolf goddess, Lupa, by not dying a horrible, wolf-inflicted death during
training to become a Roman soldier and have managed to arrive at Camp Jupiter
and the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Well done. You are now tasked to read this
probatio’s journal. Claudia is the Fourth Cohort’s newest probatio (“the rank
assigned to new members of the legion at Camp Jupiter”), and mysterious
incidents start occurring soon after her arrival, such as only oatmeal for
breakfast (Claudia’s favorite, but disgusting to the other campers). Or dead
rats in the bathhouse. Or the fact that one of the twelve ancile’s is missing (an ancile is “an ornate and cello-shaped
shield; one of twelve sacred shields kept in the Temple of Mars”). Is Claudia
to blame? After all, Claudia is the great-granddaughter of Mercury, the god of
thieves and tricksters (Greek form: Hermes). Read the journal, and Claudia will
tell you the story. She’ll even discover who her mother is (hope she’s been
paying attention in ID the Deity
class).
Marketed as
a companion novel for The Trials of
Apollo series, this is a slim volume of delight that only Rick Riordan can
dole out. From a vengeful demigod to making ghost friends (Hello, Mamurius
Veturius!) to not being attacked by Aurum and Argentum (Praetor Reyna’s metal
dogs that will attack if they detect someone lying), it’s nothing new at Camp
Jupiter. Just your usual, run-of-the-mill havoc. Even though Claudia doesn’t
leave the camp, the story remains adventurous and fast-paced. Look sharp and
don’t feed Aurum and Argentum too many jelly beans.
No comments:
Post a Comment
You have a book or post-related comment on your mind? Wonderful! Your comments are welcome, but whether you are a regular or guest Rutabaga, I expect you to keep your comments clean and respectable. :-)