Audio book, 11 cds
Narrated by: Joshua Swanson
Release Date: October 4, 2011Published by: Hyperion BooksThe Heroes of Olympus, #2Source: LibraryFor fans of: Mythology, Adventure, Action, Diversity, Audio, YA,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.
Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn’t know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn’t ring any bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth
Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn’t do a very good job of it. Sure, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem — when the Voice took over her mother and commanded Hazel to use her “gift” for an evil purpose, Hazel couldn’t say no. Now because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk. Hazel wished she could ride away from it all on the stallion that appears in her dreams.
Frank is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn’t see it. He doesn’t even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery — although not good enough to win camp war games. His bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially infront of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely — enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart.
Beginning at the “other” camp for half-bloods and extending as far as the land beyond the gods, this breathtaking second installment of the Heroes of Olympus series introduces new demigods, revives fearsome monsters, and features other remarkable creatures, all destined to play a part in the Prophesy of Seven.
*MY THOUGHTS*
In this novel, we finally get Percy back after an entire book of him being lost. I was a bit worried about him, but not as much as Annabeth, Grover, and the gang. But they needn’t have worried, he was of course staying out of trouble, by starting it. He knew things weren’t right from the very beginning, but he couldn’t remember why. He seems to have lost his memory. But then he meets Frank, and Hazel (I won’t tell you how because well SPOILERS) and they are just as confused as to where he came from as he is. And because of this, they get together and do the thing that all demigods do. They must complete a quest.
Now this book is like mostly all the other Riordan books, they go off on quests and have wonderful adventures. This one is no different. And that’s why I loved it. I was biting my nails so many times during this one because there was so much going on and no one was “leaving for long…” (If you’ve read it, you know what I mean.) It was scary to think that the scary things that needed to go away were still there. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Another thing that didn’t change was Riordan’s humor. He’s still just as funny as he was when i read the very first Percy Jackson book. He had me laughing all the time and sometimes I was even laughing hysterically. In public. Riordan’s books will get you in trouble. And have you looking at things in a completely different light. Because let me tell you, I will never think of Amazon the same again lol
Lastly, because this is an audio book, I will add my opinion on that part as well. The narrator, Joshua Swanson, was incredible. As he always is. (I listened to the Percy Jackson books on audio as well.) I normally don’t like listening to audio version of books I’ve never read, but with him narrating, I don’t loose focus like I normally do. I really love the way he reads and the voice changes. It’s cool to think how he’s every character in the book. Especially since some of the characters in a book like this are monsters lol
I know this review is huge for me not to be really talking about this book, but because it’s a sequel AND a spin-off of the other series, I don’t want to give away too much. Just know that even though this book is a lot like the others, it’s still unique enough to be it’s own hit. And on top of that, it’s also unique enough to play it’s own part in the new Prophecy of Seven.
I think when I realized Percy had a POV in this spinoff series I did a happy dance because while Jason is cool and all, Percy's my guy. Anyway, glad you enjoyed this one, and just saying, I thought The Mark of Athena was my favourite of this series so far so enjoy that!
-P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex