The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
10/17/2014
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.
My thoughts on Blood of Olympus are overdue, I know! I was reading it in between making two research papers, can you believe that?
I just want to make this short and sweet. I love everything about The Blood of Olympus and Rick was true to his word about the loose ends of his characters, everything was settled.
I didn't had that same feeling I felt for when Harry Potter ended. I wasn't too emotional about it. I only felt the excitement of wanting to read it right away and know what becomes of our heroes. I love that TBoO was a bit lengthy, and so every aspect was thoroughly discussed. I also liked the sort of review of the past events that happened in previous books, it was refreshing to recall those moments. That's when THAT feeling sort of creeped inside me a little. The dread of everything coming to an end.
The story telling was episodic. It felt like watching a TV series. Some felt the story was rushed, but I didn't. The fact that it really took its appropriate length of every chapter in a character's story to tie all those loose ends.
Every POV was great... and we have our Nico POV! Woooh! This last book was the perfect time for Nico's character to bloom! His POVs endeared him more to the readers, knowing his thoughts, his feelings, his fears... it is such an honor. Chapter 31 was most unforgettable. That was some scary stuff he did! It was frightening! Never ever cross Nico di Angelo! Is it crazy that out of all the 'feels' moment in the book what made my tear drop was when Pegasus honored Reyna as Horse Friend by Lord Pegasus. It was very touching... T_T Reyna is the most bad ass Roman! Her slaying Orion was the best kill ever!
In the House of Hades, it's undeniable that Leo had changed ever since he got stranded on that island with Calypso. He felt the sadness only a girl could inflict upon a boy. Most of all he felt the greatest love he could have ever hoped for. His reform is obvious in TBoO. When you read his POVs you get the feeling it's not Leo your looking into. Not saying that it was a bad change. It's good because he knows how to balance it with his humor. He is not that clueless boy anymore. There's a lot of emotions felt in his POVs. It's scary how his longing for Calypso was channeling to me as a reader. I too longed for them to be together! That same grief I felt for Nico in the previous book was passed on to Leo. You can tell he has matured, but not forgetting his humor of course. Very funny as ever. I literally LOL in his lines.
Knowing how Leo was before, I don't think he would've ever thought of sacrificing himself in order to defeat the Earth mother. He was the perfect pick. It would have been very expected if it were Jason or Percy. He really got the whole flamboyant-guy-turned-serious-hero going. I bet it broke every readers' hearts knowing he would be sacrificing himself. Of course I was sad about it. It's crazy, but just as he reassured his friends that he had a plan, I really believed it. It's Leo we're talking about! He might not be much compared to Percy and Jason, but he's very smart and inventive. If someone could cheat Death, it's him. Heck, he found a way to find Calypso for pete's sake! He is the not-impossible guy! I didn't dwell too much on his death. I never really believed Rick can kill off a character. It was very wonderful the book closed with him very happy and with the person he loves so much, arms wrapped around in him! Very good vibes!
It's expected that Jason and Percy and their pairings and also Frank and Hazel, would have a happy ending. So they were quite boring to read about. Hehehe..
I am VERY satisfied with how everything turned out.
1 comments
Yay! Glad you liked this one. I totally agree about Leo and Nico being the stars this time -- it was perfect. I loved how bittersweet the Nico and Leo chapters were. But still, I wanted a little more Percy. Otherwise, this was another great work from Riordan.
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