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Thursday 24 May 2012

Nearly as Perfect as the First!

The Son of Neptune
    by Rick Riordan

5/5 Starry Eyes

First, a quick summary from Goodreads:
"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 and 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."
Ops, that wasn't as quick as I thought it would be... But it's Percy Jackson! Who cares?!

In The Son of Neptune, we are great-fully welcomed through the eyes of Percy as he treks his way towards Camp Jupiter, the camp that Jason belongs to. There, we meet the other two main characters, Hazel and Frank. Both with incredibly intoxicating pasts. Together, these three must set off to help set free Death himself.

As far as team work goes, these three work great together. However, I can't say that they seemed to mesh together as well as Jason Piper and Leo did. I felt as if Percy was a little bit disconnected from the other two. Someone they kind of idolized on there quest, only somewhat befriending him. I also found Percy's character to be slightly off from the original Percy Jackson series. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, but he just seemed.... Different to me. Probably because he's more grown-up.

Camp Jupiter is nothing like what the Greeks have at Camp Half-Blood, let me tell you. Divided up into Legions and Cohorts, it didn't make any sense to me at first, being used to Camp Half-Bloods rules and regulations. But after walking through its campus with Percy, I found myself grasping its concept and it's set up easily. The map at the front of the book definitely helped.

One thing that really please me was a character that popped up from the Percy Jackson series! One that I was not expecting to see at all. It definately made me smile. :)

Overall, a great follow up, but I found The Lost Hero to be slightly more entertaining then this book. I found the ending was slightly rushed, but I would definitely recommend this to ALL Rick Riodan fans! I loved it and I know you all will too. :)

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