SSR Project #1 JGG
The Blood Of Olympus By Rick Riordan (Approx. 516 papers)
Intro
This is the final book in a 5-10 book series. I say 5-10 because before rick wrote this series/1/2, he wrote a series of books known as Percy Jackson And The Olympians. At the end of the last book Rick hinted if not flat-out stated that he was going to do a sequel series, and so The Heroes Of Olympus series was born. Though not carrying the same name, This series was so directly connected with the original series that the 2 can be considered 2 halves of the same series.
Summary
The Heroes Of Olympus series is about 2 communities of kids descended from Greek and Roman gods training to hone and control their powers (its basically the Harry Potter universe with greeks and romans) and how 7 particularly talented "half bloods" must use their "powers" (enhanced natural abilities, charm speak = being incredibly persuasive/seductive) to defeat the primordial force known as Gaia before she destroys the world.
Was It Worth It?
I read this book because I've read the other 4-9 and hence figured I should finish off the series. I now realize that's not always a good reason. I did like the continuity, the pacing, and the fact that it didn't pull a "kingdom of the crystal skull" (add 1+ elements that have absolutely nothing to do with the previously established lore). However, This book seems more like something out of a highschool drama instead of something Rick Riordan would do. The last 2 books in this series were made during the time that gay rights was a major point of concern, so they ended up being more and more influenced by the subject to the point that they dedicated at least 1/3 of the book to the subject. This resulted in it not only becoming boring/dull but also going so off topic that it was borderline "crystal skull". I don't think this would be a good last read and would only recommend it to people who, like me, want to keep up with the series.
Connections
Being single and straight, I can't really make any connections with this book.
realism (How has this book broadened your perspective on the ways of people, your idea about life, culture, teenagers, etc. (The etc can be anything not mentioned in this list.))
Since this book is primarily a fantasy, there aren't many if any realistic elements. However, The fact that an author like Rick Riordan wrote something like this shows just how easy it is to be influenced by social trends. Rick used to be uninfluenced by social norms, able to write stories set in the modern world but have minimal modern elements beyond location and speech. Unfortunately, when gay rights became more of a major issue, Rick fell prey to social norms. having less plot device elements and more (for lack of better wording) "comedic relief" elements (social class, makeup, does he/she like me?, etc). I can understand needing more material for a longer book, but I've seen books with 250-400 pages that were still good.
Rick Riordan: The Blood of Olympus Interview
AN INTERVIEW FROM OLYMPUS | Rick Riordan & tiernanbe
Favorite Quote
"Nothing was left"