Heroic Efforts

So I had intended to leave off from delving back into the Greek myth that never ends for a while, I've got a backlog of grownup books waiting for me at home. As you remember if you've been listening to my grousing, I like Riordan's work, but I've got to be in the right frame of mind to trip the light fantastic. I was resolved until I happened to be left at work without a book to read and when I wandered to the Reading classroom next door there it was on the end of a shelf. And I thought, why the hell not, its a Friday, the kids are taking a quiz, lets do this.

In retrospect, a very good way to spend a Friday afternoon. When my Reading teacher friend and I had discussed the fact that I was stuck on The Red Pyramid and its dual narrators and more grown up humor she told me I'd like The Lost Hero. Which I did, Riordan entertains many favorite Greek myths that somehow eluded him in the Percy Jackson series, and brings in a few more unexpected ones.

The plot lines are more complex than some of the other stories, but in this case they weave together quite well and nothing seems random or misplaced. The hefty ~500 pages leave plenty of room to ensure everything gets its due. The continuation of the Percy Jackson series isn't overpowering, and we are treated to a whole other side of our old favorites, and Percy's absence does make my heart grow fonder of our old friend. The three way narrative is certainly a departure, and is different from the back and forth bickering tone of The Red Pyramid. The three narrators Jason, Piper, and Leo are very different from one another both in personal history and motivation. They often forge their on paths, making the book sometimes seem like a personal story for each of them. The fact that Jason is wracked with amnesia and both Piper and Leo have memories altered by the mist only adds to the confusion at points. Riordan is certainly more guarded, less inclined to give away major plot points, keeping his secrets until the bitter end.

The question of Greek versus Roman interpretations of polytheism has long been something readers demanded from Riordan, and he finally starts to satisfy in The Lost Hero, in fact the big revel at its end is that there is a Roman Camp Half-Blood out near San Francisco and Jason is its equivalent of Percy Jackson. Not a whole lot is actually said about differences between greek and Roman views of the gods, other than that the Romans saw their gods as more violent and warlike. Riordan does take the chance however to explore some of the less prominent gods and goddesses in this book making Piper a daughter of Aphrodite, who is something more than superficial and Leo a son of Hephestus with brains as well as brawn. All in all this book is just deeper, I think often in the Percy Jackson books he had to hold back on description for the sake of brevity to meet the appropriate length for adolescent readers. Considering the man is pretty much set for life he can write as much as he damn well pleases now, and his writing has improved as a result of it.

Battle Stations

The Greek myths are getting hardcore now. I admit, I've been severely sucked in, now I have to find out hat happens. Too much, it turns out, at least in terms of book 4 in the series. The pace is a little hectic, actually a lot like Forrest Gump, running one minute and well...slow the next. If you can make it through those slow patches however I think you'll find it satisfying overall.

 A good question to start off with is why no one noticed the entrance to the famed labyrinth before now (then again why did no once pick up on Luke's sociopathic tendencies before he stole Zeus's Master Bolt in the first book is another good question). The concept of the labyrinth is a good one, it seems to give the plot a crux which Riordan sometimes seems to loose as he attempts to touch on every Greek myth out there but it does fall apart at times. His red herrings are exceptional, which personally masks the meandering, I love me a good red herring.

A number of things we've been waiting for finally happen in this book, Grover's achievement of his lifelong dream, Nico's peace with his sister's death, Percy and Annabeth macking it, teenagers flying without the use of narcotics of excessive speed, a good old fashioned catfight, and someone tearing apart the ugly cabins at Camp half-Blood. the whole book is like a drawn bowstring, you keep waiting for the shot, for the other shoe to drop but you don't really get quite that far yet.

In Harry Potter (call me an ass but clearly in terms of plot it is no longer even worth ignoring the parallels) the sixth book was about the preparation for and eventual occurrence of Dumbledore's death. In Percy's case however his battle at camp doesn't have those kind of catastrophic consequences, instead we see him learning to lean more on others, versus good old Harry's solitude solution to problems. I'm still drawn in enough to want to finish the series, though I'm fairly certain that The Last Olympian will just be several hundred pages of battle sequences, but it is undeniable that to see how Riordan plays it will be intriguing.

If I had to pick the most encouraging things that book 4 threw at us readers it came down to Calypso and Luke being possessed. The story of Calypso is of course an oldie but a goodie from Greek mythology but the angst the Percy undergoes as a result of it, the temptation to just take the very easy road is an interesting one. Percy grows up immeasurably in this book, and he is progressively becoming an extremely interesting character with more layers than an onion. That and hen he kisses the ladies he can make volcanos explode, don't even try to deny that you were impressed by that. Then there's Luke, handsome, once lovable Luke that we can't seem to get rid of, regardless how hard we try. Oh wait, I almost forgot...we finally did he is now just a husk being inhabited by the evil Titan lord Kronos. Possession is always cool, an even though you may feel a twinge of regret that this jaded, angry boy has been taken advantage of, face it him being possessed is still extremely cool, I dare say way cooler than the sixteen-year-old-Voldemort-hiding-in-a-diary plot any day. 

Pure Titan-ium

I was a bit down on poor Rick Riordan and the dauntless Percy Jackson when I posted on The Sea of Monsters, and I'm fairly certain that its very poor etiquette to speak of a new book while bloging about another. The Titan's Curse pulled me back in somewhat, mainly because the characters were interesting and the pace made much more sense. I can't help but confirm that the Harry Potter conundrum has resurfaced however. Annabeth has disappeared in this tome, and you will recall that Grover was missing in the last one. Remind you at all of how Hermione and Ron both had their moments of solo glory in Harry Potter. I thought so. On the bright side it does bring the scintillating possibility of Percy and Annabeth engaging in some Olympian lovin' if she declines the invitation to the immortal lesbian hangout that is the Hunters of Artemis.

Riordan does a deft job of bringing in at least half a dozen story-lines in this book which while still unclear will certainly have a huge impact on what is to come in the future of Camp half-Blood. Straying from the familiar pattern to weave in new elements is always risky, however he has the talent as a writer to tackle it. The Titan's Curse is also much darker, forcing the issue of death, especially the death of the young into focus. Its well handled, and his deference to the importance of loyalty, even after death makes a nice moral grandstand.

The humor is always enjoyable in Riordan's writing, and he take multiple opportunities to bring new major gods and goddesses into the ray, always with a humorous flair. The approach of the final showdown between Percy and his comrades with Luke and Kronos weigh heavily at the book's conclusion, however the narrative arc give a satisfying conclusion for now. On the downside a few elements do leave the reader unsatisfied, even slightly confused. THe biggest disappointment character-wise was the introduction of Dr. Chase, Annabeth's father who is oft mentioned, but is seriously flat and goofy as a character when he actually shows up. Bianca has the makings of a good character, however her brief journey through may also leave you feeling short changed. Finally, the title. Now I know author's seldom have a say in what the title is, and more often are unsatisfied. However they usually make sense, even if they aren't very good. I actually had to sit and think about what the title really meant at one point. It is mentioned (I went back and looked) but its so brief, and so tangled up in the fray at the books epic conclusion, you'll probably miss it. Hint: What did Chicken Little say?

Under The Sea of Monsters

All right I admit it, I've bought in, at least partially, to the Percy Jackson cult. I still am looking forward to The Throne of Fire, the second book in the Kane Chronicles trilogy, more, but I've at least partially bought in. 

The son of the sea god literally goes to sea in this book, and the adventures are far more in the fantasy realm than the fringes of reality we saw in The Lightening Thief, but the fast pace and verbal zingers continue. As in the first book there is a double edged quest, save Grover the lost satyr/bestie of Percy and retrieve the Golden Fleece to save the dying tree which controls the fate of beloved Camp Half-Blood, his only true home. Oh did I mention Percy also gets a Maury Povich-like reunion with his half brother Tyson, who happens to be a Cyclops? And why not, single eyes have been chic since pirates started wearing eye patches. 

This book definitely delves in to the psyche more with out wounded demigods with lingering parent issues, understandable with Percy now saddled with a slow monster that loves ponies for a brother (face it, throw in a desire to buy underwear at K-mart and an awkward kiss with Annabeth in an elevator and you have a teenage remake of Rainman). Annabeth herself has a disquieting brush with bondage tied to the mast of a ship and the island of the Sirens, where she pathologically is fantasizing about lunch with her parents and the favorite hunky villain Luke. The best part of The Sea of Monsters comes from the big reveal at the end of the rebirth of Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Not only is she the possible other option to fulfill the prophcy Percy is dreading, but Annabeth's hints about how close Thalia and Percy are in personality, and how their could be real friends. The Harry Potter parallels continue to avalanche in, but unlike some others on the criticism circuit I can't fault Riordan for that. There are a few classic forms for stories, don't fix what ain't broke.

Retributive Bolts of Lightning

The Red Pyramid, the first book in Rick Riordan's new series the Kane Chronicles was one of my favorite picks for 2010, and having enjoyed it so much I figured I should go back to where it all began for Riordan, with The Lightening Thief. This was a book that had been sort of taunting me for months. I received a bundle of all five books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series for my classroom, and they have proved very popular. I had one student who was pushing them blatantly (I'm fairly certain he felt he belonged at Camp Half-Blood) to the point that he started leaving copies on my desk. Still I didn't read them, because frankly it just didn't catch my fancy.

Last year a co-worker of mine, Katie, had mentioned the books to me, after I saw her reading one at lunch. She encouraged me to read them because after all "don't you just love Greek mythology!" Okay, I know I have a cultural anthropology degree, I know I've done some archeological work, yes I've been to Greece. That does not add up to a love of Greek mythology, and if a love of mythology was what would attract me to these books, it just wasn't going to happen. THis past fall another co-worker, Stephanie, about twenty years older than Katie happened to pick up the none-too-subtly deposited book off my desk and mentioned she had read the series, and found them enjoyable. Her fourteen year-old son struggled with reading, but found these books to not be so much of a challenge (I refrained from asking if her son's difficulty reading had anything to do with a dalliance some fifteen or so years ago with the mailman, who was really the god Hermes in disguise). We then went on to have an intelligent discussion about what she liked about the books, and subsequently what she hadn't like about the movie version.

Stephanie, my elder co-worker said that Percy's age (12) and the insecurities and responses that h has because of that stage of development were the best part for her, lost when the movie-makers bumped his age up a few years. Personally I found it a little irritating, there was too much of a gap for me to relate to him as a character and at times it felt a little too silly. In The Red Pyramid because one protagonist is twelve and the other fourteen and the narrative switches off between them that goofy childishness is more tempered. Back to The Lightening Thief. Was it a bad book? Certainly not, it is fairly well paced, had some nice twists and turns, which if they weren't totally unexpected at least well plotted. The modernization of the gods was a nice touch that gave it a fresh feel and was good for a laugh, the next time you see Jimmy Buffett on T.V. singing Margaritaville just remember, Poseidon looks exactly like him, except with black hair.

At 375 pages it was a lot shorter than Red Pyramid (a hefty 528) however to tell the truth I'm not sure if I can slog through another four books worth of Olympian fun. At present I have an enormous bcaklog of books waiting so it won't be soon. However, Riordan is one of the freshest authors I've read in a long time. I think his storytelling is top notch, so even if I'm not terribly interested in the subject matter I might give it the old college try again. After all how can that many million fans be wrong?