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The Percy Jackson novels have been one of the best surprises I've had this year. I started them with low expectations, based on the terrible movie, my usual lack of enthusiasm for boy-centric middle-grade fantasy, and the merely okay quality of the first book. But they quickly picked up steam, and by the third book the characters had matured and the story had turned into something genuinely epic while still retaining plenty of comedy. Two of the books actually made me cry.
By book three, the majority of the important and heroic characters who aren’t Percy are girls, and this does not change as the series goes on. Clarisse, the daughter of Ares, who is introduced in the subpar book one as an unpleasant bully, turns out to be re-enacting the legend of Achilles, and is the sort of heroic, larger-than-life character that one rarely sees portrayed by a girl. The girls who aren’t traditionally heroic tend to be untraditionally heroic.
Riordan is very good at showing all sorts of people rising to the occasion in their own, in-character ways, from ordinary human parents to under-appreciated Goddesses to depressed and lonely monsters. He also rings a number of clever twists on the concepts of chosen heroes and the nature of heroism. I particularly liked the ones involving the identity of the hero of the prophecy, and the nature of several of Percy’s climactic heroic deeds.
Unusually for me, I liked Percy just as much as I liked the quirky supporting cast, and he continued to be one of my favorite characters all the way up to the satisfying end. For a first-person narrative, it’s very ensemble-based, and in a lot of ways goes against the usual “one hero acting on his own” story. I got very, very invested in a lot of the characters, and nearly all of the large cast got at least one moment to shine.
I’m not saying these are perfect works of flawless genius, but they were way better than I expected, and as purely enjoyable as anything I’ve read recently. (Keep in mind they improve as they go along – the first book is noticeably weaker, and the second is fun but fluffier than the subsequent ones.) I wish Riordan had showcased the characters of color more (and had more of them). Also, he tends to have a lot of significant plot and character development go on between books that would have been better shown than told. The series probably could have done with another book between Labyrinth and Olympian.
( Spoilers hold up a very large rock )
The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3)
The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4)
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book Five: Last Olympian
By book three, the majority of the important and heroic characters who aren’t Percy are girls, and this does not change as the series goes on. Clarisse, the daughter of Ares, who is introduced in the subpar book one as an unpleasant bully, turns out to be re-enacting the legend of Achilles, and is the sort of heroic, larger-than-life character that one rarely sees portrayed by a girl. The girls who aren’t traditionally heroic tend to be untraditionally heroic.
Riordan is very good at showing all sorts of people rising to the occasion in their own, in-character ways, from ordinary human parents to under-appreciated Goddesses to depressed and lonely monsters. He also rings a number of clever twists on the concepts of chosen heroes and the nature of heroism. I particularly liked the ones involving the identity of the hero of the prophecy, and the nature of several of Percy’s climactic heroic deeds.
Unusually for me, I liked Percy just as much as I liked the quirky supporting cast, and he continued to be one of my favorite characters all the way up to the satisfying end. For a first-person narrative, it’s very ensemble-based, and in a lot of ways goes against the usual “one hero acting on his own” story. I got very, very invested in a lot of the characters, and nearly all of the large cast got at least one moment to shine.
I’m not saying these are perfect works of flawless genius, but they were way better than I expected, and as purely enjoyable as anything I’ve read recently. (Keep in mind they improve as they go along – the first book is noticeably weaker, and the second is fun but fluffier than the subsequent ones.) I wish Riordan had showcased the characters of color more (and had more of them). Also, he tends to have a lot of significant plot and character development go on between books that would have been better shown than told. The series probably could have done with another book between Labyrinth and Olympian.
( Spoilers hold up a very large rock )
The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3)
The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4)
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book Five: Last Olympian