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rachelmanija Jan. 26th, 2011 10:11 am)
rachelmanija Jan. 26th, 2011 10:11 am)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.
The entire plotline with Clarisse in the last book was SO GREAT. I only wish we’d seen more of her relationship with Silena (and Chris) earlier, because that would have made it even better. Sulking in her tent! MourningPatroclus! Silena! Dragging around Hector the snake-thing behind her chariot with the flames of Ares surrounding her!
I loved Hestia, and how her role played into the highlighting of traditionally feminine virtues as heroic. Percy’s great deed in Titan’s Curse is endurance: holding up a rock and not being crushed by pain, while Artemis and her huntresses do the fighting. In The Last Olympian (and note who that is), his choice is to trust Rachel and Annabeth and Luke, give up the idea that he’s the hero of the prophecy, and give a weapon to the enemy.
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.
The entire plotline with Clarisse in the last book was SO GREAT. I only wish we’d seen more of her relationship with Silena (and Chris) earlier, because that would have made it even better. Sulking in her tent! Mourning
I loved Hestia, and how her role played into the highlighting of traditionally feminine virtues as heroic. Percy’s great deed in Titan’s Curse is endurance: holding up a rock and not being crushed by pain, while Artemis and her huntresses do the fighting. In The Last Olympian (and note who that is), his choice is to trust Rachel and Annabeth and Luke, give up the idea that he’s the hero of the prophecy, and give a weapon to the enemy.
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
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I also really like Riordan's latest series with the interracial family and dual brother and sister narrators in Egyptian mythos-verse!
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http://www.tcj.com/hoodedutilitarian/2010/08/might-as-well-be-a-comic-percy-jackson-and-the-olympians/
(I don't remember if I pimped it or not.)
Basically, I think that Riordan does let get girls have important parts, but only so long as they're not (traditionally) feminine. Once they become feminine, they end up betraying someone.
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And after all, we're warned, earlier in the book, that stories have a way of repeating themselves ...
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... So what am I saying here? I guess that maybe your book could have as bright a future as Rick Riordan's? Because the healing angel is obviously the ultimate deciding factor when it comes to success with the middle-grade male reader :-P
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(She just finished and adored some major subset of the Underlander Chronicles by Suzanne Collins--I'd be interested in your take on that series as well)
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Damn, that sounds cool! (Also, I just ordered the Wrinkle-time-travel book, on your rec.)
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I agree very much about non-Percy relationships getting shortchanged (though...well, Percy isn't self-absorbed, but he's not exactly very observant of the world around him, and it is all his POV) but I felt there was some critical analysis and deconstruction about traditional ideas of (male) heroes and heroic quests that made up for that with me.
And put me down for one of the ones who was shocked to really like Percy.