Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan

August 26, 2017     erinthebooknut     Book review

Titan’s Curse by Rick RiordanThe Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #3) by Rick Riordan
Published by Puffin Books on May 5th 2007
Pages: 320
Goodreads

It's not everyday you find yourself in combat with a half-lion, half-human.

But when you're the son of a Greek god, it happens. And now my friend Annabeth is missing, a goddess is in chains and only five half-blood heroes can join the quest to defeat the doomsday monster.

Oh, and guess what? The Oracle has predicted that not all of us will survive...

4 Nuts

Where books one and two in the Percy Jackson series are only ok, this third book is where the series really starts to get on its feet. This is the book where I remember really starting to get into the series, when I became fully invested in the characters. This has not changed with time.

TITAN’S CURSE introduces the last two main players in the Olympians saga that are needed before the series gets into the climax for the ultimate battle. You meet Artemis and her hunters, Apollo, Aphrodite, Nico and his sister, and get a lot more hinting at the Percabeth ship that everyone adores so much. You also get one hell of a twist at the end that sets up so much in both this series and the next one as well. Whether or not Nico’s involvement in the later series was planned at this point, it is still the necessary piece that makes it possible.

Percy and Annabeth spend most of this book apart, and yet their draw to each other in this part of the universe is never stronger. Everything they do in this book is bracketed by Percy’s need to find Annabeth, the rest of the quest be damned. In this is hit fatal flaw finally revealed, and yet it is nearly the same as that of Harry Potter himself. His complete and utter selflessness to the point of stupidity. Despite that, his relationship with Annabeth truth takes hold here, including the meeting of her family for the first time.

This is also the only book where we spend a significant amount of time with Zeus’ daughter Thalia. For a girl who is talked about for so long in this series I was surprised to get only one book in which she is a significant main character. It’s one of the things I didn’t notice as a younger reader but that bothers me now as I go through these books again. It’s not the worst indiscretion but it is kind of annoying.

As PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS books go, this is one of the better books in the series. The books don’t get REALLY great until HEROES OF OLYMPUS, but I think this series is still worth a read and certainly necessary for continuing to the second set.

I recommend this book for older MG/younger YA readers and fans of Greek myths mixed with a contemporary setting.

What do you think of this series thus far? Share your thoughts in the comments.

From my shelf to yours,

Erin

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