Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

December 13, 2017     erinthebooknut     Book review

Son of Neptune by Rick RiordanThe Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2) by Rick Riordan
on October 4th 2011
Pages: 521
Goodreads

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, To storm or fire the world must fall. An oath to keep with a final breath, And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn't ring any bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth.

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn't do a very good job of it. Sure, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem — when the Voice took over her mother and commanded Hazel to use her "gift" for an evil purpose, Hazel couldn't say no. Now because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk. Hazel wished she could ride away from it all on the stallion that appears in her dreams.

Frank is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn't see it. He doesn't even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery — although not good enough to win camp war games. His bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially infront of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely — enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart.

Beginning at the "other" camp for half-bloods and extending as far as the land beyond the gods, this breathtaking second installment of the Heroes of Olympus series introduces new demigods, revives fearsome monsters, and features other remarkable creatures, all destined to play a part in the Prophesy of Seven.

5 Nuts baby!!!

Hell. Freaking. Yes.

This book is the start of the pure awesome that is Heroes of Olympus. Yes I know it starts with LOST HERO but where that book had a tendency towards slow introduction to new characters this one is an action packed intro into parts of the world we didn’t know existed.

Welcome to Camp Jupiter, home to the Roman Legion. That’s right, the stuff that’s only kind of hinted at in LOST HERO is full blown in SON OF NEPTUNE.

Percy is back! But he has no idea who he is. He’s on the other side of America in the Roman version of Camp Half Blood, completely confused and exploring a new world.  I absolutely love this book and a lot of that has to do with the Roman side of the demigod world. It’s like getting dropped at the beginning of LIGHTNING THIEF again, but for the first time. It’s a whole new world out here and the rules are different, the camp is different, even the Gods are a little bit different.

This is what I wanted from book one, I almost wish the two books were swapped, that this book was first and LOST HERO was second. However it doesn’t work that way in the timeline. Still, this book is leaps and bounds ahead of LOST HERO. Even though you’re meeting plenty of new characters you have the familiarity of Percy to ground you in the world. You have the excitement of the new camp, the different Gods, the creativity of this world.

Like all Riordan books, SON OF NEPTUNE is incredibly funny. No one writes one line humor like Rick Riordan. But this book also has an extra layer of fun in the form of the harpy Ella. I swear, everything that comes out of this harpy’s mouth is funny. The way she says things, the words she uses, the delivery, it’s all there. She very quickly becomes a favorite character even though she’s only in a small section of story. God, I could read about her forever.

Hazel and Frank are awesome friends for Percy. Like Piper and Leo, this book treats them as main characters rather than side ones, even giving them long POV chapters of their own. This is what sets this series apart from the Olympians series as it isn’t completely on Percy this time to save the world.

Now the audiobook is narrated by the same actor who did LOST HERO, which I’m very pleased about because his delivery is perfect. He really gets Riordan’s humor and comedic timing, making his read that much better as you go. I hope he continues reading through the entire series.

This is probably my favorite book in this series (though I have only read up through the first half of book 4). I just love the Roman side of things and how Riordan gives it its own distinct feel. It’s also interesting to see the callbacks from the previous series set in the Roman gaze. How did that war effect them? Believe me they weren’t sitting around twiddling their thumbs.

I highly recommend this book for fans of Percy Jackson and modern takes on ancient cultures. This is Riordan at his best, no more diddling around in kiddy land.

Did you like  SON OF NEPTUNE? Or maybe you have a different opinion? Share it in the comments below.

From my shelf to yours,

Erin

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