So if The Sea of Monsters felt like a continuation of the first Percy Jackson novel, this one feels more like a sequel. We start to see more world building here and more new characters, as well as actual development on that big prophecy that the entire series of books is building to. All without losing the quirky writing we know and love from Riordan.
This book starts with Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia going to a military school to grab two new demigods that Grover found. Their mission ends tragically though with Annabeth getting kidnapped, even Artemis and her hunters weren’t able to save the day. Bianca, one of the new demigods, ends up joining the hunters, while Nico goes with the rest of them to Half-Blood Hill. The hunters end up staying with the camp as well, while Artemis hunts a monster alone. There they learn that Artemis is in danger, and a squad consisting of Thalia, Grover, Zoe (the lieutenant of the hunters), Bianca, and a bonus Percy who sneaks out with them. They head to San Francisco, Bianca tragically dies in a fight along the day, and challenge Atlas who made Annabeth hold the sky up until Artemis (who was captured) takes it from her. In the closing battle, Zoe is also killed, but our heroes are triumphant! Thalia then decides to join the hunters, meaning that this prophecy is almost certainly about Percy now. They return to camp bringing the good news, but Nico hates Percy now for not being able to save Bianca.
So as you can tell from that last paragraph, a lot does happen in this book. It builds on previous installments, such as Grover trying to pick up hints of the great god Pan or mentions of the Lotus Casino, while also foreshadowing things to come, like Percy meeting a certain mortal who can see through the Mist. (She comes back later.) This is also the first book where characters die on quests, most tragically with Bianca who we didn’t really have enough time to get to know. And it sets up Nico for his arc in the remainder of the series.
Thalia joining the hunters of Artemis always seemed like a bit of a cop-out to me. Riordan builds so much tension between Percy and Thalia, whether they’ll get along or who the big prophecy is about, but then shuts it down rather simply. To be fair, it builds throughout the book with Percy finding out about how she was asked to join them years ago as well. And there is a really nice reflection between the two encounters. The first time, she turns them down because she didn’t want to leave Luke. Now though, she has no qualms about leaving Percy, because she’s learned that she can trust him and doesn’t have to always be looking out for him. But something about her joining the hunters still feels… Unlike her character, to me. I adore the hunters, if I was in this universe I might be one of them, but Thalia seems too much like a lone wolf for that. I don’t know, others may disagree here, either way I have to get used to it and it is a poetic resolution for her arc in this book.
Things are getting real with this big prophecy, the reader
still does not know what it contains but by now Percy has taken it upon himself
and has chosen to have the prophecy be about him. Which is a really cool way to
interact with Fate, choosing your own and embracing it rather than running from
it. Can’t wait to see how this develops in the next couple of books.
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