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Percy Jackson finds himself entering a camp of Roman demigods near San Francisco with only the vaguest memory of who he is. The Romans accept him and he finds himself on a quest with Hazel and Frank, a couple of other demigods. They must make their way to Alaska, “The Land Beyond the Gods,” defeat a giant, win back the Roman standard, and free Thanatos, aka Death. All in about four days. No sweat.
As much as I loved reading Percy Jackson in print, I have to say that I love listening to Joshua Swanson’s narration of this spin-off series even more. He sounds as excited as I feel to find out what’s going to happen next. He does a great job of voicing all the different characters, and he makes all these smart alecky demigods sound as smart alecky as they really are. I can’t recommend this series on audio highly enough!
I do really like this series so far. I seem to have never reviewed the first book, The Lost Hero, but I did enjoy it. I mostly listen to audio books in the car but I had to bring this one in the house with me and listen as I cooked or cleaned or even just got all my stuff ready for the next day. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next.
Percy sounds a little older and wiser in this book. He’s kind of filling a big brother role for Hazel and Frank. He’s been on enough quests to know how it works, even if he has lost his memory. He doesn’t dominate the other two; he acknowledges that Frank is the leader and he lets Frank make the tough calls. I respect him for that. He’s still hilarious though and I just love him.
I felt bad for Hazel but I liked her a lot. She’s carrying around some serious baggage from her past. She sees this quest as a chance to correct some mistakes she’s made. She’s a tough warrior in her own right and wise beyond her years.
Frank’s pretty cool too. His demigod ability is awesome! He’s been going through a rough time as well. It was nice to watch him dealing with that and growing past his insecurities and into his abilities.
The book is full of action and humor and is a fast read in any format. Rick Riordan fans will not be disappointed. I’ll be picking up the third book pretty soon, I’m sure!
Listen to an excerpt.
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I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.
2 Comments
Oh and Frank is one of my favorite characters. I like how Riordan allows Frank and Hazel to shine as well as Percy where another author might have allowed Percy to dominate the story.
I love this series! I read them in print and then listened to the audio books. I was disappointed that Joshua Swanson did not narrate The House of Hades so I haven't listened to that one. Fingers crossed that he will be narrating The Blood of Olympus!