Review: 4/5 for The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Hardcover, 513 pages

Published October 4th 2011 by Hyperion Book CH
Source: Purchased
Buy the book: Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From 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 tol 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 and 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 he mother and commanded Hazel to use her "gift" for and 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.

Riordan just keeps getting better and better for me. I couldn't wait for this book because I got to see how Percy was doing in this new adventure with the new set of characters. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Riordan brought the original Percy legacy into the mixture and combined it beautifully with a new one.

Riordan's characters and their individual tweaks are some of my favorite of all time. The newbies on this end of the new series are my picks so far. The new members we were introduced to in The Lost Hero were interesting and made good additions to the Percy family, but I found I could relate more to these. I think my favorite part of the book was the backgrounds of the new characters, especially Hazel. The twists and turns in her life turned out to have a greater impact than what I originally thought. Frank, I adore him. His back story is so rich and it makes him a wonderful character to follow. Sometimes I did have problems keeping up with who is who on the Gods side because of the alternate names, but it wasn't that bad, just different. It wouldn't be an issue for most people, but I've never delved deeply in the histories of the Greeks or Romans.

The plot is as enjoyable as the first book, but there were a few pitfalls for me. It flows at a good pace, but there are spots I wanted it to speed up to fit the scene. It felt anti-climatic like this in quite a few areas. The perspectives that the characters' back stories gave on the plot really good twists and turns. However, Percy's amnesia is a sinker for me. It wasn't as bad for me in The Lost Hero, but this storyline with it aggravated me at times. I think this may be a "just me" issue, because amnesia stories sometimes have that affect on me. I'm sure it was not a problem for others. I love the way this book and the first book of the series connect in plots. It will make the third book in the series, The Mark of Athena, very interesting in plot aspects. I can't wait to see how the characters will interact with each other and the world that they are in now...