Three countries, three time periods, three brave protagonists. In the midst of political turmoil, how do you escape the only country that you’ve ever known and navigate a new life? Parallel stories of three different middle school–aged refugees-Josef from Nazi Germany in 1938, Isabel from 1994 Cuba, and Mahmoud from 2015 Aleppo-eventually intertwine for maximum impact. Here, Riordan’s infectious love for his subject matter really comes through, even as he takes some real risks with his characters.Ī literal cliffhanger leaves eager readers hanging next stop: Greece-and Tartarus. A Luddite god rails against what he calls the “b-book,” which displaced the far superior scroll technology Annabeth gets a crash course in the cult of Mithros far below the streets of Rome. Once the Argo II leaves the United States, though, the pace picks up, and the comically instructive set pieces Riordan’s so good at emerge. With sweethearts Annabeth and Percy once again united, much of the tension that powered earlier books is gone. As the trireme crosses the country, the pace drags while the demigods sort out relationships and work to figure out both cryptic prophecy and nightmare visions. They seek the titular Mark of Athena, which they hope will provide the key to defeating the vengeful Earth mother, Gaea, or at least some of her giant offspring. With his now-trademark zero-to-60 acceleration, the author engineers a ghostly possession to set Greeks and Romans at odds and initiates the Prophecy of the Seven, hurtling Annabeth, Percy, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank and Jason into a pell-mell flight on the magical trireme Argo II. On the other hand, we can’t say we didn’t laugh when a giant with an affinity for ballet popped up in a blue tutu and insisted on performing a pirouette with every attack.After waging two separate quests ( The Lost Hero, 2010 The Son of Neptune, 2011), the Greek and Roman demigods of Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus quintet join forces. The humor is sometimes in contrast to this and doesn’t fit as well with the story as when our characters were pre-teens. The various couples find themselves alone more often and we sense that our favorite characters are almost fully-fledged adults. (Can we just take a moment here as well to say that we really miss those snarky chapter titles from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series?) Percy is almost 17 and the tone of the book reflects this. Gone are the days of the 12-year-old boy who just found out his father was Poseidon. This book is as much about relationships as it is about finding a way to stop Gaea, and while that’s all fine and dandy, sometimes we (as in this writer in particular) just wants to see some ancient mythological monster’s head flying instead of hearing about how everyone feels about everyone else. There are a lot of characters aboard the ship, and taking stock of what each one is thinking or doing can become tiresome. The book slows down periodically to take note of everyone’s situation.

Despite the fact that they knew what they had to face there, the crew of the Argo II and the readers alike take a moment to appreciate finally stepping foot in one of the birthplaces of all those legends. The most exciting part had to be when the demigods finally made it to Rome. The funny moments weigh equally with the emotional bits, and the suspense keeps you turning pages as if the fate of the world is resting on your back (or maybe that was just Atlas wanting a quick break). On the whole, the book was another success as far as we’re concerned. But this truly is Annabeth’s story (hence the title of the book) and we can’t help but say: finally! Even hopping into Piper’s brain for a while feels familiar and secure. Leo is also a personal favorite, and his witty retorts and unique perspectives don’t go unappreciated.

Stepping back into Percy’s shoes always feels like soaking in a nice, clean, freshwater river after a particularly arduous day at Camp Half-Blood. The story is told from four different points of view: Piper, Leo, Percy, and Annabeth. They must fly on the Argo II, the Greek trireme adorned with the head of our favorite dragon Festus, cross the United States, traverse the ocean, and end up in Rome – one of the most dangerous places in the world for demigods. Seven demigods have to venture forth on the quest of a lifetime, but the hardest part might prove to be working together. The Mark of Athena sees representatives of the two camps – Half-Blood and Jupiter – together in the same place, but not necessarily united under the same flag.

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