Rick Riordan wrote The Lightning Thief for his son, and the 5 books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (linked to my review) gave Riordan a firm foothold in the YA scene. The first series focused on Percy and his Greek demigod friends as they fought the Titan Kronos and prevented him from rising up and taking over the world. The last book also revealed the Great Prophecy about 7 half-bloods who will close the Doors of Death, and that’s where the Heroes of Olympus series takes off.
The second book in this new series is The Son of Neptune. Percy Jackson can’t remember much – he knows his name and that he’s the son of Neptune (Poseidon to the Greeks) – and he’s been sent north to find his way. At Camp Jupiter, the Roman equivalent to Camp Half-Blood, Percy joins up with Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang and the 3 heroes embark on a quest to free Thanatos, aka Death, who’s been captured by the giant Alcyoneus. The Doors of Death have been opened, meaning anyone who was dead can come back to life and no one can die.
Fans of the previous series will enjoy this new one as well. The Son of Neptune does a much better job of explaining the Roman gods vs. the Greek gods, something that left me somewhat confused after reading The Lost Hero. Since Frank and Hazel are already well aware of their half-blood status, their stories are told in flashbacks. Over the course of the quest Frank must learn what his family gift is, and Hazel comes to terms with her part — albeit unwittingly — in releasing Alcyoneus when she lived in Alaska.
Content: While there are allusions to Hazel and Frank liking each other, and Percy refers to Annabeth as his girlfriend, there isn’t much in the way of adult relationships, save one very chaste kiss. There’s the usual fighting of monsters and some injuries but nothing that I would consider inappropriate for middle grade readers.
Notes on the audiobook: I actually split this book between audio, downloaded from Overdrive, and the hardcover edition I received from the publisher. I like the way Overdrive splits the book up by chapter and sections within a chapter, so it’s easy to move from one medium to the other. I did have one minor quibble over the narrator’s pronunciation of Gaea, but it turns out there are multiple pronunciations and the narrator used the one I wasn’t familiar with.
We have one copy of The Son of Neptune to give away (U.S. addresses only please)! Leave a comment and the winner will be announced on November 9. This giveaway is closed.
- The winner of The Lady of the Rivers is #12 Glykia.
- The winner of One Love is #1 Margaret.
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Nancy has been interested in Greek mythology since she was a kid. She writes about her 2 boys, books and life in Colorado at Life With My Boys and Books.
I really enjoyed this book. I’m actually enjoying this series more than the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series!
Edith Hamilton hooked me on Greek myths. Would enjoy an update.
I’d love to win and share this YA book.
i love to win something for the frist time and i been wait for this book and im got crazy becuse i read little page rick put out on his site and now i can’t stop think about the book.
i love watch you on youtube.
have a nice day
from
bekah
Count me in! I’m 80th in line at the library!
Ak! I wrote a long comment about how my kids were completely absorbed by The Lightning Thief. Unfortunately my comment was eaten by the wordpress monster.
Meanwhile, I’m sure my daughter would *love* this newer series.
our son is a huge riordan fan. would luv this opportunity to win the book
annsavd at gmail dot com
I would so love to win this book to add to my sons collection.
Would love to read this and then add it to my daughter, the reading teacher’s classroom library. Her kids are starved for books to read
I know a little guy that would love hearing this story. He loves it when I read to him.
My son is very excited to learn and read stories about Greek and Roman gods lately. I would love to read this and share it with him.
Thank you!
I’d love to win this for my grandsons! Thank you!
This would be a great addition to our collection. Thank you for the opportunity to win.
I just read this book from the Library, but really want to own my own copy so I can re-read it!
Sounds like an enjoyable book! Please enter me.
Congratulations Beth, you win! Please reply to this email with your mailing address.
I would love to have this for a school bookshelf;
The Thief Lord has been enjoyed by many.
like this for my nephew
nannypanpan at gmail.com
I’ve read the first one, but haven’t started this one yet!!! I’m confident that it’ll be just as great.
I’d love to win this! Thanks for offering the giveaway!
mearley1979 at gmail dot com
My daughter will love this book after Lightning Thief.
Would like to win this book for my daughter