“Mark of Athena” is the third installment in the “Heroes of Olympusz’ series. The fact that this book is written by Rick Riordan automatically makes it a must read.
The book was released on the Oct. 2, a year after the “Son of Neptune” came out.
If you haven’t read any Rick Riordan books, here is what you need to know. The “Heroes of Olympus” series starts a couple of months after where the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series ends. It’s a five book series that follows seven demigods in their fight involving the waking of the Earth goddess, Gaea.
Percy Jackson, the central character of the series, is the son of Greek god Poseidon and a human. Percy and his friends go on quests to protect the mortal and immortal worlds.
Let me summarize Mark of Athena the best I can, without crying. In the “Son of Neptune,” Percy, Hazel and Frank met at Camp Jupiter, which is the Roman equivalent of Camp Half-Blood. The third book in the series unites them with Piper, Leo and Jason.
This story is about the seven demigods going on an epic quest. When the Argo II lands in Rome, the Greeks try to make peace with the Romans. But it obviously isn’t so easy. In Rick Riordan’s darkest, most twisted book yet, our Heroes try to set everything right between the Greeks and the Romans.
The book is from the perspectives of four different demigods: Percy, Leo, Piper and Annabeth.
We’ve been with Annabeth for years and it is now when we see just how strong, brave, and smart she really is.
We get to look inside her mind, and her mind is always on Percy Jackson. But who can blame her? This is another heart-wrenching beautiful relationship. We have waited five years to see Percy and Annabeth together. And all I can say is: finally.
If books have left you with cliffhangers before, it hasn’t been as intense as this.
The next book, “House of Hades,” comes out next fall, and I do not understand how the fandom is going to make it through this year.
The emotional bits in the book weigh equally with the funny bits and the suspense keeps you turning the page like the fate of the world is resting on your back (or maybe that was just Atlas wanting a quick break).
Riordan’s trademark humor is spot on and all the monsters and clever lines from “The Lightning Thief” are here with more ferocity.