The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (Heroes of Olympus)

9/10

The one thing that Percy Jackson has, that makes him stand out among the many, dashing modern fantasy heroes is his wonderful sense of humour. I had forgotten this because the last Rick Riordan book I read did not feature Percy, but the rather brooding Jason Grace. The opening lines of The Son of Neptune, the second book in The Heroes of Olympus trilogy, reminded me how much I loved the dyslexic son of a sea god.

When he attempts to describe two gorgons chasing him, he states, “Her name badge read: Hello! My name is DIE, DEMIGOD SCUM!”

The Son of Neptune starts off where the first book left off. (If you haven’t read it, I’m not going to spoil it for you.)

“Percy Jackson is confused. When he awoke after his long sleep, he didn’t know much more than his name. His brain-fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight. Somehow Percy managed to make it to the camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he had to continually kill monsters that, annoyingly, would not stay dead. But the camp doesn't ring any bells with him.”

Joining Percy in his quest are Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang, both adorable and both with terrifying secrets. The story is quite easy to read for those familiar with Riordan’s simple and fast paced style. He does a brilliant job once again, twisting age old legends into the story and mingling it with the modern in a way that’s refreshing and sometimes, downright hilarious. Like how Death checks his schedule on an iPad and Amazon.com is really masterminded by the legendary warrior Amazons who are using us mortals to fund their worldwide franchise.

There is a load more to talk about when it comes to the word, ‘camp,’ but I can’t if I am to keep this review spoiler free.

For me, this book is by far the best in the series; it picks up the pace and is twice as violent and funny as The Lost Hero. Riordan has timed the events to perfection, obviously leading us up to the grand finale in the third book – The Mark of Athena. But then, he is a genius. The only time his writing doesn’t work for me is when the characters speak a kind of long monologue filled with so much witticism that it gives me a headache, but thankfully, The Son of Neptune doesn’t fit that bill, probably because Percy Jackson is the king of snarky commentary and it does not come off as out of the ordinary. A good read and a great book filled with surprises. However, to enjoy it completely, I suggest reading the previous Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and then coming here. Can’t wait for The Mark of Athena…