Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - La Torre de Nerón / The Tower of Nero

Entah salah siapa, tapi butuh waktu lama untuk mulai membaca buku terakhir dari series The Trials of Apollo ini, dan lebih lama lagi buat bisa konsentrasi masuk ke dalam ceritanya.

Awalnya aku baca dalam bahasa aslinya, sampai sekitar 30% aku memutuskan untuk beli ebook terjemahannya karena susah banget buat konsentrasi. Pinjam audiobook bukan solusi karena antrinya lama lagi, keburu menguap niat bacanya.

Kalau boleh membandingkan, aku lebih suka ending PJO dan HOO, walaupun ingatan cuma samar-samar tapi kayaknya lebih GIMANAAA GITU. Dari ingatanku yang kurang bisa diandalkan sih, rasa-rasanya aku gabisa berhenti baca ya, beda sama ini. Tapi yang spesial dan aku suka dari buku ini adalah cerita tentang abusive parents dan gimana Meg akhirnya bisa membebaskan diri dari Nero (juga Apollo dari Zeus, tapi yang ini kurang berkesan wkwkwk).

"Tidak mudah untuk melawan atau meninggalkan seorang tiran, apalagi ketika kita sepenuhnya bergantung pada yang bersangkutan."

Aku juga suka sih gimana Apollo melakukan refleksi diri sepanjang cerita, gimana dia (kelihatannya) sangat menghargai waktunya ketika jadi manusia. Dari makhluk yang bisa ngapain aja sampai jadi makhluk yang menggantung hidupnya sama orang lain. Tapi disitu esensinya menjadi manusia, kan? Kalau kata Chiron:

"Kita semua bertanggung jawab untuk menyelamatkan satu sama lain, bukan begitu?"

Yaa udah sekian, mungkin habis ini aku juga perlu refleksi diri, merenungi tujuan hidup dan mensyukuri apa yang sudah aku punya sambil mengusahakan yang bisa diusahakan wkwk. Terima kasih Meg dan Apollo atas pelajarannya!

Content Warnings

herk's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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ohkmurr's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I feel similarly about this book as I did with The Last Olympian—it was a fine book, but it was all battle or prepping for battle. But I do appreciate seeing Lester/Apollo's full character development.

I also like the little change Rick does where he has the other characters refer to our sun god as Lester instead of Apollo, to show the main character's growth and humanity.

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bbqseaweed's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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northcoastwanderer's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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instalovewithbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolutely loved this story. Listened to it on audiobook and read the last bit and both ways were absolutely brilliant. Rick's books have always been books that being warmth to my heart and I am so glad I've read these books. 5 stars all around. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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rachelditty's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is such a fantastic wrap-up, not only to the Trials of Apollo series, but to the Camp Half-Blood series as well.

This final book really hammered down on the importance of character development, of heart, of breaking cycles of abuse, and of being present in moments that will stick with you for your entire existence. It's not very often you absorb a piece of media that leaves you feeling both ecstatic and sad at the same time, feeling so bittersweet. But this final installment really did it for me. Apollo was already my favorite of the Olympian Gods, but my love for him has raised exponentially after this series. Well done, Riordan, really well done.

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nila's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Fun as always, but I felt that it wrapped up a bit too quick for my taste.
But the tease at the end though, new series coming??

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