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miiine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Especially the way it adresses the trauma the characters, especially Nico, have gone through in the previous books surprised me in a good way. It's rare to see in fantasy that those things actually get talked about and not just brushed under the carpet so I'm glad that they really leaned into this topic and showed how Nico learned to not only acknowledge that his past was indeed traumatic but to also slowly start to unravel those issues.
Furthermore, it's amazing to see their relationship throughout the novel and I love that it becomes clear that they aren't a perfect couple by any means and have to learn to communicate with each other but still love the other one deeply.
Imo Rick and Mark working on this together was exactly the right decision because it gave Rick a guide in writing a story centered around queer characters and probably also helped him to not shy away from adressing the characters' Ptsd etc., as it's the first time one of his books really delved into this topic extensively.
I'm happy to know that Rick worked together with a queer author to write this book and get it right; it shows that he actually takes his support for the lgbtq community seriously and continues to work on the representation and general diversity in his books.
I haven't read any of Mark's other work but I can tell that both of them came together beautifully when writing this.
This book ripped my heart out in a good way while I also couldn't stop smiling during some scenes because Nico and Will being cute and goofy together just warmed my heart
Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Abandonment, and War
dlrosebyh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- You could tell which one is Rick’s and which one is Mark’s. Their writing styles aren’t really different from one another, but I could still tell that Mark wrote the first chapters, and starting from the build-up of the climax, you could tell that Rick wrote them.
- Since the characters are like 15-16, expect some very cheesy, “childish” dialogues. But again, cheesy doesn’t always mean bad. If you can acknowledge that something is cheesy with freeing yourself a bit, it wouldn’t hurt you. Expect also some miscommunication as they’re just teenagers (they don’t miscommunicate a lot, and when they do, it’s not like other miscommunication where I want to bang my head to a wall; it’s more of them masking to make each other stronger especially that they’re in the Tartarus.)
- As I’ve said earlier, this book is anti-climactic especially for a book set in one of the scariest place in Greek mythology.
- If we’re talking about adventure-wise out of all the Rick Riordan novels, I’m sorry, but this is probably the worst one. It’s not bad, it’s just not that adventurous compared to the others. It was low staked, but not in a cozy fantasy type of way because this was not cozy at all.
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Body horror, Homophobia, and Outing
the_real_al_cal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was fortunate enough to be at the event in which Rick Riordan originally gauged interest in this book by asking the audience, and I couldn't believe how many screams and cheers there were for it. So I guess he must have taken that to heart! I really appreciate that he brought in Mark Oshiro to help him write the more tender parts. Mark brought such a wonderful, authentic perspective to this story about two LGBTQIA+ teens and their friends navigating their changing feelings and identities. Stories like this are so important, especially in this day and age.
From what I've seen of some online reactions, the response to this book ranges from absolutely loves to kinda lukewarm. I personally found this book very charming and impressive in how it approached some heavy themes in a way that is acceptable for the intended middle-reader audience. There were some silly moments and dialogue, but I thought it was sweet. I imagine that the majority of the more lukewarm responses come from fans who may have "aged out" of the middle-reader range and are finding that the writing style and humor aims a bit younger than they remember. It doesn't make their opinions wrong, but that's just how I interpret that response.
This story explores the theme of trauma quite extensively, but a very interesting part of trauma that often goes underwritten--the healing part.
I could go on for pages about this book, so in the end, I'll just say that even a day after finishing this book, I'm still thinking about it. Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro did a wonderful job. This is another jewel in the crown that is the Percy Jackson series.
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Body horror, Homophobia, and Outing
notalightbulb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Homophobia
finnft4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder and Violence
Minor: Outing
murderousscottishgremlin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder