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foxo_cube's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The stakes continue to get higher! Things get a bit more complicated!
Riordan is a rare author of YA fiction that manages to encapsulate pretty well the awkwardness of being a teenager. That the characters have unhuman powers and encounter monsters frequently doesn't make them less, well, human. The little bits of romantic interest that are coming up as everyone's getting older are frustrated and uncoordinated, and that's certainly how I remember it being around that age.
I've become very fond of Rachel - I hope she comes back in the last book, too. She's so straightforward. I was happy to see Tyson play a big role again, too - and he became friends with Grover! The two best boys getting over their mutual fear of each other made me very happy.
Nico was kind of annoying for a lot of the book, unfortunately. I don't think that's a problem of the writing so much as it was him being a sulky kid, and I can't really blame him for that. Still, his journey led him to realise on his own terms how to move on from his sister's death, and good for him. I'm interested to see how his character develops!
I do wish the titular Battle of the Labyrinth had been a little bit more intense. The smaller fight scenes are typically pretty dynamic, so the big battle felt a little lacklustre. Mrs. O'Leary and Daedelus coming through at the end, though!!! Hell yeah! I love Mrs. O'Leary. Certified good girl. Grover just straight-up channelling Pan was good, too.
I mentioned before that I was disappointed that Luke didn't die in The Titan's Curse. Now, though, I am pretty intrigued as to the direction his story is going.Becoming a vessel for Kronos seems pretty obvious now, but it really hadn't crossed my mind he was anything but a useful bridge between Kronos and a large gathering of demi-gods. It seems like there's a bit of Luke left in there, and I'm hoping what that might entail will more than make up for his previous plot armour.
Riordan is a rare author of YA fiction that manages to encapsulate pretty well the awkwardness of being a teenager. That the characters have unhuman powers and encounter monsters frequently doesn't make them less, well, human. The little bits of romantic interest that are coming up as everyone's getting older are frustrated and uncoordinated, and that's certainly how I remember it being around that age.
I've become very fond of Rachel - I hope she comes back in the last book, too. She's so straightforward. I was happy to see Tyson play a big role again, too - and he became friends with Grover! The two best boys getting over their mutual fear of each other made me very happy.
Nico was kind of annoying for a lot of the book, unfortunately. I don't think that's a problem of the writing so much as it was him being a sulky kid, and I can't really blame him for that.
I do wish the titular Battle of the Labyrinth had been a little bit more intense. The smaller fight scenes are typically pretty dynamic, so the big battle felt a little lacklustre.
I mentioned before that I was disappointed that Luke didn't die in The Titan's Curse. Now, though, I am pretty intrigued as to the direction his story is going.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Mental illness
madamenovelist's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Child death, and Violence
orchidlilly's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Murder, Grief, War, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Animal death
aceofsphades_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- 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
4.75
It's so hard to not give every book in this series a five. Really funny and interesting, literally gasped out loud in class.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and War
Moderate: Murder and Child death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
rodes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, War, and Child death
Moderate: Death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
ethen_rey's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Minor: Ableism and Alcohol
lis4so's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Murder, War, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As I've been reading this series, I've had several friends mention that The Battle of the Labyrinth is their favorite installation. Now that I've read it, I can see why! It's a lot of fun and has a great deal of character growth and fantastic adventure.
One of the things I noticed in the previous books was how there was often a push for one of the secondary characters to be more important to Percy's mission while the others would be off doing their own crazy side-quest. In the first book, we got to see a lot of Grover. The second book gave us a ton of Tyson. The third book was Nico. This fourth book did a great job of including everyone and making them all equally important and vital to the advancement of the story, which I loved!
I remember approaching the last quarter of this book and thinking that there was something that irked me about the formula of the story. Something that felt repetitive. For the life of me, one day after finishing, I can't recall what that was. Obviously, that means it wasn't as irritating as I thought it was because I've completely forgotten it. The ending of this book was really satisfying!
I'm still trying to wrap my mind around how everything is going to come together in book five, but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless. I really loved seeing Grover's growth and increase in maturity during his journey to find Pan. It was awesome watching Annabeth learn how to not just be a bossy know-it-all but actually a good friend. Tyson found out that he could be his own hero and even inspire those around him. There was such an interesting turn of events for Nico that I really enjoyed but won't talk about too much as it's a bit spoiler-y.
And of course, we can't forget Percy. During the first few books, he came across as the obnoxious chosen one who really let everyone else do the work for him. This book gave him a lot more depth and emotion. For a kid on the cusp of fifteen, he learned a lot!
I can't wait to dive into the final book soon!
One of the things I noticed in the previous books was how there was often a push for one of the secondary characters to be more important to Percy's mission while the others would be off doing their own crazy side-quest. In the first book, we got to see a lot of Grover. The second book gave us a ton of Tyson. The third book was Nico. This fourth book did a great job of including everyone and making them all equally important and vital to the advancement of the story, which I loved!
I remember approaching the last quarter of this book and thinking that there was something that irked me about the formula of the story. Something that felt repetitive. For the life of me, one day after finishing, I can't recall what that was. Obviously, that means it wasn't as irritating as I thought it was because I've completely forgotten it. The ending of this book was really satisfying!
I'm still trying to wrap my mind around how everything is going to come together in book five, but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless. I really loved seeing Grover's growth and increase in maturity during his journey to find Pan. It was awesome watching Annabeth learn how to not just be a bossy know-it-all but actually a good friend. Tyson found out that he could be his own hero and even inspire those around him. There was such an interesting turn of events for Nico that I really enjoyed but won't talk about too much as it's a bit spoiler-y.
And of course, we can't forget Percy. During the first few books, he came across as the obnoxious chosen one who really let everyone else do the work for him. This book gave him a lot more depth and emotion. For a kid on the cusp of fifteen, he learned a lot!
I can't wait to dive into the final book soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Death
Moderate: Murder, Violence, and War
Minor: Child death
oswallt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Abandonment and Child death
booksanna's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Just like any other Percy Jackson book. The ending was a little iffy, but it was great overall. My favorite characters are Nico and Dionysus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Child death
Minor: Confinement