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vexcrest_113 's review for:
Lore Olympus: Volume Eight
by Rachel Smythe
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spoilers for the ending of season two.
Season two goes out with a whimper as new plot points are introduced that add no emotional drama but instead vie for dissatisfying action-packed stakes that the art cannot properly convey. It switches from a courtroom drama (which already was unnecessary for a romance...) to a physical battle between giants that is much sillier than you would expect a climax to an entire season to be.
Persphone is as unlikeable a protagonist as ever, and with Hades gone from the picture after the mid-season finale, she can't even be treated to any romantic chemistry. She has to try to carry the story on her back, and it doesn't work because she is a dull person with the only points of interest about her being problematic and bitchy. It says a lot that her number one concern is Hades and her own mother, Demeter, is a considerable afterthought.
Surprisingly, the most interesting and developed person within the comic ends up being Zeus.
I know, I wasn't expecting it either.
Taking the role of antagonist during the trial arc, Zeus is deliberately made to be seen as paranoid, unreasonable, and selfish. His actions anger everyone else in the story and will presumably anger the reader as well. He is meant to be in the wrong, and to some extent he is, but by the end of the season he is more compelling than Persephone. It's fascinating to see his transition from being obsessed with his own catty ego to sincerely doubting his own behavior out of a love for his lost family. He isn't redeemed, but he is remorseful, and seeing Zeus, of all gods, express regret over anything is cool.
But, of course, when Zeus stops being the villain, a new one needs to be introduced.
Kronos, as presented, is a large, bumbling beast of a man of low intelligence and with no tangible physical power until he breaks out of his prison. By the time he does, it's too late, and Persephone anticlimactically kicks his ass with no effort. Persephone treating their entire fight like a joke is possibly the worst thing about this whole book. Any tension Kronos could have brought to the table is melted away by this pink model smirking and mugging to the camera about how pathetic he is.
All sense of danger is deflated, and Kronos cannot be taken seriously as a villain.
And this is important... because he is also the villain of season three.
He has a whole other season to get through, and he has been rendered as non-threatening.
It doesn't help that Persephone also looks ridiculous during their "fight." That dress looks dumb. And this is supposed to be her epic girlboss moment? It doesn't work.
This book is a drag. This season is a drag. This story needs to end.
Season two goes out with a whimper as new plot points are introduced that add no emotional drama but instead vie for dissatisfying action-packed stakes that the art cannot properly convey. It switches from a courtroom drama (which already was unnecessary for a romance...) to a physical battle between giants that is much sillier than you would expect a climax to an entire season to be.
Persphone is as unlikeable a protagonist as ever, and with Hades gone from the picture after the mid-season finale, she can't even be treated to any romantic chemistry. She has to try to carry the story on her back, and it doesn't work because she is a dull person with the only points of interest about her being problematic and bitchy. It says a lot that her number one concern is Hades and her own mother, Demeter, is a considerable afterthought.
Surprisingly, the most interesting and developed person within the comic ends up being Zeus.
I know, I wasn't expecting it either.
Taking the role of antagonist during the trial arc, Zeus is deliberately made to be seen as paranoid, unreasonable, and selfish. His actions anger everyone else in the story and will presumably anger the reader as well. He is meant to be in the wrong, and to some extent he is, but by the end of the season he is more compelling than Persephone. It's fascinating to see his transition from being obsessed with his own catty ego to sincerely doubting his own behavior out of a love for his lost family. He isn't redeemed, but he is remorseful, and seeing Zeus, of all gods, express regret over anything is cool.
But, of course, when Zeus stops being the villain, a new one needs to be introduced.
Kronos, as presented, is a large, bumbling beast of a man of low intelligence and with no tangible physical power until he breaks out of his prison. By the time he does, it's too late, and Persephone anticlimactically kicks his ass with no effort. Persephone treating their entire fight like a joke is possibly the worst thing about this whole book. Any tension Kronos could have brought to the table is melted away by this pink model smirking and mugging to the camera about how pathetic he is.
All sense of danger is deflated, and Kronos cannot be taken seriously as a villain.
And this is important... because he is also the villain of season three.
He has a whole other season to get through, and he has been rendered as non-threatening.
It doesn't help that Persephone also looks ridiculous during their "fight." That dress looks dumb. And this is supposed to be her epic girlboss moment? It doesn't work.
This book is a drag. This season is a drag. This story needs to end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol