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A review by gapagrin
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
5.0
This is the first book since the first that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover have all gone on a quest together that didn't involve one of them being absent for most of it because the quest involved rescuing them. It was nice to get the gang back together. Even Tyson's there, breaking the three-people-to-a-quest rule.
The Labyrinth makes the entire journey feel like it's comprised of random events, like they're wandering aimlessly through the maze. Even Annabeth's theory that the oldest parts are where Daedalus' workshop would be leads them wrong. Granted, it is the Labyrinth and they're meant to be lost without the proper guidance, but it feels very purposeless until they get on track. It was a relief when they finally had a direction. I'm glad Annabeth finally was quest leader, but it was disappointing that it was for something she couldn't use her brains for, instead having to rely on Percy's randomly met acquaintance and now friend from The Titan's Curse, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Certainly frustrating for Annabeth, even as the quest finally gets truly underway.
I think we all know that Percy is going to be the child of the elder gods the prophecy refers to, since the series is entitled Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but I like that after Thalia took herself out of the running by becoming a Hunter of Artemis, Nico takes her place as the possible rival to Percy. At the beginning of the book, it seems to be a much less friendly rivalry than the one Percy had with Thalia. I wasn't expecting it to stay that way, though. Nico has got a lot on his plate, what with finding out his dad his Hades and losing his sister twice, first when she joined the Hunters of Artemis and again when she died and is directing that grief into blaming Percy for it because he promised he'd keep Bianca safe. He's a bit bitter and angry and fair enough. Plus we learn his fatal flaw is holding grudges. Poor kid. I just felt sorry for him. Anyway, we've already got one Luke, so I figured his character arc would go in a different direction.
We do see a reasonable amount of growth from everybody, really. This is the penultimate book in the series, so we're gearing up for the real fight against Kronos instead of just his minions. Percy discovers powers had hadn't known he'd got, Nico learns to let things go a bit, Grover takes on a lot of responsibility, Clarisse learns to feel things, Tyson inspires others to be their best. Only Annabeth goes a bit backwards here, wanting to refuse Rachel's help, fighting with both Rachel and Percy because she doesn't want to admit she fancies Percy, and stubbornly refusing to believe that Luke can't be redeemed. Here's hoping she's right and proves herself the wisest of them all. Surely the next book will see her sort everything out and go on to save the day.
The Labyrinth makes the entire journey feel like it's comprised of random events, like they're wandering aimlessly through the maze. Even Annabeth's theory that the oldest parts are where Daedalus' workshop would be leads them wrong. Granted, it is the Labyrinth and they're meant to be lost without the proper guidance, but it feels very purposeless until they get on track. It was a relief when they finally had a direction. I'm glad Annabeth finally was quest leader, but it was disappointing that it was for something she couldn't use her brains for, instead having to rely on Percy's randomly met acquaintance and now friend from The Titan's Curse, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Certainly frustrating for Annabeth, even as the quest finally gets truly underway.
I think we all know that Percy is going to be the child of the elder gods the prophecy refers to, since the series is entitled Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but I like that after Thalia took herself out of the running by becoming a Hunter of Artemis, Nico takes her place as the possible rival to Percy. At the beginning of the book, it seems to be a much less friendly rivalry than the one Percy had with Thalia. I wasn't expecting it to stay that way, though. Nico has got a lot on his plate, what with finding out his dad his Hades and losing his sister twice, first when she joined the Hunters of Artemis and again when she died and is directing that grief into blaming Percy for it because he promised he'd keep Bianca safe. He's a bit bitter and angry and fair enough. Plus we learn his fatal flaw is holding grudges. Poor kid. I just felt sorry for him. Anyway, we've already got one Luke, so I figured his character arc would go in a different direction.
We do see a reasonable amount of growth from everybody, really. This is the penultimate book in the series, so we're gearing up for the real fight against Kronos instead of just his minions. Percy discovers powers had hadn't known he'd got, Nico learns to let things go a bit, Grover takes on a lot of responsibility, Clarisse learns to feel things, Tyson inspires others to be their best. Only Annabeth goes a bit backwards here, wanting to refuse Rachel's help, fighting with both Rachel and Percy because she doesn't want to admit she fancies Percy, and stubbornly refusing to believe that Luke can't be redeemed. Here's hoping she's right and proves herself the wisest of them all. Surely the next book will see her sort everything out and go on to save the day.