Scan barcode
A review by depleti
Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes by Rick Riordan
3.0
This book is basically divided into two parts: what Rick Riordan wrote and what his son Haley wrote.
Everything Rick wrote was, as usual, charming and funny and exciting and cute. He's one of my favorite writers because he knows how to balance the light and the dark, and it never gets too dark, even in life or death situations. His books are perfect "escape" books. They're fluffy, and I love that. I know I'm going to enjoy myself no matter which world or character he's writing.
I would have given this book four stars, but the very last story, "Son of Magic", knocked one off. Haley is a great writer for 16, and his stuff is years ahead what I was writing when I was 16, but the story just didn't fit. The main protagonist wasn't a demigod, and wasn't very likeable even at the end of the story. He uses a gun to try and kill a monster, and for some reason the appearance of guns, working guns that shoot bullets, in this world was disconcerting to me. It's almost too "real", and it knocks the tone down from exciting to a bit dark. Especially when the main protagonist kicks a monster's jaw so hard it flies off her face (as dust, but still). I also didn't like how Hecate was portrayed as a white-robed Virgin Mary wannabe praying at a church altar. What's that supposed to tell us? It's left unanswered but I definitely don't like the idea of these mythical Greek gods worshiping the Christian god. That sends a bad message.
Haley did not write badly. He knew how to pace and describe things, and it didn't feel clunky and choppy. It just didn't fit the tone of the world his father has established. He might be trying to inject some maturity into it, but I don't want that at all. I'll stick with Rick.
Everything Rick wrote was, as usual, charming and funny and exciting and cute. He's one of my favorite writers because he knows how to balance the light and the dark, and it never gets too dark, even in life or death situations. His books are perfect "escape" books. They're fluffy, and I love that. I know I'm going to enjoy myself no matter which world or character he's writing.
I would have given this book four stars, but the very last story, "Son of Magic", knocked one off. Haley is a great writer for 16, and his stuff is years ahead what I was writing when I was 16, but the story just didn't fit. The main protagonist wasn't a demigod, and wasn't very likeable even at the end of the story. He uses a gun to try and kill a monster, and for some reason the appearance of guns, working guns that shoot bullets, in this world was disconcerting to me. It's almost too "real", and it knocks the tone down from exciting to a bit dark. Especially when the main protagonist kicks a monster's jaw so hard it flies off her face (as dust, but still). I also didn't like how Hecate was portrayed as a white-robed Virgin Mary wannabe praying at a church altar. What's that supposed to tell us? It's left unanswered but I definitely don't like the idea of these mythical Greek gods worshiping the Christian god. That sends a bad message.
Haley did not write badly. He knew how to pace and describe things, and it didn't feel clunky and choppy. It just didn't fit the tone of the world his father has established. He might be trying to inject some maturity into it, but I don't want that at all. I'll stick with Rick.