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tiareleine 's review for:
The Serpent's Shadow
by Rick Riordan
I wish I could say I liked this as much as I liked The Red Pyramid, but the truth is that I didn't. It wasn't a bad finish to the series (clearly, since I gave it 4 stars, I did like it) but it wasn't as good as the start--although that's probably to be expected. The thing was, there were some things I had liked about the start of the series, that seemed to be missing in The Serpent's Shadow (sometimes it was the other way around, too. There were some elements here that I didn't like, which hadn't been around when the series started)
The first one of these issues was Sadie. Sadie didn't annoy me this much in the other books. But she sure got on my nerves in this one. She was never my favorite character, but she wasn't this bad. She was so much more emotional and whiny in this book--which bothered me because her lack of emotional drama had been something I liked about her--plus I wish she would stop throwing around the word "love." This is going to sound condescending, but Sadie, dear, you're 13; you don't love either of those boys. Also, (and this is a spoiler about the love triangle/relationships, not really plot)
Then there was the Carter/Zia thing. I should have known that would be a problem. Much like the Sadie/Walt/Anubis thing, the relationship between Carter and Zia was a much more prominent feature in this book than it had been in the previous two. Sure, it always existed (and always was addressed) but it to have been promoted to major plot instead of minor plot this time around.
I don't have a problem with plots that revolve around relationships, as long as that's what advertised to me. What I have a problem with is relationships that suddenly overpower everything else (especially in the last book in a series, where the first two have contained so much more action, and less drama)
It also seemed very repetitive. I think I've read too many of Riordan's books, because they're all basically the same. It's getting to the point where the humor is repetitive, as well, so there's nothing for me to be surprised by. I'm not marking the book down to much for this repetition, because it's middle-grade, so it's sort of to be expected that it's not super complex/confusing/twisted. I'm just saying, it got on my nerves a little.
The book was good, though. I do enjoy Riordan's writing, and characters, and plots (even if I know basically what's going to happen) I think I just need to space the books out a little more. (I've been trying to do that, but I think I need more books in between)
The first one of these issues was Sadie. Sadie didn't annoy me this much in the other books. But she sure got on my nerves in this one. She was never my favorite character, but she wasn't this bad. She was so much more emotional and whiny in this book--which bothered me because her lack of emotional drama had been something I liked about her--plus I wish she would stop throwing around the word "love." This is going to sound condescending, but Sadie, dear, you're 13; you don't love either of those boys. Also, (and this is a spoiler about the love triangle/relationships, not really plot)
Spoiler
she had the chance to be with both of the guys in the love triangle. Because Anubis basically became Walt. And instead she ran away and said "At the moment I didn't even care where it lead, as long as it was away from that deathless creature I had thought it loved." Okay, first of all, Sadie, you were just complaining about not getting either guy (Walt because he was dying, and Anubis because he's forbidden to date you) but once you can have both of them for some reason you're really unhappy about it. 2. Like I said before, you're 13, you don't love anyone. Carter even pointed the first one of my points out to her, and she still took nearly 200 pages to stop being such a whiny little girl.Then there was the Carter/Zia thing. I should have known that would be a problem. Much like the Sadie/Walt/Anubis thing, the relationship between Carter and Zia was a much more prominent feature in this book than it had been in the previous two. Sure, it always existed (and always was addressed) but it to have been promoted to major plot instead of minor plot this time around.
I don't have a problem with plots that revolve around relationships, as long as that's what advertised to me. What I have a problem with is relationships that suddenly overpower everything else (especially in the last book in a series, where the first two have contained so much more action, and less drama)
It also seemed very repetitive. I think I've read too many of Riordan's books, because they're all basically the same. It's getting to the point where the humor is repetitive, as well, so there's nothing for me to be surprised by. I'm not marking the book down to much for this repetition, because it's middle-grade, so it's sort of to be expected that it's not super complex/confusing/twisted. I'm just saying, it got on my nerves a little.
The book was good, though. I do enjoy Riordan's writing, and characters, and plots (even if I know basically what's going to happen) I think I just need to space the books out a little more. (I've been trying to do that, but I think I need more books in between)