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A review by gapagrin
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
5.0
The Last Olympian is my favourite of this series by far, and considering I've rated them all 5 stars, that's saying a lot. Like most series finales, it was a bittersweet read - I was excited to find out what happened, but didn't want it to end, either. It also exceeded my expectations for the series. I was anticipating an exciting action-filled adventure and bloody hell did Last Olympian deliver.
The action starts on page one with a pre-emptive strike against Luke's forces, followed by a slightly slower section while they prepare for the oncoming attack on Manhattan by Kronos and his army. It was slower, yes, but certainly not boring - during this time, Percy has to track down Grover, who had gone missing, Nico figures out why Luke was invulnerable and convinces Percy to follow the same path, the Apollo and Ares cabins are fighting over a chariot and it looks like Ares cabin will not be participating in the war, the gods are trying to slow down Typhon, whose presence in Manhattan would certainly turn the tides in favour of Kronos. It's a busy time.
What I liked most about this part of the book was the anticipation. The sense of impending battle hung over the first part of the book and just made everything going on even more exciting. Especially as all of the preparation was purposeful - no aimless wandering about trying to figure out what to do or where to go. And that was the 'slow' part of the book. When we actually get to the battle...it's non-stop, with hardly a moment for either the characters or the readers to catch their breath. If you thought the Battle of Hogwarts was amazing, the Battle of Manhattan is even better.
I've liked Nico more and more as the series has gone on, particularly because he's one of the few characters that can still surprise me. He's an ally and I expect him to help Percy, but he's always got something else in mind as well, some ulterior motive, that I don't anticipate like I do Percy's 'must save everyone' mentality. Plus, he's got the only sort of real parent-child relationship out of any of the demigods. No one else has got a room in their godly parent's palace they can get sent to if they misbehave. That honestly makes me like Hades better than the other gods as well - their distance from their children, only contacting them to use them, definitely makes me see Luke's point - not the whole bringing back Kronos thing - but bit about questioning their support of the parents who don't even care enough to claim their own demigod children.
The characters I liked best in this book weren't any of the main characters - I expected them to save the day. Percy was always going to be the hero. Annabeth was going to be crucial to that. Grover and Tyson have grown into capable leaders. It was the other characters who've thus far been side characters who got their own opportunities to truly shine. Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite, led the Ares cabin back into battle, Clarisse took on a drakon with no armour at all, wearing just a camp t-shirt and jeans, earning herself the blessing of Ares, Nico convinces Hades to join the fight, showing up to save everyone with a massive army of the dead, Thalia shows up with the Hunters of Artemis, and Luke...well, Luke still has a part to play.
Every loose end is tied up satisfactorily, nearly every character introduced at any point during the series comes in for the fight and has some important part to play in the battle. There's not really anything left unanswered - until the new oracle spits out a brand-new Great Prophecy that's just waiting to be fulfilled...
The action starts on page one with a pre-emptive strike against Luke's forces, followed by a slightly slower section while they prepare for the oncoming attack on Manhattan by Kronos and his army. It was slower, yes, but certainly not boring - during this time, Percy has to track down Grover, who had gone missing, Nico figures out why Luke was invulnerable and convinces Percy to follow the same path, the Apollo and Ares cabins are fighting over a chariot and it looks like Ares cabin will not be participating in the war, the gods are trying to slow down Typhon, whose presence in Manhattan would certainly turn the tides in favour of Kronos. It's a busy time.
What I liked most about this part of the book was the anticipation. The sense of impending battle hung over the first part of the book and just made everything going on even more exciting. Especially as all of the preparation was purposeful - no aimless wandering about trying to figure out what to do or where to go. And that was the 'slow' part of the book. When we actually get to the battle...it's non-stop, with hardly a moment for either the characters or the readers to catch their breath. If you thought the Battle of Hogwarts was amazing, the Battle of Manhattan is even better.
I've liked Nico more and more as the series has gone on, particularly because he's one of the few characters that can still surprise me. He's an ally and I expect him to help Percy, but he's always got something else in mind as well, some ulterior motive, that I don't anticipate like I do Percy's 'must save everyone' mentality. Plus, he's got the only sort of real parent-child relationship out of any of the demigods. No one else has got a room in their godly parent's palace they can get sent to if they misbehave. That honestly makes me like Hades better than the other gods as well - their distance from their children, only contacting them to use them, definitely makes me see Luke's point - not the whole bringing back Kronos thing - but bit about questioning their support of the parents who don't even care enough to claim their own demigod children.
The characters I liked best in this book weren't any of the main characters - I expected them to save the day. Percy was always going to be the hero. Annabeth was going to be crucial to that. Grover and Tyson have grown into capable leaders. It was the other characters who've thus far been side characters who got their own opportunities to truly shine. Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite, led the Ares cabin back into battle, Clarisse took on a drakon with no armour at all, wearing just a camp t-shirt and jeans, earning herself the blessing of Ares, Nico convinces Hades to join the fight, showing up to save everyone with a massive army of the dead, Thalia shows up with the Hunters of Artemis, and Luke...well, Luke still has a part to play.
Every loose end is tied up satisfactorily, nearly every character introduced at any point during the series comes in for the fight and has some important part to play in the battle. There's not really anything left unanswered - until the new oracle spits out a brand-new Great Prophecy that's just waiting to be fulfilled...