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A review by stephen_delavue
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I'm going to level with you; I think this is the worst Percy Jackson book. I remember not liking it as a kid, but I couldn't put my finger on why until I started ranting to a friend.
While "The Lost Hero" has PJTO's world-building to live off of, this one has to essentially start from scratch, and a lot of the concepts in it are just worse versions of the stuff from the original series. The Amazons (which is only tied to the company because they share the same name. A lot more could've been done with that thematically) felt like a dumbed-down and needlessly hostile version of Artemis' Huntresses. (Honestly, the Amazons are their own separate multi-page rant that isn't worth going into right now. Just know that I think they're dumb.) And Camp Jupiter feels like a less competent version of Camp Half-blood. The military angle is a fine way to go for them, but I think it needed to be fleshed out more.
This book also breaks the rules of Percy Jackson's world several times over. Percy and Frank are not related. That's not how that works. It is explicitly mentioned in the original series that you're only related to people that you share a godly parent with. Otherwise Percy would be Annabeth's 1st cousin once removed (I think).
Also, it's explicitly stated in this book that Gods and Demigods have to work together to kill giants, but that's just brushed away for the Alaska one and then brought back for Neptune's counter.
This book feels like the first quarter and ending were written by Rick Riordan (which are its best parts by far), and then the middle was just kind of done by somebody else.
So, not crazy about this one. 2 Stars.
Post Script: Also, I hate Frank's powers. Percy and Jason are both overpowered demigods, but they have an excuse since they're kids of the big three. I don't even know how, or if, Frank's powers tie into Greek Mythology, and they certainly don't tie into Mars. Worst demigod abilities.
While "The Lost Hero" has PJTO's world-building to live off of, this one has to essentially start from scratch, and a lot of the concepts in it are just worse versions of the stuff from the original series. The Amazons (which is only tied to the company because they share the same name. A lot more could've been done with that thematically) felt like a dumbed-down and needlessly hostile version of Artemis' Huntresses. (Honestly, the Amazons are their own separate multi-page rant that isn't worth going into right now. Just know that I think they're dumb.) And Camp Jupiter feels like a less competent version of Camp Half-blood. The military angle is a fine way to go for them, but I think it needed to be fleshed out more.
This book also breaks the rules of Percy Jackson's world several times over. Percy and Frank are not related. That's not how that works. It is explicitly mentioned in the original series that you're only related to people that you share a godly parent with. Otherwise Percy would be Annabeth's 1st cousin once removed (I think).
Also, it's explicitly stated in this book that Gods and Demigods have to work together to kill giants, but that's just brushed away for the Alaska one and then brought back for Neptune's counter.
This book feels like the first quarter and ending were written by Rick Riordan (which are its best parts by far), and then the middle was just kind of done by somebody else.
So, not crazy about this one. 2 Stars.
Post Script: Also, I hate Frank's powers. Percy and Jason are both overpowered demigods, but they have an excuse since they're kids of the big three. I don't even know how, or if, Frank's powers tie into Greek Mythology, and they certainly don't tie into Mars. Worst demigod abilities.