This is it, guys! Another well-loved series finally comes to an end. The Heroes of Olympus series ends with Blood of Olympus and oh, how bittersweet this feeling is! I have been following the series since 2011 and you could only imagine the mixed emotions I am feeling regarding this novel. But enough with the drama. Did the finale live up to the expectations of fans like me? Well, let's find out!
- Title: The Blood of Olympus
- Author: Rick Riordan
- Genre: young adult, fantasy, mythology, fiction, adventure
- Pages: 516 pages (hardcover)
- Published: 7 October 2014
- Series: The Heroes of Olympus #5
"Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.
The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.
The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over. "
To tell you the truth, it took me 2 hours to type this sentence in because I just don't know how/where to start. This book is filled with so much action and drama and twists and turns and I just don't know where to begin! So I have come up with the Top 5 Best Things About The Blood of Olympus (not ranked). So without further ado, let us begin!
1. More Demigods + Gods (yes, plural) Co-ops!
I think that the PJO fandom agrees with me when I say that we all get giddy inside whenever we read about the demigods being helped by the gods during battles. And by help, I mean help in person, not just through long distance. When the gods stand by the demigods' side during battles, there's just this dramatic orchestra music that plays in my brain. It's good to see these gods helping out, and not just being busy with their double personalities. Okay, maybe that's a valid reason to not help out but still... their gods for crissakes! The least they could do is help their ill-fated destiny-bound children.
2. More Character Background and Development.
I got to see more of Reyna's story since she finally gets a POV in this novel. It's always good to know a character more. And speaking of knowing characters more, I also got to see some of our heroes develop their characters. It's hard to explain without giving away spoilers but the point is that their characters are far from when we first knew them. They've grown and improved, if I do say so myself.
3. Unexpected Twists and Endings
Hard to explain without spoiling anything but NEED I SAY MORE?
4. More Mythical Meet-ups + Old Friends Reunite!
New gods and mythical characters have been incorporated in this novel, both good and bad. I enjoyed knowing these new characters and what role they play in our heroes' destiny. Some helped them while some just got in their way. And with the new characters come the old - those that we haven't seen for a while. I saw some old friends in this novel once again and nothing beats a happy reunion.
5. CLOSUUUURE + Happy Endings?
We do know, of course, that there are different issues present among our heroes. Saying that they settled these issues would be a spoiler already but all I can say is that I was amused with how they dealt with some of these issues. ;) And for the happy endings part, I'll leave it up for those who haven't read the book yet to find out for themselves. And for those who have read the novel, highlight the following sentences with the cursor (spoilers ahead!): OH MY GODS. Did Rick just... passively cliff-hanger us? Why did it end so abruptly with Leo and Calypso sailing into gods-know-where? Oh well... This just gives me hope that this won't be the last time we'll be seeing our heroes.
Now that we're done listing the best things, let's head down to the worst things. Here are the Top 3 Not-So-Great Things About The Blood of Olympus.
1. It ended with a small and rather disappointing BANG.
There was a bang, I'll tell you that. But I felt that it just did not live up to the Tartarus our heroes have been through and to the amazing stories that we have read prior to this finale. I found myself thinking "That was it? It couldn't possibly be just that!", over and over after finishing the novel. I craved for more and unfortunately got nothing else. Which is why I'm really hoping for more of our heroes' stories, and even novellas and short stories would do! (Time for Rick to channel his inner J.K. Rowling)
2. (A personal opinion) No Percy's POV
Again, this is a more personal opinion (since everything I write in this blog are personal opinions). In fact, I wanted all seven demigods to have POVs in this book, even if it sounds like asking for too much. But I wanted at least Percy's POV to be present, since he was the main hero of the series that preceded the Heroes of Olympus (Percy Jackson and the Olympians). I thought it would be a good way to say goodbye to him. But no. The Percy POVs in the previous book, The House of Hades, were the last ones. :(
3. It's the Finale :(
Simply put, I'll miss the series. I'll miss waiting for October for the next book to come out. I'll miss the beautiful emboss and velvet-y finish of the Heroes of Olympus covers. I'll miss Percy and the gang. I'll miss fanboying with my friends whenever we finish reading the book that just came out. I'll miss everything about the series. The whole series has been a great ride, and I'm just sad that it's over now. But luckily Rick announced a new series, this time featuring the Nordic gods!
So I'll guess we'll see some Thor and Mjolnir action soon, and I'm not talking about Marvel Thor. But still, nothing will replace the Heroes of Olympus series and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. And before I forget, here's my rating:
And that's it! I was very careful about revealing spoilers because I myself had been spoiled with this novel. And the worst part is that the spoiler I unintentionally saw was about the last chapter with all the surprise endings! (Oops, I'm saying too much already.) To that one guy who commented about a spoiler on that post on Facebook... I hope you're a fan of the Game of Thrones TV series because I'm willing to read all the novels just to tell you who's going to die next.
So with all that said, guys, this has been my review on The Blood of Olympus! Let me know what you think about my review and the Blood of Olympus itself in a comment! Also, in light of the Marie Lu event that will be happening in two weeks, I am pleased to announce that this month (and if I run out of time, next month) will be Marie Lu month for Jude Reads! I will be reviewing her Legend Trilogy and her newly-released novel, The Young Elites! This month's gon' be goooood. Adios!
1. More Demigods + Gods (yes, plural) Co-ops!
I think that the PJO fandom agrees with me when I say that we all get giddy inside whenever we read about the demigods being helped by the gods during battles. And by help, I mean help in person, not just through long distance. When the gods stand by the demigods' side during battles, there's just this dramatic orchestra music that plays in my brain. It's good to see these gods helping out, and not just being busy with their double personalities. Okay, maybe that's a valid reason to not help out but still... their gods for crissakes! The least they could do is help their ill-fated destiny-bound children.
2. More Character Background and Development.
I got to see more of Reyna's story since she finally gets a POV in this novel. It's always good to know a character more. And speaking of knowing characters more, I also got to see some of our heroes develop their characters. It's hard to explain without giving away spoilers but the point is that their characters are far from when we first knew them. They've grown and improved, if I do say so myself.
3. Unexpected Twists and Endings
Hard to explain without spoiling anything but NEED I SAY MORE?
4. More Mythical Meet-ups + Old Friends Reunite!
New gods and mythical characters have been incorporated in this novel, both good and bad. I enjoyed knowing these new characters and what role they play in our heroes' destiny. Some helped them while some just got in their way. And with the new characters come the old - those that we haven't seen for a while. I saw some old friends in this novel once again and nothing beats a happy reunion.
5. CLOSUUUURE + Happy Endings?
We do know, of course, that there are different issues present among our heroes. Saying that they settled these issues would be a spoiler already but all I can say is that I was amused with how they dealt with some of these issues. ;) And for the happy endings part, I'll leave it up for those who haven't read the book yet to find out for themselves. And for those who have read the novel, highlight the following sentences with the cursor (spoilers ahead!): OH MY GODS. Did Rick just... passively cliff-hanger us? Why did it end so abruptly with Leo and Calypso sailing into gods-know-where? Oh well... This just gives me hope that this won't be the last time we'll be seeing our heroes.
Now that we're done listing the best things, let's head down to the worst things. Here are the Top 3 Not-So-Great Things About The Blood of Olympus.
1. It ended with a small and rather disappointing BANG.
There was a bang, I'll tell you that. But I felt that it just did not live up to the Tartarus our heroes have been through and to the amazing stories that we have read prior to this finale. I found myself thinking "That was it? It couldn't possibly be just that!", over and over after finishing the novel. I craved for more and unfortunately got nothing else. Which is why I'm really hoping for more of our heroes' stories, and even novellas and short stories would do! (Time for Rick to channel his inner J.K. Rowling)
2. (A personal opinion) No Percy's POV
Again, this is a more personal opinion (since everything I write in this blog are personal opinions). In fact, I wanted all seven demigods to have POVs in this book, even if it sounds like asking for too much. But I wanted at least Percy's POV to be present, since he was the main hero of the series that preceded the Heroes of Olympus (Percy Jackson and the Olympians). I thought it would be a good way to say goodbye to him. But no. The Percy POVs in the previous book, The House of Hades, were the last ones. :(
3. It's the Finale :(
Simply put, I'll miss the series. I'll miss waiting for October for the next book to come out. I'll miss the beautiful emboss and velvet-y finish of the Heroes of Olympus covers. I'll miss Percy and the gang. I'll miss fanboying with my friends whenever we finish reading the book that just came out. I'll miss everything about the series. The whole series has been a great ride, and I'm just sad that it's over now. But luckily Rick announced a new series, this time featuring the Nordic gods!
 |
| Taken from Rick Riordan's blog |
So I'll guess we'll see some Thor and Mjolnir action soon, and I'm not talking about Marvel Thor. But still, nothing will replace the Heroes of Olympus series and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. And before I forget, here's my rating:
And that's it! I was very careful about revealing spoilers because I myself had been spoiled with this novel. And the worst part is that the spoiler I unintentionally saw was about the last chapter with all the surprise endings! (Oops, I'm saying too much already.) To that one guy who commented about a spoiler on that post on Facebook... I hope you're a fan of the Game of Thrones TV series because I'm willing to read all the novels just to tell you who's going to die next.
So with all that said, guys, this has been my review on The Blood of Olympus! Let me know what you think about my review and the Blood of Olympus itself in a comment! Also, in light of the Marie Lu event that will be happening in two weeks, I am pleased to announce that this month (and if I run out of time, next month) will be Marie Lu month for Jude Reads! I will be reviewing her Legend Trilogy and her newly-released novel, The Young Elites! This month's gon' be goooood. Adios!
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