Review for The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus #3)

The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus #3)

Author: Rick Riordan

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy/Mythology

Pages: 586

Summary from Goodreads…

Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close—the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare....

The Good, The Bad, The Krazyness…

YEEEE!!!!! This was my most anticipated book of 2012! I bought it right when it came out (I know, I’m really late getting this review up) and I almost never do that. Rick Riordan is one of my favorite authors so I had a lot of expectations… it was beyond all I could have ever hope for!!! Great characterizations, plot, descriptions, and, like all of Riordan’s books, very quotable! His best book so far!

The two groups of demigods have finally come together to become the seven heroes of the prophecy. As with all hero journeys, this one is filled with great peril; monsters, ghosts, and reflections, oh my! And don’t even get me started on the spiders. I think they’re the most vile and evil of all monsters, I can barely read when they’re on the page. Why did there have to be spiders??? … moving on. The issues between Rome and Greece are far from being reconciled and there is a lot of tension as the Argo II tries to land in Camp Jupiter. We are told more about the quarrel between the two groups and how it began. We were just talking about the Roman Empire in my world history class the other day and I think the author really captured the paranoia of the ancient Romans and how a mob forms.

As in the other books in this series, there are multiple narrators. I’m glad Riordan made all of them from Camp Half-Blood (Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Leo) in this book. The Camp Jupiter characters are cool but I’m a bit biased, I prefer reading from the Greeks POV. Camp Half-Blood forever!

And for the first time we get to hear things from Annabeth’s POV! Besides Percy, Annabeth is my favorite character and I went all fangirl when I got to hear her side of things; especially her thoughts on her relationship with a certain green-eyed son of Poseidon. They have got to be one of the cutest couples I have ever read! There were many times I would start smiling like krazy, or go “aww” at some of the stuff they did. I thought their relationship was done very well. Not overdone, or unrealistic, but for two warrior demigods it was perfect. There actually was a lot of couples in this book, more so than his previous series. I didn’t mind some of them but there was just the slight impression of a love triangle. Or at least it was imagined from a jealous almost-boyfriend. That I could have done without.

If I had to nitpick one thing, I would say that I thought the middle could have been cut down a little. It seemed that some of the stops the demigods made were just so we could meet up with some new mythological characters. They were great scenes but some of them seemed to slow down the main story just a bit.

This book has a brilliant opening with reunions and battles, a fantastic journey in the middle with introductions to new gods, visits from familiar ones and more battles, and a mind blowing finale that leave you begging for the next installment. The Mark of Athena is everything a fan could want out a book.

Q: Who is your favorite character in The Mark of Athena?
A. As awesome as Percy is I think the prize goes to Annabeth in this book! She definitely makes one of the top five on my "awesome, kick-butt chicks" list!