Sunday 26 June 2016

Book Review: The Son Of Neptune

About the novel

Title: The Son Of Neptune
Series: The Heroes of Olympus #2
Author: Rick Riordan
Genres: Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Adventure, Young Adult, Middle Grade
Published: September 30th, 2011
Read: May 2016
My Rating: 4.5

My Copy

Publisher: Puffin Books
Cover: Paperback
Purchase Location: Amazon, Online


Goodreads Summary

ONE CURSED DEMIGOD. TWO NEW HEROES. A QUEST TO UNLEASH THE GOD OF DEATH - Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, God of the Sea, has woken from a very deep sleep and come face to face with two snake-haired ladies who refuse to die. But they're the least of his problems. Because Percy finds himself at a camp for half-bloods, which doesn't ring any bells for him. There's just one name he remembers from his past. Annabeth. Only one thing is certain--Percy's questing days aren't over. He and fellow demigods Frank and Hazel must face the most important quest of all: The Prophecy of Seven. If they fail, it's not just their camp at risk. Percy's old life, the gods and the entire world might be destroyed...



My Review


Yay! Finally some Percy time again! Percy Jackson is one of my favourite fictional characters and I can’t read enough about him and his demigod stories. Also, I’ve never had so much fun reading and learning about Greek mythology. The Son of Neptune is the second book in the Heroes of Olympus series, but Percy only just appeared in this book. Right after finishing The Lost Hero I continued with the sequel without even taking a break and it was such a delight to find this book just as a fun read as the previous one.

One great thing about Rick Riordan is his writing never fails to amuse me. There are so many great puns and jokes on every page I can hardly imagine anyone reading his books without a small fit of giggles every once in a while. Also, his wide range of knowledge of the ancient Greek stories amazes me every time he digs into a new story. It seems like his knowledge is endless and in my opinion it should just keep coming. (Although I’m very confused with all the names now and always have to check who is who.)

The idea of combining the Greek and Roman mythology never even occurred to me before starting the Heroes of Olympus series. It’s such a great mix and to learn about the similarities and differences this way is even more fun that I could have imagined. It’s definitely a great way to spend my time and it helped me get out of my reading slump.

Spoiler Alert! Proceed with caution.


I still find it very amazing (and amusing at the same time) that Riordan has this talent of taking every day encounters or normal things where you wouldn’t think about a hidden meaning behind it twice and then sprinkles some Greek god’s influence into it and you go on thinking about it every time you come across it in real life. Take for example the online store Amazon. He turned it into a lair for the Amazon warriors. At the time I read that chapter I just couldn’t get the image of “forklifts decorated for war” out of my head anymore.

My favourite parts in The Son Of Neptune are the little parts where I just giggle during reading, but now after having finished the book for a while and looking back I can’t seem to find it quite as funny as at the time. However, I can remember having laughed about it back then. For example I marked this following passage as a “lol moment”:
“I’m fine!” Percy yelled as he ran by, followed by a giant screaming bloody murder. – P. 486
The sequel to The Lost Hero did not disappoint my high expectations at all and I really enjoyed reading it! I continued reading The Mark of Athena instantly after this one and you’ll be reading my thoughts about that soon, too.

Other Reviews in the Heroes of Olympus Series


I'd like to know

What are your thoughts on The Son of Neptune? Have you read the Heroes of Olympus or any other books by Rick Riordan? Are you a Greek mythology fan in general and how much do you know about Roman mythology?