Book Review: The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2) by Rick Riordan

.

BOOK review

Started on: 14.December.2014
Finished on: 27.December.2014

The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2) by Rick Riordan

Title : The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2)
Author : Rick Riordan

Publisher : Disney Hyperion
Pages : 521 pages / 418 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication : 2011

Price : $ 12.98 (www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 5/5
*for those who haven't read the first book, this review may contain spoiler.
Review for The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, #1) here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Romans, I present to you the son of Neptune. For months he has been slumbering, but now he is awake. His fate is in your hands. The Feast of Fortune comes quickly, and Death must be unleashed if you are to stand any hope in the battle. Do not fail me!"

Percy Jackson has been fighting against two gorgons for so long, but they always come back to live after being defeated. Then in the middle of battle, Percy came across an old lady who gave him two choices: to carry her to a tunnel and risk death or to live safely and destroy everyone, everything he love. After Percy decided the carry the old lady who keeps getting heavier by the time, he came across Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang—who helped him tackle the gorgons. After carrying the old lady who turns out to be Juno (Hera in Roman form), Percy was introduced to Camp Jupiter: a camp for Roman demigods.

"Long ago, Hazel had been told that a descendant of Neptune would save her. But could Percy really take away her curse? It seemed too much to hope for."

Without a single memory in his mind, Percy tried his best to understand the situation that's been going on. After a while, Mars—the Roman god of war, announced a quest that needed to be led by Frank, along with Percy and Hazel. They need to go to Alaska and release Thanatos who's been chained and unable to keep the mortals dead. Along the way, the three of them discovered more about each others' lives and soon became friends who rely on each other. The quest need to be completed as soon as possible, because Camp Jupiter will be in danger if they're too late. But the road to finishing the quest won't be easy, because the giant they're going to face won't be easily defeated.

"So this is the demigod who destroyed my son Kronos. You don't look like much, Percy Jackson, but you're valuable to me. Come North. Meet Alcyoneus. Juno can play her little games with Greeks and Romans, but in the end, you will be my pawn. You will be the key to the gods' defeat."

image source: here. edited by me.

I felt really guilty it took me almost 2 weeks to finish this book. Not because it's not exciting, but more because I seem to have a tight schedule in December. Okay, so going into this book, I was SUPER thrilled, because I know I will be reunited with Percy Jackson. Reading this book made me recall the Percy Jackson series, because I think I'm as amnesiac as Percy Jackson. I read the series back in 2010, and the details of the story are really vague in my mind. But thankfully, I can still understand everything perfectly (especially because Percy also forgot everything, and recalled his memory little by little). But anyways, this book is not just about reminiscing the past glory; it's about new adventures with our hero: Percy Jackson, and his new Roman friends.

Just like the previous book in the series, The Son of Neptune is also written in the perspectives of the 3 main characters: Percy, Frank, and Hazel. We joined Percy Jackson in his struggle fighting gorgons. Soon after meeting Juno (the Roman form of Hera), Percy met Frank and Hazel who helped him get to Camp Jupiter. We are finally introduced to the Roman camp, which is totally different from Camp Half-Blood. The people at Camp Jupiter even laughed at how ridiculous Percy's question about the demigods divided according to their godly parents (which is how they do it in Camp Half-Blood). The fact that Percy is very Greek-styled, made everyone wary—and the augur of the camp named Octavian accused him as a spy. Then we continue with the quest. On the way to their final destination, the three of them are faced with many obstacles and monsters. And they even had to sacrifice lives to be able to succeed the quest. Just like the first book, this one also holds a lot of mystery that I'm dying to know the answers of. I was especially shocked when the story revealed the characters' history (Hazel and Frank), especially Hazel. And also like the previous story, this one is also action-packed and fun to read. I've missed Percy's humor and I'm reminded of how much I love his character! I absolutely love his style of humor, I'm not even sure why. Anyways, I love how this book wrapped up at the end, as we're getting closer to the reunion between Greek and Roman. And that plot twist at the end !! Oh my God, my mouth was hanging wide open and I kept saying to my self "Oh my God" because I still can't believe it ! Of course I will need to get into the third book for the explanation I wanted, but I need to read some other books first.

"They're Lares. House gods."

"House gods," Percy said. "Like...smaller than real gods, but larger than apartment gods?"

"...or we hold a ballot on the evening of June 24, at the Feast of Fortuna. That's in five days."

Percy frowned. "You have a feast for tuna?"

"Do you know what this is?"

"The sign of your mom," Percy said. "The...uh, war goddess." He tried to remember the name but didn't want to get it wrong—something like bologna. Or salami?

"Percy thought Frank had said surgeons. He had this weird image of giant doctors in scrubs and face masks, pulling their boat upstream. Then he realized Frank meant sturgeons, like the fish. He was glad he hadn't said anything. Would have been embarrassing, his being son of the sea god and all."

"Because I know you, Percy Jackson. In many ways, you are impulsive, but when it comes to your friends, you are as constant as a compass needle. You are unswervingly loyal, and you inspire loyalty. You are the glue that will unite the seven."

"Great," Percy said. "I always wanted to be glue."

Obviously from the quotes above, you'll already know that my favorite character in this book is no other than Percy Jackson, the son of Neptune. Aside from his good humor and hilarious narration, I also love Percy's personality. He's a good friend to Hazel and Frank even though they just met; Percy trusted them and lifted up their spirits when they need it. And he's sweet enough to call his mother and left a message saying he's still alive and well. And I can't wait for him to finally meet Jason, because I'm curious how these two will interact. Hazel Levesque, on the other hand, is also a very interesting character because of her godly parent and the curse she has to live with. Even though her curse does come in handy at certain times during the quest, she's brought various misfortunes to others in her past life. Same goes to Frank Zhang (finally an Asian demigod), who's had quite a bit of confidence issue, I think. He also had a pretty rough childhood, especially since his Mother died. And his grandmother told him how his life depended on a tiny thing; which will lead to Frank's death if burnt out. So far, I really like the diverse characters and how each of them are going to play a different role in the future. Hopefully everyone will get a fair portion when the seven of them are united. We'll see who will become my ultimate favorite character in the end ;)

"Maybe. Maybe so. But every hero has a fatal flaw. Percy Jackson? He's too loyal to his friends. He can't give them up, not for anything. He was told that, years ago. And someday soon, he's going to face a sacrifice he can't make. Without you, Frank—without your sense of duty—he's going to fail. The whole war will go sideways, and Gaea will destroy our world."

Overall, I would say this book is a really exciting sequel; and it made me eager to finish the series soon—and get all the answers I needed. Both in the first and second book, the prophecy really made me worry for what's going to happen to these seven demigods in the future. Because most of the prophecy doesn't sound really good. And I don't want anything bad to happen to the seven main characters :(( But please don't SPOIL me if you have finished the series. Please leave me be and let me be anxious, because I guess that's the beauty of reading a series. Anyways, I think I'll probably read 3 other books first before starting The Mark of Athena. Can't wait!

Senatus Populusque Romanus!

"The Senate and People of Rome"   by.stefaniesugia♥ .