“Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.”
In Rick Riordan’s epic conclusion to the series, everything is on the line. In the “Blood of Olympus,” Gaea is about to wake, the Roman demigods are ready to unleash a massacre onto Camp Half-Blood and Leo has a plan that involves the ultimate sacrifice.
Riordan has the magic touch when it comes to an epic tale. Homer would be proud. He doesn’t fail to disappoint in the nearly 500-page adventure that leads to the final battle and the perfect ending.
Unfortunately, his characters don’t have the magic touch. In the hit series that sparked “The Heroes of Olympus,” a spin-off, “Percy Jackson & The Olympians,” all five books were told in the first-person perspective of Percy. In the spin-off books, however, Riordan disperses the narrative throughout the series to nine of his heroic demigods. This would be an interesting way to experience yet another apocalypse if he hadn’t chosen to put it in the third-person perspective. After growing so attached to the first series, it is hard to fully appreciate the story without the personal voices of the characters.
Anyone who knows Riordan’s style would have been able to see that ending coming from a mile away. It is very predictable. It’s almost a mirror image of the ending of ”The Last Olympian,” the final book of the original “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” series.
Still, these flaws are minor compared to the magnificent moments sprinkled throughout the book. Riordan gives his fans everything they could want. Those who like adventure get to ride giant metal dragons while fighting the Earth Mother. If you like romance, Riordan puts you in the adorable awkwardness of four different relationships. It goes without saying that those who love mythology will love the epic interpretation of the ancient gods of Rome and Greece. Finally, there’s the universal favorite: scores of explosions.
The (almost) perfect ingredient that makes this book is the ending. Riordan executes the final chapters with such a beautiful sense of fulfillment. First, there is a feeling similar to the adrenaline left pumping through your body after stepping off a rollercoaster. The fast-paced thrills and constant shifting of perspectives leaves the reader feeling breathless.
However, when he ties it all up and leaves the reader with his final words, those who have followed the series are left feeling empty. For years, readers have been journeying by the sides of our unfortunate heroes and it’s simply ... over. Riordan never fails to ensnare the hearts of his readers, nor does he fail to then rip them out, throw them on the ground and stomp on them.
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It would almost be perfect, if it wasn’t so predictable. He only gets away with this because he knows it’s what all of his fans are dying for.
Skylar Griego is a book reviewer and freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
