Review: The Mark of Athena - Rick Riordan

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
Series: The Heroes of Olympus #3
Genre: YA, fantasy
Published on October 2, 2012
Published by Hyperion
Pages: 574
Read From: 10.11.12 - 10.17.12
Final Rating: 3/5 strawberries









SYNOPSIS

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 figurehead, 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 command: 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.

Review

Cover Blurb: Quite frankly, the owl creeps me out, and I love owls. I do like how the two figures fighting represents not a only a moment in the book when Percy and Jason go at it (unintentionally), but it also represents the fact that the Roman and Greek camps are once more at each other’s throats.

What I Liked: It was fun seeing all of the characters interacting with one another, especially Jason and Percy, who were both the “leading figure” in their camps. They are very different and also very similar at the same time, and I always wondered ever since I started this series how they were behave with each other. I loved that Rick Riordan brought so many obscure Roman/Greek gods into this story, demonstrating once more his knowledge of mythology.

What I Disliked: Okay, I’ll admit it - Coach Hedge really did get on my nerves. He was kind of funny at first, but then I got a little tired of him. And I was a little sad that Leo and Frank didn’t get on very well.

Believability: Not really applicable.

Writing Style: Rick Riordan combines his trademark humor and drama really well in this one, as with all of his books. He has tons of foreshadowing in this book, and keeps up a good sense of mystery and foreboding throughout. As with the other two in this series, I like how the chapters alternate between third-person narrators; it allows the Author to cover a lot of ground and different events in a short amount of time.

Content: None.

Conclusion: The Author has given himself a lot to work with in the fourth - and possibly final? - book. The climax of this book isn’t quite as grand as others have been, but I was very much okay with that. Not every single book needs to end with a bang, especially if there’s one after it. Out of the three, this one might be my favorite, because you have all of the characters together now: Annabeth, Percy, Piper, Jason, Hazel, Frank, and Leo.

Recommended Audience: Fans of Percy Jackson & the Olympians and any of Rick Riordan’s other books will love this! Girl-and-guy read, any age.

Others in The Heroes of Olympus Series:

1)The Lost Hero

2)The Son of Neptune

3)The Mark of Athena

4)The House of Hades