Heroes Of Olympus- The Blood Of Olympus

It all started way back in Class 7.

“Hey, you haven’t read the Percy Jackson series, ah?” - was the question that all my classmates and friends asked me. No. I didn't know any Percy Jackson. But it started there. I read the whole series, and finished it in Class 7. Then, I continued with my favourite friends, Percy and Annabeth, in the Heroes Of Olympus series. From that year on, I've been immediately reading the new releases- The Lost Hero, The Son Of Neptune, The Mark Of Athena and The House Of Hades, as eBooks. One of my classmates always makes sure it comes to me soon after the release.

But this time- The Blood Of Olympus was already out. I assumed that I would get the eBook as usual. But not so.

“Sorry! I don’t think I will be able to send this time!”  was all that my classmate said.

Ah! How was I going to  get the book?! I had to read it! And- be one of the first people to have read it!

Thanks to Eloor, our usual library, I got a copy of The Blood Of Olympus to read.

I finished reading it, and travelled with the seven demigods to the end of the final battle with Gaia, after which everybody is peaceful and happy.

Title: Heroes Of Olympus- The Blood Of Olympus

Author: Rick Riordan

Main Characters: Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Hazel, Frank Zhang, Coach Hedge, Reyna, Hylla, Thalia, Zeus, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Ares, Asclepius, Victory, Octavian, Nico, Gaia, Giants.

Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Leo, Piper, Hazel and Frank. They were the seven demigods chosen to defeat Gaia. But they had a problem with the prophecy.

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,

To storm or fire the world must fall.

An oath to keep with the final breath,

And foes bear arms to the doors of death.

To storm or fire the world must fall- that presented a problem. This meant Jason, son of Zeus(god of storm and lightning) or Leo, the son of Hephaestus(god of fire), might die in the final battle So, the seven demigods set on three dangerous quests that would help them solve everything- they had to capture Victoria(the goddess of victory), they had to capture the war god Ares’s heartbeat from the Old Temple and they had to talk to Apollo and Artemis(the twin gods) into following them in the battle, and get the secret potion from Asclepius to make sure that Jason or Leo could be brought back alive even if they die.

While capturing Victory, it becomes clear that Leo is going to die, because Victory screams at the Percy, Hazel, Frank and Leo, that one of them will die. But nothing is said about it. The magic medicine that they acquire from Asclepius is handed over to Piper to keep it in safety.

The Gods and the Demigods together successfully defeat the giants. But while doing so, a drop of blood from both Annabeth and Percy seeps into the ground. The Blood Of Olympus has been given. Gaia awakes.

Zeus blows the seven demigods to Camp- Half Blood.

Meanwhile, Reyna, Nico, and Coach Hedge counter problems and finally reach Camp-Half Blood safely with the Athena Parthenos, only to find that Octavian(a Roman) is planning to war with the Greeks. But as Reyna arrives, and earns trust with the Greeks by giving back their sacred statue of Athena, the Romans stop following Octavian and listen to their old Praetor Reyna.

The seven Demigods, the Roman and Greek forces together wage the war against Gaia. Finally, Leo takes Jason and Piper up into the air, where Piper charm-speaks Gaia into sleep-mode. Leo fires Gaia with all his strength. As heat builds up, and Leo understands that one of them must die, he pushes Jason and Piper from the war ship where they might die.

Octavian launches himself on a missile to attack Gaia, in the name of saving Rome. Together, Leo’s fire and Octavian’s missile crumbles Gaia so much that she will never be able to reform again. But Leo’s warship, bursts into flames illuminating the whole sky.

Everybody thinks Leo is dead and pray for him. Things slowly settle down. Greeks and Romans become friends. Peace prevails.

But did Leo die? Of course not! He is the awesome guy who is “all about doing the impossible”. So, what happened to him? Read to find out.

The book is really awesome. I am glad I was able to read it so soon.

Did you pick up your copy?

The Mark of Athena

Drawing of Athena Parthenos (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Title: The Mark of Athena

Author: Rick Riordan

Main Characters: Annabeth, Leo, Percy, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Athena, Arachne, Aphrodite (Venus), Bacchus (Dionysus), Coach Hedge, Reyna, Octavian, Phorcys, Nemesis, Gaea, Ephilates, Otis, Chrysaor, Terminus, Nico and Keto.

Description of one of the main characters: Arachne was a weaver who claimed to have skills superior to Athena’s. This angered the goddess, who destroyed Arachne’s tapestry and loom. Arachne hung herself, and Athena brought her back to life as a spider. Arachne guards the Athena Parthenos, a giant statue of Athena, the most famous greek statue of all times. She gets tricked by Annabeth and falls deep into the Tartarus. But she pulls Annabeth and Percy also in with her.

Whom I like and why: I like Leo very much. He is very jolly. He is the son of Hephaestus. He knows everything about machines and machine parts. He can summon fire in his hand, being a son of Hephaestus. He makes Argo II, the fantastic ship which can both sail and fly and has Festus’s (a machine dragon made by Leo) bronze dragonhead as its figurehead. His ship was named after Argo, the ship used by a band of Greek heroes who accompanied Jason on his quest to find the golden fleece. Leo makes Argo II because they needn’t be in contact with Gaea (Earth), the mother of monsters. Leo loves Archimedes(a son of Hephaestus).

Whom I dislike and why: I dislike Phorcys, the old sea God. He was the sea God before Poseidon. He hates Percy, son of Poseidon. He captures Percy, Frank and Coach Hedge. But they manage to break out. Phorcys is very jealous of Poseidon. He supports Gaea. He is the son of Gaea.

Setting/theme of the story: Annabeth, Jason, Leo, Piper and Coach Hedge come to the Roman camp, Camp Jupiter, to reinforce peace between the Romans and Greeks, which had not been there for centuries. They make settlements with Reyna, a Roman, that the ship, Argo II wouldn’t land and that Leo would stay up in the ship to see to that nothing goes wrong. They go to see New Rome and Annabeth meets Percy at last. Just when everything was going smoothly, the Roman camp is attacked by Leo from Argo II. All the Romans panic. Annabeth, Percy, Jason, and Piper do not understand what is happening. They can’t believe Leo had done something to spoil their plan. They can’t stay in Camp Jupiter anymore, so they go back to Argo II with Percy’s two Roman friends, Hazel and Frank. They quickly sail away from the Roman camp. Leo tells the others that he wasn’t himself and didn’t know that he was attacking the Romans. Using her charm-speak  Piper finds that Leo had been possessed by the eidolons, possessing spirits. They continue the journey but at one point Leo tells his friends that he needs coal and celestial bronze. Leo and Hazel meet Nemesis, goddess of revenge. She tells them that Nico, Hazel’s brother is in trouble. Hazel decides to somehow save him. They go in search of the giant twins, Ephilates and Otis. Meanwhile Athena gives Annabeth a coin to follow the Mark of Athena and find the Athena Parthenos. Annabeth goes alone and finds herself alone with her worst enemy, Arachne. She somehow flatters Arachne and asks her to do a Chinese handcuff model using all her silk. Arachne accepts and does the Chinese handcuff. Annabeth says that there is a flaw inside and asks Arachne to go in and see for herself. Arachne gets struck. Annabeth had made Arachne weave her own trap. Just then, Arachne breaks the news that they will fall into the Tartarus if the floor gives away. At that time Argo II appears with Nico in it. Nico had been saved. Percy and Jason had defeated Ephilates and Otis with the help of Bacchus, the God of wine. They safely transport the Athena Parthenos to the ship. But they are too late to save Annabeth. Arachne pulls Annabeth into Tartarus and trying to save her, Percy also falls into the Tartarus. He asks Nico to meet him in Epirus, the door of death from the mortal side. Leo, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Nico prepare to go to Epirus. They decide save Percy and Annabeth.

Part I enjoyed the most: I enjoyed the part where Annabeth falsely tells that Arachne’s weavings shall be displayed in Olympus and tricks her to make her own trap. A chinese handcuff tightens when you try two move out of it. So after Arachne goes in and when she tries to come out, it tightens and she gets struck.

Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

Cover via Amazon

Title: Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

Author: Rick Riordan

Main Characters: Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, Grover, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Nico, Tyson, Luke, Kornos, Beckendorf, Silena, Chiron, Clarisse, Ares, Athena, Hera, Hermes, Rachel, Apollo and Sally.

Description of one of the Main Characters: Nico is the son of Hades. He had a sister named Bianca who went inside a troll and couldn’t come back out. Nico was not allowed to be in camp Half–Blood ( the place where demigods get training to become heroes) because he is the son of Hades, the Lord of the Dead. Nico convinces his father to fight Kornos and few other Titans for saving Olympus and other Gods.

Whom I like and Why: I like Tyson. He is a Cyclope and the big-brother of Percy. He is also a son of Poseidon. He is very brave. He loves Percy so much that he kills a Titan(Oceanus) for him and to save Olympus. He leads the other Cyclopes in the war between the Titans and Gods. As a reward, Zeus appoints him as general in the armies of Olympus.

Whom I dislike and Why: I dislike Kornos. He is one of the greatest Titans. He was once shattered into numerous pieces by the Gods. But he regained power and took Luke's body. He is wicked and cruel. He escaped the magic of tartarus, a really dangerous pit. He attacks New York City hoping he could capture Olympus. But he is once again shattered into numerous pieces by Percy and Annabeth. Maybe, he can never rejoin again.

Setting/Theme of the Story: Percy and Rachel spend the holiday together but suddenly Beckendorf arrives and calls Percy to help him blast ‘PRINCESS ANDROMEDA’, the ship of the Titan Lord Kornos. Percy and Beckendorf blast the ship but unfortunately Beckenford dies when the ship blasts. Percy goes back to camp Half-Blood and tells everybody the sad news. Then Annabeth, Percy, Chiron and other campers go to New York to save Olympus. At last Percy fights Kornos, the Titan Lord and defeats him. The Gods regain power and reward the brave heroes of Olympus.
Part I enjoyed the most: I enjoyed the part when Titan Kronos gets shattered into pieces by his own weapon.

Harry Potter Vs Percy Jackson

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Even if Harry Potter and Percy Jackson are two different series of stories by two different authors, I could find some similarities in them.

In Percy Jackson, Percy is like Harry from Harry Potter. Annabeth is like Hermione and Grover is like Ronald Weasley. Dumbledore, the headmaster of the Hogwarts is like Chiron who trains Half-bloods to become heroes.

The villain in Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, is just like the evil Lord of the Titans, Kronos. Voldemort initially takes the form of Quirrel's head while Kronos takes the form of Luke.

Harry is a wizard while Percy is a demi-god. Harry and other wizards go to "Hogwarts" while the Half-bloods like Percy go to "Camp Half-blood". While Wizards fight with wands, Demi-gods fight with swords. Hogwarts has a game on its own called "Quidditch" while Camp Half-blood has "Capture-the-flag".

I hope you see the many similarities between these two completely different series. Please feel free to share if you have some more.