Review #1: The Mark of Athena

The Mark of Athena

Rick Riordan

Pages: (including the glossary) 586

Release Date: October 2, 2012
Type: Young Adult, Romance, Adventure, Greek, Roman Mythology
Rating: 4.5

After waiting, and waiting, and waiting for this to come out--a whole year even!! I almost wished that it would come out faster but after reading this, I guess the best novels only comes out after a long time--meaning all that work and waiting was totally worth it.. WORTH IT!!!

Anyway, it really excelled my expectations on this series. I've read some fan-made Chapter ones of this book but not one of them came near to what really happened. Love the cover( Rocco is the BEST!!) and I have to admit, like the boys thought, I wonder who was really stronger, Percy or Jason?

*SPOILERS*

The scene where they worked together--a son of Poseidon and a son of Jupiter--to fight off those Romans..Man, that was awesome. I mean, yeah they were the sons of two of the most powerful Gods--Greek and Roman--why did I think otherwise? If they could control that much power, I can't wait to see what would happen next.

I'm seriously pissed off at that Octavian--all talk and no act--he's just a wimp, a coward, who hides behind others instead of fighting like a real Roman should. He deserves what's coming at him. Another guy I don't like, Bacchus, the God of winos. That guy is so close to Mr. D. than I thought. He's lazy, and full of himself. Well, I guess I can't fault him for that, he is a God after all.

I'm kinda sad about Leo being a seventh wheel. Now that I think of it, he's just like Grover in some ways; sweet, funny, wants to impress everybody(mainly girls), and sometimes feels alone despite having great friends around him. I really wish that by the 4th or 5th book, he'll have someone special who'll appreciate him and see him as more than a friend, who see him as someone who's special in his own way.

I love the way the book ended with a cliff-hanger. As much as I hate those, I still love it because made me want to want more, to know what would happen in Tartarus--was it really beyond horrible as Nico described it? Would there be super hard obstacles that Percy and Annabeth wouldn't be able to pass? Would they succeed in closing the Doors without tragedy following them? Guess I just have to wait it out.

I truly hope that PercyxAnnabeth & PiperxJason would survive this. Frank, Leo and Hazel better get over this love triangle their in; I don't know who would end up with who and I'm not siding until I know who's better because both Leo and Frank are great guys and Hazel deserves one of them. Who will she pick, I wonder.

Not to be mean but the Gods deserve those headaches--after playing with mortals just because they wanted to...its been a long time coming. But since they are powerful and all, they should be able to straighten themselves out by the time the Great battle between Romans and Greeks and eventually against the giants since its already told in the prophecy. Another battle to look forward to.

Overall, this is one of Rick Riordan's great masterpieces. A great book that deserves to be read over and over and I just can't wait for the next books!!!!