The Mark of Athena

lionsrcute1 - Okay. So, I've read this series from the beginning. Meaning, The Lighting Theif, NOT The Lost Hero. Sadly, starting from The Lost Hero, the series began to go downhill. I feel like Rick Rodian isn't completely writing for the joy of writing, but to competing other books, making unnecessary new problems. So many problems in fact, it's getting annoying. Now, this is just a reflection, but who cares. If you like this series, continue. It's just that it's getting to cheesy for me, and they're going throught things we don't really need to know. I'm a very impatient person, and I CANNOT STAND READING ABOUT YOUR INSECURITIES, CHARACTERS! I just want action. But I really do think that I'm starting to grow out of the series, so it's probably just me. Yup. I would mainly suggest this for people levels Q-X, if you do that, or 2nd-4th. I'm going into 6th now, and I've started this series in 1st grade... so I'm pretty sure I have a reason to be bored of this book now. So, I'm NOT STOPPING you from reading this, this is JUST AN OPINION. PLEASE do not say, "No, I don't think Percy Jackson is cheesy!" or anything like "You're wrong, Rick Rodian is an amazing writer!" Please don't give negative comments about my opinion. RIck Rodian's writing just isn't for my age anymore. Ya, you're probably not reading this anymore. I don't think anybody's gonna read this anyways... so ya. THE END.

November 1, 2012
After waging two separate quests (The Lost Hero, 2010; The Son of Neptune, 2011), the Greek and Roman demigods of Riordan's Heroes of Olympus quintet join forces. With his now-trademark zero-to-60 acceleration, the author engineers a ghostly possession to set Greeks and Romans at odds and initiates the Prophecy of the Seven, hurtling Annabeth, Percy, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank and Jason into a pell-mell flight on the magical trireme Argo II. They seek the titular Mark of Athena, which they hope will provide the key to defeating the vengeful Earth mother, Gaea, or at least some of her giant offspring. As the trireme crosses the country, the pace drags while the demigods sort out relationships and work to figure out both cryptic prophecy and nightmare visions. With sweethearts Annabeth and Percy once again united, much of the tension that powered earlier books is gone. Once the Argo II leaves the United States, though, the pace picks up, and the comically instructive set pieces Riordan's so good at emerge. A Luddite god rails against what he calls the "b-book," which displaced the far superior scroll technology; Annabeth gets a crash course in the cult of Mithros far below the streets of Rome. Here, Riordan's infectious love for his subject matter really comes through, even as he takes some real risks with his characters. A literal cliffhanger leaves eager readers hanging; next stop: Greece--and Tartarus. (glossary) (Fantasy. 10-14)

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