Melinda's favourites book montage

The Mark of Athena
The Son of Neptune
The Lost Hero
The Last Olympian
The Battle of the Labyrinth
The Titan's Curse
The Sea of Monsters
The Lightning Thief
Throne of Glass
City of Glass
The Red Pyramid
City of Ashes
City of Bones
The Golden Door
The Farseekers
Obernewtyn
The Poison Diaries
Mockingjay
Catching Fire
The Hunger Games


Melinda's favorite books »

Monday 10 December 2012

Review: Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus 3)

Synopsis (from Goodreads)
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 masthead, 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 demand: 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.

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare...

The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus, #3)

As you may already know I am a huge fan of the Heroes of Olympus series. That meant that I had big expectations when it came to this book and, thankfully, it lived up to them.

So, what did I like about this book?
  • It was easy to read, yet it was complex. I can never explain properly just what I mean by this, yet it is something that I say about all of Rick Riordan's books. It is easy to read in that it flows well, there is never any long descriptions that slow the pace, the words are all fairly easy to read and the sentence structure is great. Yet the plot is complex. There are many themes that run not just right through the book but through the whole series. There are a lot of things going on at once, but it doesn't seem cluttered and you can still keep up with what is going on.
  • Another thing I loved was the third perspective aspect of the story. It was nice and refreshing to read the thoughts of the different characters, and really it was the only way that this story was going to work. It was also great to finally get into Annabeth's mind and I have to say it wasn't how I imagined her mind would work. 
  • As always the characters are great. With having seven main characters in the book you would think that they could start being similar, yet each were different. I loved the diversity in each of the character's backgrounds, fears and personalities. The new characters added depth to the story and each played an important role in the story, whether it was for character development for the main characters, posing problems or even solving problems. 
  • The speed of this book was great. It was fast-paced and action filled, yet there were also times of conversation and deep thinking which was also needed and I think Riordan got that balance just right. 
  • I enjoyed the world building. Even though I had been to this world seven times before (including the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series), Riordan was able to build and expand on it. All the new settings where described so well yet the descriptions didn't slow down the book in any way. It was great to imagine each setting that all the events took part on and I must say that I love the Argo II. It would have to be one of my more favourite settings in the series! :)
Now to what I didn't like, and to tell you the truth this isn't a dislike, more just a slight annoyance. It annoyed me that a slight love triangle was introduced, and the fact that it wasn't even the one I was expecting annoyed me a little too. I felt like it didn't really need to be there, there was already enough tension between the characters without adding it. I don't think it will end up being anything to big either so I don't think it will add anything to the series.

I also need to comment on the ending, which I liked (sort of). All I have to say is Riordan sure knows how to write a cliffhanger! Now I eagerly await the release of the next book, The House of Hades, which I think is to be released next October.

Anyway, even with the slight annoyance of a love triangle I rate this book 5/5 stars because it was just that good! :)

Mel.

Up next: December releases I am looking forward to!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for linking this in. If you pop back in a few days there should be a lovely collection of book links. I have just signed up to follow you on Google Reader. A follow back to Carole's Chatter would be wonderful – or are you already following? Cheers

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  2. No worries! It is a great idea! I am following you now! :)

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