Review: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Title: The Son of Neptune
Author: Rick Riordan
Pages: 511
Publisher: Disney Hyperion, hardback

Goodreads Summary:
In the first pages of this standalone sequel to The Lost Hero, Percy Jackson remembers only his name and the name of Annabeth, a mysterious woman he associates somehow with the city of San Francisco. From those sparse clues, he must somehow complete a mission for the leader of the Roman camp even as he is being pursued by the two sisters of Medusa, who possess an apparently unquenchable thirst for vengeance: Even when killed, they spring back to life. Rick Riordan's second Heroes of Olympus promises even more excitement than the first.

My Review:

I swear, series like these are going to give me heart attacks, or diabetes or something!

Another great story to the Heroes of Olympus series has been added. Rick Riordan's newest book, The Son of Neptune, was certainly worth the year long wait.

Percy Jackson has been asleep for eight months and has finally awoken, without memory of his past. Similar to Jason Grace's story, The Son of Neptune takes place in the Roman Camp, and is told in the point of view of three different characters: Percy, Frank and Hazel. It tale starts with how Percy, son of Neptune, gets to find the Roman camp to the long awaited reunion. Only not quiet.

Personally, I don't like the whole 3 different character POV thing. I know it's in 3rd person, but I'm just so accustomed to one POV from the Percy Jackson series. At least these characters are much more tolerable than last books. Okay, that's a lie. The only I couldn't tolerate was Pipper, but there's no Pipper in this book!

Frank, newly recruited Roman demi-god, he's kind of that awkward, shy kid that is really nice, but is always messing things up on accident and no one really talks to him. His parentage kind of comes in a shock, but not really if you pay close attention to his description. And don't trick yourself into believing that Frank is the underdog, because this guy is full of secrets and surprises. Just wait, you'll get to like him!

Hazel, she has some secrets of her own. I'm starting to think that all Hades' kids have the same kind of story, because there really seems to be some kind of repetition going on. At first, her curse might not make much sense to you, but just hang in there! The truth will be told! And she's not annoying like Piper! I found that really exciting! There were only little hints of romantic thoughts and I really liked the way we got to learn about her past. But come on Rick Riordan! This girl has gone through a lot, and yet you do that thing, with Leo?! Cruel. Just cruel.

Percy. Our hero has not changed! Well, only a little. I found that he made kind of silly comments when he first arrives at camp, and for a moment I was afraid he'd been dumped down. But quickly the reader gets to see flashes of the good ol' Percy and everything is made right with the world. He quickly rises to his true leadership position, which is great. You learn a lot more about what the future has in story of this kid, and of course, his love of Annabeth was still strong! What else would you expect? But I swear, this guy knows like everyone. So watch out for those cameos! Let's see if you can guess who they are before their identities are revealed (and in some cases they aren't!)

Octavius. The bad guy we all love to hate. Couldn't have made his character any more easier. I mean, this guy kind of gave me the bad vibe just from his description. The second he opened his mouth I knew I wasn't going to like him. And I don't! So well done Mr. Riordan, you have written your story well.

Reyna. She's so cool! She's that girl I wish I was, strong, cool, collective, smart and athletic. She's a great praetor and I wish her the best of luck. Hopefully, we'll get to see more of her in later books.

The writing wasn't much different from the last book. There were definitely parts were I felt the story was lacking something. I felt this one was less exciting that The Lost Hero, but it was good in its own way. Of course, there were parts were I was like freaking out and hyperventilating, but there were also others were I kind of just skimmed the paragraph because it wasn't that interesting. There are references to books from the PJO series, so I hope you guys remember what happened. And I'm not saying references from the last book, some maybe be as early as the first three books. I also didn't think the gods were as funny in this book, but that's also because their Roman forms are much more serious. The difference between Greek and Roman way is definitely noted. It's even pointed out to the reader, to prove the point. Their lifestyles are so much different! I mean, they're like polar opposites! Questions campers have had about the after-life of campers will surely be answered. And by after-life I mean life after camp, if they're not killed by a giant or a gryphon before hand that is.

Let's thank the gods that Rick Riordan added a glossary to the book. I mean, near the beginning I was rather lost with all the Roman talk. Sure, I'm widely educated in the civilization of the Ancient Greeks (I wrote many term papers on them) but my Roman knowledge was lacking a bit. And it just seemed so odd to me that there was Roman talk. After six Greek books, you get used to Greek terms.

The ending will keep you shocked. Mostly because you can't believe it just ended right there! Then you get past the glossary and there's that little note that says The Mark of Athena, Fall 2012. That's one whole year away. I'll be a senior then...wow. Sure, the time will fly by, but still...a whole year. Four whole seasons have to pass before I get to read what happens next. How the meeting between the two groups goes, if there's tension in the air or if they're accepted. I've probably already said enough, so you guys will just have to read it to find out what I mean.

I got the Barnes & Noble's version, which by the way cost me like $17 dollars with tax. Can we say expensive? But since it's the B&N version, it's got a cool little extra to it: a pamphlet! It's much cooler than it seems, because it's like an introductory pamphlet to the Roman camp. So it was kind of worth spending my allowance this early in the month for it.

Overall: It was a good book that I enjoyed reading.

Did I fall in love with it? No, as I said before, I felt like it lacked a little something. But I will definitely be rereading it.

Do I recommend it to others? Yes! Especially those PJO/HO fans. The adventures continue!

Rating: 4.2/5 stars