Yesterday, Rick Riordan's Blood of Olympus was released. It's the final book in the Heroes of Olympus series. The book picks up from the 4th book of House of Hades. In the 5th book, our heroes go through many more trials on their way to 2 climactic battles. Riordan shows his usual crazy humor such as the minor sea goddess whom Jason Grace promises to create an action figure for while at the same time keeping the story moving along. I won't spoil the ending but, I don't think there will be any devastated Riordan fans at the end of the story i.e. it has a happy ending.
Overall, I found the story ok. I thought it weak in some parts like the blood certain demigods shed to waken Gaea. I mean we're led to believe there is going to be some terrible sacrifice and, the sacrifice ends up being lame.
Still, the book will be a must read for Riordan fans. Price wise, the Costco near which I live is selling it for $10.99 in hardbound. Also, Barnes & Noble is selling the electronic version for the same price.
Lastly, Riordan fans will be very delighted at the far end of the book where Riordan announces the new series he'll be coming out with next October called Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. And yes, it's not a coincidence that the Chase in the title has the same last name as Annabeth Chase. We'll find out next October what the connection is. Happy reading all.
Showing posts with label Rick Riordan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rick Riordan. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
The Staff of Serapis Book Review
Like Rick Riordan did previously with Son of Sobek and the paperback release of The Serpent's Shadow, Riordan and Disney have released The Staff of Serapis with the paperback release of The Mark of Athena. Like with Son of Sobek where it also included the first chapter of the then upcoming The House of Hades book, The Staff of Serapis has the first chapter of Blood of Olympus, the final and climactic book in the Heroes of Olympus series. The paperback version of Mark of Athena came out April 8th. As I didn't care to buy that book a second time, I waited for the e-book version to come out which was released May 20th. The e-book version comes in 2 versions. One is the short story with the 1st chapter of Blood of Olympus and sells for $1.99. In the 2nd version, Rick Riordan tells the story via audio and, it too has the 1st chapter of Blood of Olympus. The 2nd version costs $2.99. I bought the 2nd version as I thought it would be cool to listen to Riordan tell the story. Plus, it's only cost an extra $1. The Riordan audio version comes in 3 parts. The first 2 parts last 34:45 roughly each and the 3rd part lasts 32:15 roughly. Riordan does a great job of leaving you hanging at the end of the first 2 parts to where you can't wait to hear the next part.
The short story itself is a good one and leaves a fascinating opening for Riordan to continue the Olympus stories with a new tangent (I leave it to you the reader to find out what that is). However, if Riordan decides to go that way, he won't be able to do it for a while as he is supposed to start work on a new series that features the Norse mythology. It'll be interesting to see what he does with that. The story also has a possible spoiler in it which I won't reveal. Again, you'll have to find out what it is yourself. I don't think it'll sadden any of Riordan's readers. Whereas the Son of Sobek featured Carter Kane and Percy Jackson, The Staff of Serapis features Annabeth Chase and Sadie Kane.
Concerning the first chapter in the Blood of Olympus novel, it doesn't excite any but, it does make you wish they would come out with the book sooner. It's not supposed to be released until October 7th, 2014 (groan, grumble, grumble, grumble). For those who don't want to buy The Staff of Serapis short story, the 1st chapter will be released later this summer according to Riordan's website.
Overall, I liked The Staff of Serapis. I'd recommend to any fans of Riordan's books. I confess, I'm waiting big time for Blood of Olympus to come out in October. I want to find out how things end. Do the Roman and Greek demigods make peace instead of war? Do the 7 demigods on the quest some how defeat the giants? Will 1 of the 7 demigods die in the final book? There have been a number of references to a big sacrifice being necessary. We'll see. For now, I'll content myself with The Staff of Serapis and the first chapter of Blood of Olympus. Happy reading all!
The short story itself is a good one and leaves a fascinating opening for Riordan to continue the Olympus stories with a new tangent (I leave it to you the reader to find out what that is). However, if Riordan decides to go that way, he won't be able to do it for a while as he is supposed to start work on a new series that features the Norse mythology. It'll be interesting to see what he does with that. The story also has a possible spoiler in it which I won't reveal. Again, you'll have to find out what it is yourself. I don't think it'll sadden any of Riordan's readers. Whereas the Son of Sobek featured Carter Kane and Percy Jackson, The Staff of Serapis features Annabeth Chase and Sadie Kane.
Concerning the first chapter in the Blood of Olympus novel, it doesn't excite any but, it does make you wish they would come out with the book sooner. It's not supposed to be released until October 7th, 2014 (groan, grumble, grumble, grumble). For those who don't want to buy The Staff of Serapis short story, the 1st chapter will be released later this summer according to Riordan's website.
Overall, I liked The Staff of Serapis. I'd recommend to any fans of Riordan's books. I confess, I'm waiting big time for Blood of Olympus to come out in October. I want to find out how things end. Do the Roman and Greek demigods make peace instead of war? Do the 7 demigods on the quest some how defeat the giants? Will 1 of the 7 demigods die in the final book? There have been a number of references to a big sacrifice being necessary. We'll see. For now, I'll content myself with The Staff of Serapis and the first chapter of Blood of Olympus. Happy reading all!
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
The Lightning Thief Graphic Novel Review
I'm a big fan of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books. I read all 5 of the first series and all 4 of the Heroes of Olympus. And, like other fans, I'm impatiently waiting for the final book - Blood of Olympus, to come out next fall. I bought The Lightning Thief graphic novel purely because of the shipping deal Amazon has. If you spend $35 or more, you get free shipping. If you don't, you can get clobbered. The main item I wanted from Amazon was a travel clock which cost a little over $10 and, the shipping would've been half the price of the clock. As I didn't care for that, I looked for $25 worth of other items so, I could get the free shipping. As I like Riordan's books, one of the items I decided to get was The Lightning Thief graphic novel.
The graphic novel was released on October 12, 2010. So, it's a bit late to review the thing. Still, I thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth. The novel has 128 pages and cuts out a lot of bits (the meeting with Medusa and the Tunnel of Love episodes come to mind) to keep it that short. That's something I didn't like about it. In one case, they even changed the story. Close to the end, Percy has gotten Zeus's master lightning bolt back BUT, he's stuck in California and, the big meeting between Zeus and his father Poseidon is going to be taking place above Manhattan. He has to get there pronto. In the novel, he raised the airfare by playing on people's sympathies while in the graphic novel, he apparently get's one of Hades minions to spring the money to fly him back.
The artwork in the graphic novel is good. The story does move along in the graphic novel like it does in the novel. I liked seeing what the characters looked like. I found the bit where Luke tries to figure out who Percy's father might be funny. Price wise, I paid $7.67 for my copy which I thought very reasonable. However, I still wasn't wiped out with the story in the graphic novel. I like the full length book version a LOT more than the graphic novel.
Overall, I found myself disappointed with the graphic novel. I wish it were longer so they didn't cut out as many bits. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it. Stick to the book version, it's a LOT better than the graphic novel. Happy reading all!
The graphic novel was released on October 12, 2010. So, it's a bit late to review the thing. Still, I thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth. The novel has 128 pages and cuts out a lot of bits (the meeting with Medusa and the Tunnel of Love episodes come to mind) to keep it that short. That's something I didn't like about it. In one case, they even changed the story. Close to the end, Percy has gotten Zeus's master lightning bolt back BUT, he's stuck in California and, the big meeting between Zeus and his father Poseidon is going to be taking place above Manhattan. He has to get there pronto. In the novel, he raised the airfare by playing on people's sympathies while in the graphic novel, he apparently get's one of Hades minions to spring the money to fly him back.
The artwork in the graphic novel is good. The story does move along in the graphic novel like it does in the novel. I liked seeing what the characters looked like. I found the bit where Luke tries to figure out who Percy's father might be funny. Price wise, I paid $7.67 for my copy which I thought very reasonable. However, I still wasn't wiped out with the story in the graphic novel. I like the full length book version a LOT more than the graphic novel.
Overall, I found myself disappointed with the graphic novel. I wish it were longer so they didn't cut out as many bits. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it. Stick to the book version, it's a LOT better than the graphic novel. Happy reading all!
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Latest Rick Riordan House of Hades Info
I'm setting a record for myself blog wise today. 5 posts in 1 day! WO!!!!!!!
If you didn't buy the e-book version of Son of Sobek and thereby get to read the first chapter of House of Hades, you're in luck. On Facebook, Rick Riordan announced that the 1st chapter of House of Hades is now available free on his blog. http://rickriordan.blogspot.com. I tried out the link and, it works.You'll find it dated August 8th.
The blog entry also gives dates and places for the book tour that will follow House of Hades. To the delight of those who live in and around Washington D.C., Riordan will be coming to D.C. on October 11th, 2013. Riordan references the
Politics and Prose Bookstore/Coffeehouse
5015 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington D.C.
20008
Phone numbers: 1-800-722-0790/202-364-1919
Website: http://www.politics-prose.com
I checked their calendar of events and this is what I found out about Riordan's visit. He'll be appearing 7 p.m. at:
Wilson High School Auditorium
3950 Chesapeake St NW
Washington D.C.
20016
This will be a ticketed event. They didn't give any further information on the tickets though they did say further information will follow. If you want to see the calendar page yourself, you can find it at: http://www.politics-prose.com/event/book/rick-riordan-house-of-hades.
The House of Hades will still be released on October 8th. 57 days and a wake up (a term from my Air Force days) as of this post. At least it's getting here thankfully.
Lastly, I saw something on the bookstore's website where they mentioned about being able to arrange having a visiting author sign a book for you if you purchase it through them. I'm going to check into this more and see if it'll apply to Riordan. If so, I may finally get my first book signed by him. I wimped out on ordering the special signed edition of Mark of Athena. I'll post what I find out. Stay tuned.
Update 8/14/13:
Tickets went on sale for the event the day I posted this. 1 ticket will cost you $5. If you want more than 1 ticket, you'll have to buy a book or books depending on how many you want. Seating is first come, first served. All books will be signed by Riordan prior to the event. NONE will be signed afterwards. As I understand it, if you want a signed book, you must buy the book through the bookstore i.e. you can't bring one to be signed. You can take pictures during the event BUT, there won't be any posed pictures with Riordan. Riordan will speak at the event then open it up for questions and answers. The event is expected to last between 45 minutes and an hour. (Source: event webpage mentioned earlier in this blog entry).
Also, I checked the Wilson High School website (http://www.wilsonhs.org) and, the auditorium can hold 750 people. I couldn't find out how much parking the school has.
Update 9/8/13:
Per a couple anonymous commenters, I checked the Politics and Prose webpage and, it states that the Rick Riordan event is sold out. However, if you want an autographed book by him, you can still order one through their website. Be sure to specifically ask that you want it autographed. Remember, you must buy the book through them to get it autographed by Riordan at this event.
Update 10/20/13:
The event I blogged about above is over and as far as I know (I didn't go), it went fine. House of Hades was released right on time and, I believe has gone to Number 1 in its category on the New York Times best seller list. I bought the book myself a week after it came out and read it. It's another fine book in the series and won't disappoint any of Riordan's fans. At the end of the book, Riordan disclosed what the title will be for the final book of the series. It'll be called Blood of Olympus. It should be a huge climax as things continue to build up. The Roman demigods are circling around Camp Halfblood and, all the giants are free again in the world. I plan to write a blog review about the book so, I won't disclose any more about it in this entry.
If you didn't buy the e-book version of Son of Sobek and thereby get to read the first chapter of House of Hades, you're in luck. On Facebook, Rick Riordan announced that the 1st chapter of House of Hades is now available free on his blog. http://rickriordan.blogspot.com. I tried out the link and, it works.You'll find it dated August 8th.
The blog entry also gives dates and places for the book tour that will follow House of Hades. To the delight of those who live in and around Washington D.C., Riordan will be coming to D.C. on October 11th, 2013. Riordan references the
Politics and Prose Bookstore/Coffeehouse
5015 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington D.C.
20008
Phone numbers: 1-800-722-0790/202-364-1919
Website: http://www.politics-prose.com
I checked their calendar of events and this is what I found out about Riordan's visit. He'll be appearing 7 p.m. at:
Wilson High School Auditorium
3950 Chesapeake St NW
Washington D.C.
20016
This will be a ticketed event. They didn't give any further information on the tickets though they did say further information will follow. If you want to see the calendar page yourself, you can find it at: http://www.politics-prose.com/event/book/rick-riordan-house-of-hades.
The House of Hades will still be released on October 8th. 57 days and a wake up (a term from my Air Force days) as of this post. At least it's getting here thankfully.
Lastly, I saw something on the bookstore's website where they mentioned about being able to arrange having a visiting author sign a book for you if you purchase it through them. I'm going to check into this more and see if it'll apply to Riordan. If so, I may finally get my first book signed by him. I wimped out on ordering the special signed edition of Mark of Athena. I'll post what I find out. Stay tuned.
Update 8/14/13:
Tickets went on sale for the event the day I posted this. 1 ticket will cost you $5. If you want more than 1 ticket, you'll have to buy a book or books depending on how many you want. Seating is first come, first served. All books will be signed by Riordan prior to the event. NONE will be signed afterwards. As I understand it, if you want a signed book, you must buy the book through the bookstore i.e. you can't bring one to be signed. You can take pictures during the event BUT, there won't be any posed pictures with Riordan. Riordan will speak at the event then open it up for questions and answers. The event is expected to last between 45 minutes and an hour. (Source: event webpage mentioned earlier in this blog entry).
Also, I checked the Wilson High School website (http://www.wilsonhs.org) and, the auditorium can hold 750 people. I couldn't find out how much parking the school has.
Update 9/8/13:
Per a couple anonymous commenters, I checked the Politics and Prose webpage and, it states that the Rick Riordan event is sold out. However, if you want an autographed book by him, you can still order one through their website. Be sure to specifically ask that you want it autographed. Remember, you must buy the book through them to get it autographed by Riordan at this event.
Update 10/20/13:
The event I blogged about above is over and as far as I know (I didn't go), it went fine. House of Hades was released right on time and, I believe has gone to Number 1 in its category on the New York Times best seller list. I bought the book myself a week after it came out and read it. It's another fine book in the series and won't disappoint any of Riordan's fans. At the end of the book, Riordan disclosed what the title will be for the final book of the series. It'll be called Blood of Olympus. It should be a huge climax as things continue to build up. The Roman demigods are circling around Camp Halfblood and, all the giants are free again in the world. I plan to write a blog review about the book so, I won't disclose any more about it in this entry.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Son of Sobek Review
I'd been thinking about getting an e-reader for a while. I've heard they're handy on trips. You can download tons of books, magazines, travel guides and games on them which can keep you occupied while you're waiting in the airport for your flight or on the flight itself. I heard of the Son of Sobek short story but, it had a drawback in that it would be initially only available with the paperback version of The Serpent's Shadow. I'd already bought the hard bound version and, I didn't care to buy the book again. When I found out that there would be an e-book version of Son of Sobek, I decided it was time to get an e-reader - that Rick Riordan actually reads the story was an added bonus. The e-book cost me something like $3.36 from Barnes & Noble I think isn't very expensive though it is a short story (30 some pages). It's the first story where Riordan has 2 of his main heroes i.e. Percy Jackson and Carter Kane from 2 different mythology series i.e. Greek Gods and Egyptian Gods join forces against a monster someone unleashed on the border of their 2 respective turfs. It's told solely from Carter Kane's point of view and shows how the 2 different characters would have problems relating to each other as their respective mythologies are very different. There weren't any demigods in Egyptian mythology and, Greek mythology wouldn't have recognized some of the Egyptian weaponry as gets pointed out when Percy asks what kind of sword that Carter has.
Overall, I thought the short story wasn't great but, it was nice. It was neat having Riordan read it. As an added bonus for those who bought the e-book version, you received what I suspect is the first chapter of House of Hades - Riordan's eagerly (or at least in my case) awaited 4th book in the Lost Heroes of Olympus series. That chapter was nice BUT, I want the whole book which sadly, I have to wait till October for. :-( For those of us who are fans of Riordan's Percy Jackson character, the short story is worth buying in my opinion and more so if you can get the e-version so, you can get the first chapter of House of Hades. Happy Reading all!!!!!!
Overall, I thought the short story wasn't great but, it was nice. It was neat having Riordan read it. As an added bonus for those who bought the e-book version, you received what I suspect is the first chapter of House of Hades - Riordan's eagerly (or at least in my case) awaited 4th book in the Lost Heroes of Olympus series. That chapter was nice BUT, I want the whole book which sadly, I have to wait till October for. :-( For those of us who are fans of Riordan's Percy Jackson character, the short story is worth buying in my opinion and more so if you can get the e-version so, you can get the first chapter of House of Hades. Happy Reading all!!!!!!
Friday, April 05, 2013
Rick Riordan Book Release Dates
As I haven't made it down to the Baltimore Cruise Ship Terminal to take some pictures of it to post on my blog, I decided to forward on to my readers book release dates that Rick Riordan posted on his blog Myth & Mystery (http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/) on March 25th, 2013 along with various comments by myself.
The Serpent's Shadow
Riordan states that the paperback version will be released in the United States on May 7th with one special feature. The book will contain the first ever Percy Jackson/Carter Kane story called The Son of Sobek. This would be a very tempting offer BUT, I already have the hardbound edition. :-( For those who don't want to have to buy a 2nd copy of the book, on June 18th, 2013, Disney-Hyperion will release an electronic e-single version of the story with a special plus. The e-single will include an audio version where Riordan himself reads the story. Interesting! Riordan states the e-single version will be cheaper than the paperbook (you would think so) though I'd have to buy a Kindle thingy to use the e-single thing with. I've been thinking about buying one of those any way and, this does give me more of an incentive to get one. It would be very cool to hear Riordan read one of his stories. We'll see on this.
The House of Hades
Fans of the Heroes of Olympus series will be more titillated on May 31st, 2013 when Disney-Hyperion releases the cover for The House of Hades book. Then, according to Riordan, they'll release more sneak peaks during the summer (like we really need those or do they like torturing us while we impatiently wait for the dang book). Finally, on October 8th, 2013, they'll release the hard cover edition which I'll be pre-ordering so (when we can do that), I can get mine ASAP and finally find out what happens to Percy and Annabeth after they fall into Tartarus and how the other demigods - Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Leo get them out of there.
That's all the news I thought worth forwarding on about Riordan's books. Like many other of his fans, I'm waiting very impatiently for The House of Hades book. Riordan did far too good a job of writing a cliffhanger at the end of Mark of Athena. Plus, I'm curious to see how the prophecy of the seven plays out though I don't think we'll find that out till the last un-named fifth book comes out presumably in October 2014. Happy reading all!
The Serpent's Shadow
Riordan states that the paperback version will be released in the United States on May 7th with one special feature. The book will contain the first ever Percy Jackson/Carter Kane story called The Son of Sobek. This would be a very tempting offer BUT, I already have the hardbound edition. :-( For those who don't want to have to buy a 2nd copy of the book, on June 18th, 2013, Disney-Hyperion will release an electronic e-single version of the story with a special plus. The e-single will include an audio version where Riordan himself reads the story. Interesting! Riordan states the e-single version will be cheaper than the paperbook (you would think so) though I'd have to buy a Kindle thingy to use the e-single thing with. I've been thinking about buying one of those any way and, this does give me more of an incentive to get one. It would be very cool to hear Riordan read one of his stories. We'll see on this.
The House of Hades
Fans of the Heroes of Olympus series will be more titillated on May 31st, 2013 when Disney-Hyperion releases the cover for The House of Hades book. Then, according to Riordan, they'll release more sneak peaks during the summer (like we really need those or do they like torturing us while we impatiently wait for the dang book). Finally, on October 8th, 2013, they'll release the hard cover edition which I'll be pre-ordering so (when we can do that), I can get mine ASAP and finally find out what happens to Percy and Annabeth after they fall into Tartarus and how the other demigods - Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Leo get them out of there.
That's all the news I thought worth forwarding on about Riordan's books. Like many other of his fans, I'm waiting very impatiently for The House of Hades book. Riordan did far too good a job of writing a cliffhanger at the end of Mark of Athena. Plus, I'm curious to see how the prophecy of the seven plays out though I don't think we'll find that out till the last un-named fifth book comes out presumably in October 2014. Happy reading all!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
The Mark of Athena Review
Rick Riordan's "The Mark of Athena" book was released on October 2nd. The The book is the 3rd in a 5 book series called The Heroes of Olympus. The book features 7 demigods: Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Annabeth and Percy. Percy and Annabeth would be familiar to readers of Riordan's books as they were featured in his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Each of the demigods are the children of different Roman and Greek gods. 3 of them are from the Roman gods and 4 are from the Greek gods. The Roman and Greek gods were actually the same. The only difference was the Romans changed the Greek gods to reflect their thinking which was different from the Greek way of thinking. Example: The Greek god Poseidon became the Roman god Neptune. While the Romans respected Neptune, he was never as prominent in Roman civilization as he was in Greek civilization because the Roman's weren't a great seafaring people like the Greeks were. Rome was predominantly a land power.
Anyway, in The Mark of Athena, the 7 demigods come together for the first time and set off for Rome (and will ultimately head to Greece) in order to defeat the giants and the earth Goddess Gaea. Riordan throws in all kinds of surprises along the way including possessing spirits, treacherous old gods, evil nymphs and a battle with the twin giants Ephialtes and Otis as well as bits of information and dreams our heroes must figure out in order to prevail. Also, they must deal with their own inner doubts as well as their relationships with their other demigods. It makes for an an interesting tale.
Riordan does a great job of moving the story along. It never gets dull or tedious. He finds a good balance between the different demigods so, we can see what each of them are going through and thinking. One concern I've heard is that there is apparently a rumor that one of the demigods dies in the book. This doesn't happen. I do think it'll probably happen later in the series. The reason I say that is because I believe Riordan hints at it in the Son of Neptune book. Also, we learn in The Mark of Athena that the Doors of Death must be closed on both sides i.e. someone is going to have to stay on the side that is in Tartarus to close them on that side and be trapped there with all of Gaea's monster minions. We don't find out who that'll be in The Mark of Athena as our heroes at the end of the book finish their adventures in Rome in a great climactic finish and head to Greece where they'll struggle to close the Doors of Death in the 4th book of the series The House of Hades which is due out the Fall of 2013 (sigh).
Overall, the book is another outstanding read by Riordan. It moves really well. It has lots of unexpected twists and turns certain to keep the interest of his readers while occasionally showing some of Riordan's great sense of humor (I bet Coach Hedge had fun digging the coconuts out of the Argo II's hull.). I would highly recommend this book to any fans of the previous books in the series or of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. My only complaint is I'll have to wait a YEAR till they come out with the 4th book. I'll be wondering how will Percy and Annabeth make it to the Doors of Death on the Tartarus side past all of Gaea's monster minions. What new weapons will Leo come up with now that he has the Archimedes sphere. How will our heroes close the Doors of Death and prevent the Roman and Greek camps of demigods from fighting each other while preventing Gaea from awakening. They have just 1 month to accomplish all of this in the next 2 books. It guarantees lots of action with plenty of surprises thrown in by Riordan. Happy reading all!
Anyway, in The Mark of Athena, the 7 demigods come together for the first time and set off for Rome (and will ultimately head to Greece) in order to defeat the giants and the earth Goddess Gaea. Riordan throws in all kinds of surprises along the way including possessing spirits, treacherous old gods, evil nymphs and a battle with the twin giants Ephialtes and Otis as well as bits of information and dreams our heroes must figure out in order to prevail. Also, they must deal with their own inner doubts as well as their relationships with their other demigods. It makes for an an interesting tale.
Riordan does a great job of moving the story along. It never gets dull or tedious. He finds a good balance between the different demigods so, we can see what each of them are going through and thinking. One concern I've heard is that there is apparently a rumor that one of the demigods dies in the book. This doesn't happen. I do think it'll probably happen later in the series. The reason I say that is because I believe Riordan hints at it in the Son of Neptune book. Also, we learn in The Mark of Athena that the Doors of Death must be closed on both sides i.e. someone is going to have to stay on the side that is in Tartarus to close them on that side and be trapped there with all of Gaea's monster minions. We don't find out who that'll be in The Mark of Athena as our heroes at the end of the book finish their adventures in Rome in a great climactic finish and head to Greece where they'll struggle to close the Doors of Death in the 4th book of the series The House of Hades which is due out the Fall of 2013 (sigh).
Overall, the book is another outstanding read by Riordan. It moves really well. It has lots of unexpected twists and turns certain to keep the interest of his readers while occasionally showing some of Riordan's great sense of humor (I bet Coach Hedge had fun digging the coconuts out of the Argo II's hull.). I would highly recommend this book to any fans of the previous books in the series or of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. My only complaint is I'll have to wait a YEAR till they come out with the 4th book. I'll be wondering how will Percy and Annabeth make it to the Doors of Death on the Tartarus side past all of Gaea's monster minions. What new weapons will Leo come up with now that he has the Archimedes sphere. How will our heroes close the Doors of Death and prevent the Roman and Greek camps of demigods from fighting each other while preventing Gaea from awakening. They have just 1 month to accomplish all of this in the next 2 books. It guarantees lots of action with plenty of surprises thrown in by Riordan. Happy reading all!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Demigod Diaries Review
I thought I'd write a book review on Rick Riordan's Demigod Diaries. The book takes its name from the first story in the book about a diary Luke Castellan starts keeping. Luke is the demigod that goes bad in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series before redeeming himself at the end by stopping Kronos, King of the Titans. The story tells of Luke and Thalia on one of their early adventures and how they meet up with Annabeth. The book also has stories involving Percy and Annabeth; Jason, Leo and Piper and a story by Riordan's son Haley. Haley is the reason the Percy Jackson books were written. Riordan created the character to entertain his son and, I think to encourage him with his ADHD which made it hard for him to read. Haley's story is interesting and well written. It tells of what happens to a demigod that fought on the side of the titan's. I confess I was curious what happened to those though I thought most of them would show up at Camp Halfblood after the deal Percy worked out with Zeus and the other major gods and goddesses. Lastly, the book has some small games in it like a word search and a scrambled name game where you have to figure out the names on the 7 demigods that will go on the quest to Rome and on to Greece. Anyone who has read the first 2 books of the series The Heroes of Olympus should know who they are.
Overall, the book is nice. For me, it served as a tide me over till the book I'm really waiting for comes out in October i.e. Mark of Athena. That's when the action will start building in The Heroes of Olympus series. Riordan gave some hints about what'll happen in that book on his blog as well as some in the Son of Neptune book. Fans of Riordan's Percy Jackson books should enjoy Demigod Diaries. It even has some pictures of their heroes such as Thalia, Percy, Annabeth, Piper and Jason (I think they've used the Piper and Jason pics before as I saw them some where else). Happy reading all!
Overall, the book is nice. For me, it served as a tide me over till the book I'm really waiting for comes out in October i.e. Mark of Athena. That's when the action will start building in The Heroes of Olympus series. Riordan gave some hints about what'll happen in that book on his blog as well as some in the Son of Neptune book. Fans of Riordan's Percy Jackson books should enjoy Demigod Diaries. It even has some pictures of their heroes such as Thalia, Percy, Annabeth, Piper and Jason (I think they've used the Piper and Jason pics before as I saw them some where else). Happy reading all!
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Pre-order Demigod Diaries
Rick Riordan's Demigod Diaries are available for pre-order with Books-a-Million and presumably with Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Books-a-Million are offering the book for $10.98 plus shipping. If you belong to their Millionaires Club, you get free Express shipping with your order. The book will be available August 14, 2012.
The book has stories by Riordan on adventures by Thalia, Luke and Annabeth (before the Percy Jackson adventures began), adventures by Jason, Leo and Piper, an adventure with just Annabeth and Percy and finally a really intriguing one by Riordan's son Haley. The story tells of what happens to a demigod that fought for the titans in Manhattan and survived the battle. Personally, I doubt that demigod's fate would be good as the gods aren't going to be kind to one who fought against them. Also, it was Haley who caused the whole Percy Jackson thing to begin as Riordan created it for his son Haley. Lastly, this book will be a good way for those of us who are hooked on Riordan's books to assuage our addiction till Mark of Athena comes out in October (I'm getting a little tired of re-reading Son of Neptune).
The book has stories by Riordan on adventures by Thalia, Luke and Annabeth (before the Percy Jackson adventures began), adventures by Jason, Leo and Piper, an adventure with just Annabeth and Percy and finally a really intriguing one by Riordan's son Haley. The story tells of what happens to a demigod that fought for the titans in Manhattan and survived the battle. Personally, I doubt that demigod's fate would be good as the gods aren't going to be kind to one who fought against them. Also, it was Haley who caused the whole Percy Jackson thing to begin as Riordan created it for his son Haley. Lastly, this book will be a good way for those of us who are hooked on Riordan's books to assuage our addiction till Mark of Athena comes out in October (I'm getting a little tired of re-reading Son of Neptune).
Monday, July 23, 2012
Limited Edition Mark of Athena
Yesterday, I decided to check Rick Riordan's blog Myth & Mystery (http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/). He posts some interesting stuff there for those who are fans of his books. There was a new post dated July 21, 2012 that caught my interest. Riordan mentioned he was doing his weekend homework. His homework was to sign 1,000 title pages from his future Mark of Athena book. These special title pages will be inserted into 1,000 special edition Mark of Athena books by the U.S. printer as the books are being made. As Riordan mentions, it sounds pretty cool.
The special edition Mark of Athena book will come in a deluxe slipcase with special color artwork by John Rocco. Rocco has done all the book covers for the Percy Jackson books in the United States. The special edition does have a few drawbacks however. First, there is the shipping date. The Mark of Athena is supposed to be released on October 2nd, 2012. The special edition won't come out till 2 weeks later on October 16th, 2012. Second, there is the price. The regular hardbound will cost you $11.04 from Amazon. The special edition will cost you an extra $47 plus at $58.89 (Barnes & Noble offers it at this price too). Both Amazon and Barnes & Noble offer free shipping. Barnes & Noble has a discount card which would save you an additional $5.88. Not all book sellers are apparently discounting this book as I checked Books-a-Million website and found them offering it for $110! Yikes!!!!!!
Still, if you're a fan of Rick Riordan's books, I think it would be cool to have an autographed copy of one of them. I have an autographed copy of Alan Lee's Lord of the Rings sketchbook which I think is pretty neat. In time, I hope to get a book signed by John Howe, another outstanding Lord of the Rings illustrator. So, it would be neat to have a book signed by Riordan to add to my Lee book and future Howe book.
Warning! If you intend to get 1 of these special edition books, you should order as soon as possible. Remember, there will be only 1,000 copies of this book in the United States. Riordan expects there to be a special edition in the United Kingdom. Also, he stated on his blog that he'd signed a number of title pages for a special Taiwanese edition. However, if you don't want to go through all the hassle of buying a book from the United Kingdom or Taiwan and you live in the United States, you should get your order in soon. I know I plan to. Happy Reading all!
Thursday, July 05, 2012
Rick Riordan Twitter Post
On June 25th, 2012, the author Rick Riordan posted on his blog (http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/) questions from fans that he answered on Twitter over the Solstice weekend. I found some of the questions and answers interesting. One thing I learned is that apparently he's finished the 3rd book in the Heroes of Olympus series, the Mark of Athena. He doesn't say that directly in his answers BUT, he does say he has 2 books left to write in the series. As Mark of Athena is the 3rd book, logic says he's finished it though it'll undoubtedly have to go through some serious editing before it comes out. Another hint that he'd finished the book was his comment about being between projects. His latest project as far as I know was Mark of Athena so, if he's finished a project, it would most likely be that one.
Another interesting answer he gave is about a totally new project he'll be working on. Riordan will apparently be writing 3 books using the Norse mythology. It'll be interesting to see how Riordan handles that one. As far as I know, the Norse gods didn't go around creating lots of demigods but, Riordan can do whatever he wants in the fantasy world he's created. I look forward to his take on Odin, Thor and Loki and the other Norse gods.
The Demigod Diaries are apparently coming along. Riordan mentions that he's editing his son's 1st manuscript most likely on the story he'll be contributing to the Demigod Diaries. On Riordan's June 15th post, he says Haley's story will be about a demigod son of Hecate who fought on the side of Kronos and, what it's like to be an outcast demigod. I think that would be an interesting story and, I look forward to the release of the book on August 14th. Plus, it'll help tide me over (as Riordan mentions) until Mark of Athena comes out on October 2nd.
These are just a few of the topics Riordan kindly covered in his Twitters and blog post. There are more interesting questions and answers which you can check out if you're interested in his stories or his life. Happy reading all!
Another interesting answer he gave is about a totally new project he'll be working on. Riordan will apparently be writing 3 books using the Norse mythology. It'll be interesting to see how Riordan handles that one. As far as I know, the Norse gods didn't go around creating lots of demigods but, Riordan can do whatever he wants in the fantasy world he's created. I look forward to his take on Odin, Thor and Loki and the other Norse gods.
The Demigod Diaries are apparently coming along. Riordan mentions that he's editing his son's 1st manuscript most likely on the story he'll be contributing to the Demigod Diaries. On Riordan's June 15th post, he says Haley's story will be about a demigod son of Hecate who fought on the side of Kronos and, what it's like to be an outcast demigod. I think that would be an interesting story and, I look forward to the release of the book on August 14th. Plus, it'll help tide me over (as Riordan mentions) until Mark of Athena comes out on October 2nd.
These are just a few of the topics Riordan kindly covered in his Twitters and blog post. There are more interesting questions and answers which you can check out if you're interested in his stories or his life. Happy reading all!
Friday, June 01, 2012
Mark of Athena Chapter 1 Released
I decided to check on Rick Riordan's webpage www.rickriordan.com to see if there was any word on his future book Mark of Athena. It's the latest of the Lost Heroes series and ties in with the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. To my delight, I found out Disney released the first chapter of the book and its new cover. The cover doesn't wow me but, the chapter was a delightful read. We get to see things from the Greek side as the Argos II arrives in the Roman camp. Riordan in his Son of Neptune book showed us things from the Roman side with Percy doing his best to keep the Romans from attacking the ship at the very end of the book. The chapter will give a small fix to hooked readers who will have to wait until October 2nd for the Mark of Athena book to come out. That will be one book I'll be waiting for so I can experience more of Riordan's surprises, interesting takes on the Greek and Roman gods and his funny sense of humor. The cover and chapter can be found at: HeroesofOlympus.com. Happy Reading all!
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Son of Neptune
Rick Riordan released some more information on his upcoming Son of Neptune novel. On May 15, 2011 Riordan tweeted on Twitter that the novel was finished and all that remain was publishing and formatting. http://twitter.com/#!/camphalfblood On May 26, 2011, Riordan revealed the Heroes of Olympus webpage http://disney.go.com/disneybooks/heroes-of-olympus/ the cover for the book as well as a link where readers can read the 1st chapter of the book. The book's release date is still set for October 4 according to Riordan's website http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx.
The 1st chapter was good and, I can't wait to read the book. I am curious as to what happened to Percy. Also, it'll be interesting to learn about Roman demigod camp. I'll post anymore information if I find out anymore. Cheers all!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Latest Riordan Book Out
Rick Riordan's latest book came out May 3rd in hardbound. It's the second book in the Kane Chronicles. It's called Throne of Fire and tells of the adventures of the Kane kids as they try to find the Egyptian sun god Ra. I haven't read the book yet so I can't tell if you if I think it's any good. Still, I can't imagine it being a poor read. I confess that the book is more a tide me over till Son of Neptune comes out in October. That's the one I'm really interested in. I'm very curious to find out what has happened to Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. I'll post another entry on what I think of the latest Kane book once I've read it. Good reading all.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
New Riordan Book
To get some bonus MyPoints, I had to do 104 searches before the end of the month. One of the things I thought to search for was the Son of Neptune book by Rick Riordan. As I previously blogged about, the book is the second in the Heroes of Olympus series. The Heroes of Olympus series incorporates characters from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians 5 book series while introducing new Roman demigods who are the children of the Greek gods except in their Roman persona. The first book in the series "The Lost Hero" was very good. My only complaint would be it leaves you hungering for the 2nd book "The Son of Neptune." Sadly, that book isn't due out till October of this year. Thanks to the search I did, I found out Riordan has a website called The On-line World of Rick Riordan. The website has lots of information on the various books Riordan has written such as the Percy Jackson series as well as news of books he will be writing.
It was through this site that I found out that Riordan will be coming out in May 2011 with a second book in the Kane Chronicles. The book is called "The Throne of Fire." It continues in the 2 person narrative and tells of the further adventures of Carter and Sadie Kane, the brother and sister magicians who must work together to defeat the chaos serpent Apophos. The book should be another good read. Plus, it'll tide over those of us who are waiting for the 2nd book of the Heroes of Olympus series.
Another nice feature of the website is it has a link to Riordan's blog where he posts various comments and observations. Also, he gives updates on various books such as his March 12th entry where he reveals that revisions for the Son of Neptune book (he had a complete manuscript according to his February 13th entry) are coming along and, he should make the October release date.
Riordan is going to be a very BUSY writer as he'll be putting out 2 books next year. The 2 books will be a 3rd book in The Kane Chronicles and the 3rd in the Heroes of Olympus series. Riordan's website hasn't revealed yet if the Kane Chronicles will go to 5 books like his Percy series did and his Heroes of Olympus will. However, I suspect it's likely. That should please his readers as Riordan does produce consistently good stories. His books have won him a number of awards and made him a best selling author on the New York Times booklist. Cheers all!
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