The Son of Neptune

I am incredibly fond of Rick Riordan's YA fantasy novels, for many reasons. First, because Riordan does a magnificent job of not only incorporating ancient Greek -- and now Roman -- myth, but also following the rules and details of those myths. He doesn't pick and choose, but uses the quirks and characters of the old stories in a remarkably consistent way. He also has a habit of bringing out some of the more obscure but interesting mythic figures, which I think is a great way to interest young readers in exploring myth further.

In addition to that, however, Riordan spins a heck of a story. Obviously, he uses the quest format every time, but his characters are so engaging and their paths are so intriguing, one doesn't mind the formula. show more At first, reading 'The Son of Neptune', which is the second in Riordan's follow-up series about Percy Jackson and the other classical demigods, I felt a little awkward encountering Percy in a new environment; the first part of the novel has that sense of "getting to know you" that can sometimes slow a book down. But, as is typical, Riordan quickly picks up the pace and soon enough I was caught up in a breakneck, cinematic adventure that was fun and familiar.

This is a middle book, and Riordan writes books that you must read in order, so there is less closure and more cliff-hanger here than many readers can stand, but even though the next volume isn't due for months, I'm glad I read this now. There is something about Riordan's Greek/Roman novels that puts one in a cheerful, adventuresome frame of mind. Recommended all the way around.

Added after second read: As with the first book, rereading this brings out its flaws. Novelty covers much here, so enjoy what you can and don't dig too deep unless you want to lose that cheerful, adventuresome frame of mind. show less

I recently reread The Son of Neptune in preparation for reading The Blood of Olympus for the first time and loved it. In it we finally learn the fate of Percy Jackson and just how dangerous of a game Hera is playing. In this book we get introduced to not only a slew of new characters but also an entirely different camp and way of life than what we are used to and to me that's what makes this book so intriguing. The Roman camp is definitely set up a lot differently than camp half-blood and I couldn't get enough of the inner-workings of the camp itself and how fundamentally different it was from what we were used to. While the basic formula of the book is similar to the rest of Riordan's books, i.e. a group of kids get a quest and have to show more essentially prevent the end of the world, the integration of roman mythology along with new characters and their new way of life sets it apart from the rest of his books. show less

After taking a gander at the other reviews, I realize I may have wandered into the wrong part of the playground. I hereby promise to use no hearts or exclamation points when reviewing this book.

Super-quick synopsis: amnesiac demigod Percy is fleeing the Gorgons from Bargain-Mart when he discovers a camp for Roman demigods. He is adopted by misfits Hazel, daughter of Pluto, and Frank, of the unknown father, into their Legion cohort. Camp politics occur, a quest is given, and the three set-off to the "land beyond the gods," Alaska (and don't you just wonder what Riordan was insinuating there??). Along the way they encounter antagonistic wild grain (as opposed to cereal grains), R.O.F.L. ("Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyles"), Phineas show more and the harpies, the Amazons who run Amazon (and how Riordan slipped that one past Legal, I'll never know), and a horse with a penchant for swearing ("'Dude,' Percy told the horse, 'I've gotten suspended for saying less than that'"). Character growth ensues.

Overall, a fun and quick read that improves significantly once the heroes leave on their quest. I give Riordan credit for integrating so much information about Roman culture in a mostly natural way, through the device of Percy experiencing the camp for the first time. A number of flashbacks for both Hazel, the female lead, and Frank, the other male lead, don't encourage forward plot motion. Although I can't say I like it, Riordan doesn't pull punches on selfish behavior, and I admire the way the teens in the book can be as self-interested, manipulative and as driven as adults.

The main reasons I continue to read this series is its focus on mythology and the swiftly moving plot. I found myths to be integrated well, in an entirely different way from the first book. I appreciate having my memory jogged about Roman mythology, and it was interesting when Percy has a bit of a meltdown realizing that the benevolence of certain beings like fauns, centaurs and cyclops is different depending on your mythological background. Luckily, Isis has some green tea to fix him right up.

One criticism is that I was a little annoyed that the female lead is being set up with a shameful secret again--can we forget the duplicitous female as a character option? I guess because we are talking Greek and Roman here, maybe not, as their favorite goddesses seemed to be the virginal ones like Athena and Artemis. I suppose the male, Frank, has a shameful secret, but his shame has more to do with self-esteem than with morality. Still, it leads me to wonder if shame/embarrassment is used overmuch as a characterization tool. Only our lead 'heroes' in his books, Jason and Percy, are without shameful pasts (that they know).

Character award goes to Ella, book-loving but vocabulary-challenged, in the best harpy appearance ever. She should get together with the wyvern from [b:The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making|9591398|The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, #1)|Catherynne M. Valente|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388179691s/9591398.jpg|6749837]: "Now she was resting comfortably in the stern, nibbling bits of jerky and reciting random lines from Charles Dickens and 50 Tricks to Teach Your Dog."

Lots of humorous lines, only occasionally at the possible expense of story, "'You seem to be clean,' Terminus decided. 'Do you have anything to declare?' 'Yes,' Percy said. 'I declare this is stupid.'"

The scene meeting Isis, the rainbow goddess, was priceless, and done well enough to avoid being a farce. She touched on all those things young conforming teens hate most--glueten-free foods, tea, non-aggression, and man-satchels. But she was allowed a very nice speech about self-definition:

"I've been reading about Buddhism. And Taoism. I haven't decided between them."
"But..." Hazel looked mystified. "Aren't you a Greek goddess?"
Iris crossed her arms. "Don't try to put me in a box, demigod. I'm not defined by my past."

Overall, enjoyable. Like classic Muppets, Riordan integrates enough references to keep adults entertained. Nice balance of humor and seriousness, examining issues of identity and belonging. Three and a half stars.

Cross posted at my permanent home: http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/the-son-of-neptune-by-rick-riordan/ show less

Summary: Percy Jackson knows his own name... and that's about it. He doesn't know what he's been doing for the past months, doesn't know where he is or where he's headed, and doesn't know why there are all these monsters chasing him... although he does seem to know how to kill them. He makes it to Camp Jupiter, a place where everyone is the half-blood child of the gods. It feels somehow strangely familiar and simultaneously wrong, although he can't remember why. Percy's befriended by two of the camp's outcasts, Hazel, who's supposed to be dead, and Frank, who's klutzy and hasn't yet been claimed by his godly father. They're three unlikely heroes, but danger is about to descend on the camp, and it will be up to them to travel to the Land show more Beyond the Gods to somehow avert disaster.

Review: After I finished The Lost Hero, I was a little concerned. It was good, and I certainly enjoyed it, and I liked Jason and the other new characters well enough, but there just wasn't enough Percy to it. But my concerns have been mollified, because The Son of Neptune is (unsurprisingly, given the title) chock-full of my favorite demigod, and it's just as good as any of the books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series... or maybe even a smidge better.

Not only is Percy back, and in fine form, but I liked the newly-added POV characters as well (even more so than Leo and Piper from The Lost Hero, I think.) They're sympathetic, relatable, and strong, and I felt like their secrets and hidden motivations drove the story forward really effectively. Also, even though I should expect it by now, I'm still impressed each time Riordan manages to incorporate another bit of obscure mythology into his story; in this case, it was some Chinese legends and the story of the vodou priestess Marie Laveaux, on top of the Greek & Roman myths. He also incorporates all of these things into the everyday world incredibly cleverly. His characters are moving through real geography with the mythological world superimposed on top of it, and Riordan makes good use of that throughout; the side trip to the Amazon headquarters (which are also of course the headquarters of the Amazons) may have been a bit on-the-nose, but I still found it extremely funny. The fact that he's able to roll all of that up with Roman history, civics, and military strategy, an exciting adventure story, some interesting character development, and a dryly goofy sense of humor, just makes this book a total joy to read. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Because Percy's got amnesia for most of this book, it could (in theory) be read without having read all of the Percy Jackson books, although I do think that The Lost Hero is a pre-requisite. But it's better for knowing the backstory, and since all of the books are so much fun, I don't know why you'd want to skip any. For Riordan fans who are missing Percy after The Lost Hero, though: this book is a welcome addition to the series. show less

I love that 2/3 of the main characters are POC. I love Percy. I love Ella. I love Tyson. I love Mrs. O'Leary. I LOVE THIS BOOK.

I was a bit disappointed in the first installment of The Heroes of Olympus series. I found Jason too serious. I'm definitely Team Percy. Uncle Rick's talent to make you laugh while also being terrified that a well loved character is about to die really shines through with Percy's sassiness.

This book was much, much easier to get into the first book in the series, The Last Hero. I think it was because I already knew Percy really well from the previous series, while, in The Last Hero I knew none of the main characters save Annabeth, and she wasn't in it a ton.

On the other hand, some of the Roman stuff threw me for a loop in this one, and it took awhile to get into the difference between the Greek and Roman stuff.

Still, I liked how some of the monsters overlapped and the hints about where Percy's been for the previous 8 months.

Percy wakes up without his memory. We don't catch up to his story until he approaches Camp Jupiter. Camp Jupiter is interesting. It's quite like Camp Blood and yet it's also more adult in a lot of ways show more and it seems more like City Jupiter instead of a camp. Needless to say, Percy meets Frank and Hazel, and soon all three are dispatched on a quest to of all places, Alaska. Along the way are the typical Rick Riordan twists, barries, and then in the end, quite the cliffhanger.

It takes place around the same time as The Last Hero, and to me it seemed less of a sequel and more of a companion to the first book.

And then there was the humor, it was as hilarious as usual, especially the Amazon (the company)/Amazons (the all-female tribe) stuff was insanely hilarious (and weirdly enough made total sense).

A very fun next book in the series. show less

So far, I'm enjoying this sequel series much better than the original Percy Jackson series. Riordan has done better research and increased his complexity this time around. He is also making better use of minor members of Greek/Roman myth. The Son of Neptune had engrossing action, amusing humor, and a creative plot. Though what Riordan's trying to say about Earth being the bad-guy, I haven't figured out yet. Is she pissed off at us for wasting her resources, or are we just showing her who's boss by domesticating her? Maybe I'm looking too deeply into the symbolism? ;)