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The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle
Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Time: 8:01 PM
Author: Rick Riordan
Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: How do you punish an immortal?
By making him human.
After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.
But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed, Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go... an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.
Review: Rick Riordan has done it again (and again and again). I don't know which god (Nordic/Roman/Greek/Egyptian?) Is responsible for inspiring him - though I have a feeling they would all clamor for the credit - and I have no complaints. The Hidden Oracle got my heartbeat racing - and I didn't even read the synopsis before buying.
As soon as I bought my copy. I hunkered down and read it straight. Reading The Hidden Oracle felt like one big fun adventure, especially since seeing the world through Apollo as a sixteen-year-old human was highly amusing. It's not that I needed full concentration to enjoy this, but because I wanted to lose myself in this world. How I missed Camp Half-Blood.
If you've been reading Percy Jackson/The Heroes of Olympus series, then you know that Apollo is one of the most arrogant gods, although he has his nice moments. The book was peppered with praises of his godliness and awesomeness. I love how Riordan modernises the portrayals of the Greek gods as seen in Homer's Illiad. If we had these books back when we were studying Illiad, I think alot of class would easily ace our quizzes on which god did what.
I love seeing Apollo fall - literally and figuratively - several times. It was humbling of a god who through his carelessness, brought so much downfall to humans (and consequently, the gods) the past few years.
And Meg, whose last name was not mentioned, as a twelve-year old kid blowing raspberries and being a great antithesis to his godly arrogance was easily charming that the end of the book had me anxious on her behalf. She has the potential of being an awesome and precious character.
We are also treated to a few glimpses of Percy Jackson which always thrills me, and Nico is also a secondary character. If you're a fan of Nico and his... revelation, you're in for a treat with The Hidden Oracle. We also get Leo Valdez back, and I am excited to see what other machines he's going to come up with in the next books in the series. We are also treated to scenes of Mother Rhea as a trippy hippy, and she is one of the characters I am most excited to know more about.
There is a surprising revelation in who the villain is - and I have a feeling this is the last book in the Olympus bracket (explaining would ruin the story). Hopefully we'll get more glimpses of our beloved heroes from his other series as Apollo faces formidable villains in The Trials of Apollo series.
Just like Riordan's other books, his writing transported me right in the thick of things and Chiron's red heels (read the book!). I would definitely recommend this to all fans of Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and young adult fantasy, mythology and just generally great stories. Go get it.Labels: Book Reviews, Rick Riordan, The Hidden Oracle, The Trials of Apollo
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The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2016
Time: 12:35 AM
Upcoming Book: The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle
Author: Rick Riordan
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Synopsis: How do you punish an immortal?
By making him human.
After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, the lands in New York City as regular teenage boy. Not without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.
But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go... an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.
Thoughts: When the second Percy Jackson series and The Heroes of Olympus ended, Rick Riordan promised he wouldn't make an epilogue of the series. During the promotion for the final book in the series, he said, "I hate epilogues, it's like nailing the coffin shut on the story, allowing for no further growth and leaving no room for the readers' imaginations." But it turns out he really should have been more specific, because apparently the thing he only dislikes epilogues is when they explain the characters' entire lives and ruin any future possibilities for the characters. But he seems perfectly content exploring those possibilities himself - especially now that he's announced a new series set in the world of Percy Jackson.
The Trials of Apollo is set to start from where The Blood of Olympus left off. Apollo has been acting up, as he had in so many of the old myths, and Zeus threw him down to earth in a completely mortal body in a fit of rage. He has come to Camp Half-Blood to get help to survive until he can become immortal again.
The reaction to the new five-book series, set to come out on the 3rd of May, was immediate and explosive. When he announced it at a Magnus Chase book tour, the screaming and cheering filled the room. Soon after, the internet lit up with a flurry of activity on the subject. Whilst thee were a few people expressing disappointment with what seems like a way of capitalising on the success of his previous books, the majority of the reaction was extremely positive.
There are lists and lists of what fans want to see in the next book. Since it centers around Apollo, Will Solace is a fan favourite. A son of the aforementioned god and the leader of Cabin 7, he's a minor character that appears again in The Blood of Olympus, where he's revealed as a possible love interest for Nico DiAngelo, another fans' darling. A flurry of activity about their possible romantic future has sprung up, also increasing the two characters' individual popularity. And since Will is the son of Apollo, the main character of the coming series, he is likely to have a larger role in the next five books.
Another character that is being re-visited in fans' comment is Alabaster C. Torrington. He was a character in Rick's son Hayley's short story The Son of Magic, a story set in the Percy Jackson universe, Although they aren't technically Rick's characters, alot of fans like them alot and wanted to see them used in the coming series.
Apollo himself, of course is also the subject of much speculation. He's portrayed in the earlier books as a kind of show-off, although he actually isn't that talented at music or at poetry, two of his spheres of influence (incidentally, all the chapter titles of the new books will be in bad haiku, probably one of the most exciting things about the whole series), and so lots of self-centered hijinx are expected. But there's more to Apollo that that. Several fans have pointed out that in the old myths, Apollo is bisexual, Near the end of his last series, Nico was introduced as the first gay character in the whole franchise, and as previously stated, Will Solace was submitted as a possible partner for him. But fans are very excited at the possibility of more representation for the homosexual community in the coming stories.
Of course, others have pointed out that Apollo is actually the dad of some demigods, which will probably makes his situation a whole lot more awkward, especially after the emphasis in the previous books about the gods ignoring their children. Alot of the Apollo campers may be resentful towards their father. And since, stripped of his powers, Camp Half-Blood's his only hope, this god has certainly landed himself in quite a tricky situation.
So it seems we may have alot to look forward to for this next series - or at least the Percy Jackson fandom thinks so. For everyone's sake, I sincerely hope that The Trials of Apollo will be an amazing ending to a much-loved fandom.
P.S. A conundrum to all you fans - when Apollo comes to camp, which cabin he belong to. His own? Or, going by parentage, Zeus's?
You can read the excerpt hereLabels: Rick Riordan, The Hidden Oracle, The Trials of Apollo, Upcoming Book, What's Cooking?
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The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle
Author: Rick Riordan
Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: How do you punish an immortal?
By making him human.
After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.
But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed, Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go... an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.
Review: Rick Riordan has done it again (and again and again). I don't know which god (Nordic/Roman/Greek/Egyptian?) Is responsible for inspiring him - though I have a feeling they would all clamor for the credit - and I have no complaints. The Hidden Oracle got my heartbeat racing - and I didn't even read the synopsis before buying.
As soon as I bought my copy. I hunkered down and read it straight. Reading The Hidden Oracle felt like one big fun adventure, especially since seeing the world through Apollo as a sixteen-year-old human was highly amusing. It's not that I needed full concentration to enjoy this, but because I wanted to lose myself in this world. How I missed Camp Half-Blood.
If you've been reading Percy Jackson/The Heroes of Olympus series, then you know that Apollo is one of the most arrogant gods, although he has his nice moments. The book was peppered with praises of his godliness and awesomeness. I love how Riordan modernises the portrayals of the Greek gods as seen in Homer's Illiad. If we had these books back when we were studying Illiad, I think alot of class would easily ace our quizzes on which god did what.
I love seeing Apollo fall - literally and figuratively - several times. It was humbling of a god who through his carelessness, brought so much downfall to humans (and consequently, the gods) the past few years.
And Meg, whose last name was not mentioned, as a twelve-year old kid blowing raspberries and being a great antithesis to his godly arrogance was easily charming that the end of the book had me anxious on her behalf. She has the potential of being an awesome and precious character.
We are also treated to a few glimpses of Percy Jackson which always thrills me, and Nico is also a secondary character. If you're a fan of Nico and his... revelation, you're in for a treat with The Hidden Oracle. We also get Leo Valdez back, and I am excited to see what other machines he's going to come up with in the next books in the series. We are also treated to scenes of Mother Rhea as a trippy hippy, and she is one of the characters I am most excited to know more about.
There is a surprising revelation in who the villain is - and I have a feeling this is the last book in the Olympus bracket (explaining would ruin the story). Hopefully we'll get more glimpses of our beloved heroes from his other series as Apollo faces formidable villains in The Trials of Apollo series.
Just like Riordan's other books, his writing transported me right in the thick of things and Chiron's red heels (read the book!). I would definitely recommend this to all fans of Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and young adult fantasy, mythology and just generally great stories. Go get it.Labels: Book Reviews, Rick Riordan, The Hidden Oracle, The Trials of Apollo
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|
The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle
Upcoming Book: The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle
Author: Rick Riordan
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Synopsis: How do you punish an immortal?
By making him human.
After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, the lands in New York City as regular teenage boy. Not without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.
But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go... an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.
Thoughts: When the second Percy Jackson series and The Heroes of Olympus ended, Rick Riordan promised he wouldn't make an epilogue of the series. During the promotion for the final book in the series, he said, "I hate epilogues, it's like nailing the coffin shut on the story, allowing for no further growth and leaving no room for the readers' imaginations." But it turns out he really should have been more specific, because apparently the thing he only dislikes epilogues is when they explain the characters' entire lives and ruin any future possibilities for the characters. But he seems perfectly content exploring those possibilities himself - especially now that he's announced a new series set in the world of Percy Jackson.
The Trials of Apollo is set to start from where The Blood of Olympus left off. Apollo has been acting up, as he had in so many of the old myths, and Zeus threw him down to earth in a completely mortal body in a fit of rage. He has come to Camp Half-Blood to get help to survive until he can become immortal again.
The reaction to the new five-book series, set to come out on the 3rd of May, was immediate and explosive. When he announced it at a Magnus Chase book tour, the screaming and cheering filled the room. Soon after, the internet lit up with a flurry of activity on the subject. Whilst thee were a few people expressing disappointment with what seems like a way of capitalising on the success of his previous books, the majority of the reaction was extremely positive.
There are lists and lists of what fans want to see in the next book. Since it centers around Apollo, Will Solace is a fan favourite. A son of the aforementioned god and the leader of Cabin 7, he's a minor character that appears again in The Blood of Olympus, where he's revealed as a possible love interest for Nico DiAngelo, another fans' darling. A flurry of activity about their possible romantic future has sprung up, also increasing the two characters' individual popularity. And since Will is the son of Apollo, the main character of the coming series, he is likely to have a larger role in the next five books.
Another character that is being re-visited in fans' comment is Alabaster C. Torrington. He was a character in Rick's son Hayley's short story The Son of Magic, a story set in the Percy Jackson universe, Although they aren't technically Rick's characters, alot of fans like them alot and wanted to see them used in the coming series.
Apollo himself, of course is also the subject of much speculation. He's portrayed in the earlier books as a kind of show-off, although he actually isn't that talented at music or at poetry, two of his spheres of influence (incidentally, all the chapter titles of the new books will be in bad haiku, probably one of the most exciting things about the whole series), and so lots of self-centered hijinx are expected. But there's more to Apollo that that. Several fans have pointed out that in the old myths, Apollo is bisexual, Near the end of his last series, Nico was introduced as the first gay character in the whole franchise, and as previously stated, Will Solace was submitted as a possible partner for him. But fans are very excited at the possibility of more representation for the homosexual community in the coming stories.
Of course, others have pointed out that Apollo is actually the dad of some demigods, which will probably makes his situation a whole lot more awkward, especially after the emphasis in the previous books about the gods ignoring their children. Alot of the Apollo campers may be resentful towards their father. And since, stripped of his powers, Camp Half-Blood's his only hope, this god has certainly landed himself in quite a tricky situation.
So it seems we may have alot to look forward to for this next series - or at least the Percy Jackson fandom thinks so. For everyone's sake, I sincerely hope that The Trials of Apollo will be an amazing ending to a much-loved fandom.
P.S. A conundrum to all you fans - when Apollo comes to camp, which cabin he belong to. His own? Or, going by parentage, Zeus's?
You can read the excerpt hereLabels: Rick Riordan, The Hidden Oracle, The Trials of Apollo, Upcoming Book, What's Cooking?
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