Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth Book Review

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth Book Review

AUTHOR: Rick Riordan

RELEASE DATE: May 6, 2008

SERIES: Percy Jackson & the Olympians (Book 4)

PAGES: Approx. 361

RATING: 4/5 STARS

Much of the predictions I made before I started reading The Battle of the Labyrinth came true: Kronos rose, Luke fell deeper into his evil and hatred, and Percy gets one year closer to his 16^th birthday. What came as a surprise was practically everything else that happened, from start to finish.

I’m being serious when I say that this was one of the most difficult books to finish in the series. So much happened in this one book and I’m still reeling from all the details, plot twists and character additions that made The Battle of the Labyrinth such a good but challenging read.

 

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In the beginning, Percy goes to an orientation for a new school. Considering his previous experiences, he shouldn’t have been too surprised by what happened next: the appearance of monsters bent on killing him, the destruction of school property, and, ultimately, him escaping back to Camp Half-Blood while people blame him for the aforementioned events.

What’s different about this particular attack was the reappearance of a mortal girl that Percy (and readers) had met once and certainly never thought he’d meet again: Rachel Elizabeth Dare, a mortal who – like Percy’s mother – can see through the Mist.

He has little time to ponder on the situation however. He travels back to Camp Half-Blood with his fellow camper/friend, Annabeth, and discovers new changes since his last stay – a new swordsman instructor, Quintus, with his hellhound pet, Mrs. O’Leary; a half-blood camper-turned-traitor reappearing in an insane state of mind; the god-supervisor Dionysius on assignment to help with the rising Titan threat; satyr Grover being threatened with exile unless he succeeds in finding the wild god Pan – as well as being reunited with familiar faces: the arrival of his Cyclops brother Tyson; and archenemy Clarisse of Ares Cabin returning from a secret mission.

A secret mission that Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson must now undertake, should they wish to protect Camp Half-Blood from Luke, his army and the evil Titan lord Kronos.

Bent on destroying the camp (alongside all the heroes), Luke and his army will seek to bypass the powerful protection barriers by journeying into the Labyrinth – a massive underground maze that, without the help of Ariadne’s string (a mythical item), would be near impossible to navigate and escape from. Percy and his friends enter the Labyrinth themselves to seek out the creator, Daedalus (whom possesses the string), and ensure the camp’s safety.

The quest is difficult from the beginning, for the Labyrinth is full of tricks and surprises: it takes our heroes from one end of the country to the other; a variety of monsters dwell within the corridors and caverns, ready to attack; illusions and ever-changing hallways and paths lead them astray; Grover and Tyson separate from the group to find Pan, whose godly presence Grover senses; and to our heroes’ surprise, they are joined by Nico, son of Hades, who is determined to bring his sister back to life, aided by a ghost with its own sinister agenda.

This is definitely one of the hardest quests Percy and his friends have taken on, and if they want to succeed, they’d need their own way of navigating the Labyrinth. What other way can succeed, besides Ariadne’s string? According to Hera, Zeus’s wife, Percy knows the answer. And it takes causing an earthquake, nearly destroying the Northwest U.S.A., and washing up on an island inhabited by one immortal for him to realize the answer: a mortal much like Ariadne, who aided Theseus. A mortal who can See.

I enjoyed reading The Battle of the Labyrinth. It was a long book, longer than its predecessors, anyway. There were so many introductions to new characters and mythical monsters, and I fully expect to see them in the final installment, The Last Olympian. The Battle of the Labyrinth was also a great deal darker in tone and storytelling, compared to the previous three books, featuring more death, betrayal, tragedies and battles than it did humor. Stakes have risen since The Titan’s Curse; and I was right when I compared Rick Riordan to J.K. Rowling when it came to killing off characters. He had no trouble doing so.

Rick Riordan’s concept of the Labyrinth from myth was, as I’ve come to expect, refreshing: it’s not just a maze anymore. It’s a sentient masterpiece that sprawls from coast to coast beneath the ground, always changing and adding onto itself, with exits and entrances appearing in the most unlikely of places. It’s cleverly used to transport our heroes from one unexpected place to the next, furthering the plot and giving us both cliffhangers and resolution.

Nico’s reappearance has cemented my theory that he will play a role in the next book; despite being the son of Hades, he gives off the impression that he can be just as much a hero as the next person, despite the change in personality– from cheerful to dark and brooding – which is understandable, giving recent circumstances.

The return of Rachel Elizabeth Dare also makes me wonder if she will come to play a pivotal role in the upcoming war between the Olympians and Kronos. As a mortal who can see through the Mist, I’ve no doubt that her ability will be used, in the future, to warn Percy and his friends of dangers they cannot see. The fact that her appearance causes some tension between Percy and Annabeth is a bonus, adding a bit of humor to the otherwise dark storyline.

Grover’s search for Pan finally comes to a close, with the wild god passing and extending his final blessing to Percy and company. He also leaves behind a message, one that everyone could take to heart, and which Grover must tell the other satyrs:

“You have found me. And now you must release me. You must carry on my spirit. It can no longer be carried by a god. It must be taken up by all of you.”

Pan looked straight at me with his clear blue eyes, and I realized he wasn’t just talking about the satyrs. He meant half-bloods, too, and humans. Everyone.

This message, which Grover does tell the other satyrs (including the Council of Cloven Elders), receives a mixture of responses from other characters that not only deepens the mythology of Rick Riordan’s world, but gives insight into the inner politics of the immortal realm.

It can also be viewed in a philosophical and religious manner, citing the nature of the gods and what it means to act in their name. An example would be Percy’s fight with Antaeus, a giant who has killed many in the name of his and Percy’s father, Poseidon.

Other themes that feature in The Battle of the Labyrinth are brought forth in the characters Calypso and Daedalus. Calypso, who sided with the Titans in the previous Gods-Titans war and was punished for it, made Percy question whether his loyalty to Olympus is borne out of loyalty to his family, or to what is right. In Daedalus, we see the price one pays by cheating death: he has preserved his life for two thousand years by becoming an automaton, but at the cost of his own humanity.

This kind of deep thinking and reflection, with Percy and his friends questioning the rights and wrongs, is what made The Battle of the Labyrinth a complex but immensely satisfying read.

However, as much as I enjoyed it, there was one thing that I didn’t like, one thing that made me rate this book lower than the others – Annabeth.

Annabeth, for the longest time, has been a character favorite. She’s wise and strategic, an excellent fighter and a loyal friend. Her resourcefulness and quick thinking is the perfect counterpart to Percy’s impulsiveness and improvised planning. And while her hostility toward Rachel may seem a bit much, I thought it perfectly understandable.

That being said, towards the end of Battle of the Labyrinth, Annabeth became the sole reason I couldn’t finish this book near as quickly as I could’ve done. With each book, Annabeth and Percy’s friendship has deepened and slowly evolved into something else. The awkward tension between the two characters was adorable and during a certain scene (readers know which one I’m talking about) you think that it’ll be resolved and the main focus will shift from the romance to the fantasy and action.

But then Luke appears. And from the moment that happened, Annabeth became impossible to handle. Her constant defense of Luke and his actions, her fervent belief in his goodness and redemption, and her willing to overlook his more devious acts in hopes of swaying him back to the side of good, had me slam this book down in frustration many times. Every time she spoke up in his defense, I couldn’t help thinking: “What does he have to do to get you to stop this? He has killed and betrayed others, tricked and deceived you, and is actively plotting to destroy your friends and Camp Half-Blood! He even left you to suffer the weight of the sky back in book three – I mean, seriously, WHAT needs to happen to make you stop defending him?”

That it causes her to act coolly with Percy made it all the more infuriating.

A part of me sympathizes with Annabeth: on the one hand, she lost a friend to a bad influence, and she wants to believe he can be redeemed, if she only got close enough and spent enough time trying to talk to him. It had been obvious in the previous books that she and Luke were close, and she had harbored feelings for him. And she also believed that she could accomplish in making him good again.

On the other hand, after what Luke has done and continues doing, and most especially after his actions in The Titan’s Curse and The Battle of the Labyrinth, there comes a point where I want to smack her for saying it was Kronos’ doing: he may have been the bad influence but it was ultimately Luke who done those bad things without a second thought.

I have a feeling I may come to eat my words, but until then, I can’t be too sympathetic for Annabeth, nor do I like her too much at the moment for her treatment towards Percy and her conflicted – often stupid – decisions when it comes to Luke. Right now, I’m rooting for Rachel.

I guess I have to read The Last Olympian to figure out where Percy and the other heroes end up next. It’s the final installment – the long-awaited battle is coming. And with Kronos fully risen, you can bet that things are going to go from bad, to worse, to tragic, to “NOOOO!”