Percy Jackson & the Olympians:
The Last Olympian Book Review
AUTHOR:
Rick Riordan
RELEASED DATE:
May 5, 2009
SERIES:
Percy Jackson & the Olympians (Book 5)
PAGES:
Approx. 381
RATING: 5/5 STARS
“The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car.”
For
the past year, Percy Jackson and his friends have been preparing for battle and
have successfully thwarted Kronos and his army from invading New York City. The
odds, however, are still grim. With each monster, demigod and minor god that
joins him, the Titan’s power only grows.
Kronos
will stop at nothing from destroying Mount Olympus and dethroning his children.
With his father Poseidon preoccupied in battle with Titan Oceanus in the realm
of the sea, Hades lurking in the Underworld refusing to help, and the remaining
Olympian gods battling the Titan monster Typhon in the west, it’s up to Percy,
Annabeth, Grover and the remaining demigod children to defend Mount Olympus and
Manhattan from Kronos and his invading army. As if things weren’t grim enough, Percy’s
16th birthday approaches. The Great Prophecy is finally revealed. A single
choice made by a child of the Big Three Gods (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) will
determine Mount Olympus’s fate: to save it, or destroy it.
Between
protecting his friends, his family and his city from destruction, Percy has a
lot on his plate. Out of options, and ever fearful of the spy in Camp
Half-blood, Percy and Nico (son of Hades) journey into the Underworld to enact
a plan, a most dangerous one, that could be the only way to save them all.
The Last Olympian
is a phenomenal success, with the mystery of the long-awaited prophecy concerning
Percy’s 16th birthday finally revealed in full detail. As the last
book in the series, it had a lot of expectations to fulfill, with many plot
holes and problems that needed resolution and explaining. Rick Riordan
delivered with his usual gusto. There were points here and there where the plot
seemed to drag and I wasn’t as enthused to continue, but overall it was a great
read. Not a fast read, because The Last
Olympian is bit longer compared to the previous novels, but I enjoyed it
immensely.
With
The Last Olympian, many questions I’ve
had while reading had finally been answered. What was up with the Oracle mummy?
What role does Rachel Elizabeth Dare play in Percy’s world? Who is the spy that’s
keeping Luke/Kronos informed? How did Nico and his sister end up in the hotel?
What happened to their mother? What happened to Luke’s mother? How will Percy
survive a prophecy foretelling his death? What is the choice he has to make
that would determine Mount Olympus’s fate? And who is the Last Olympian?
One
of Rick Riordan’s most amazing qualities as a writer is that he was able to answer
all of these questions and have it all tied in to the main storyline. Every revelation
added something to the plot, and although it gave growth to regular characters
like Percy and Nico, it also gave insight into characters like Luke and Hades
that no one would’ve guessed.
I’ve
hated Luke since the end of The Lightning
Thief, and each time his character appeared in subsequent books, that
hatred deepened. But revelations made in The
Last Olympian have turned my anger into sympathy, as information about his
past and his relationships with his mortal mother and godly father are revealed
via flashbacks and dreams. I can’t say that I wholly forgive Luke for his
decisions, or that I even understand them – I mean, he isn’t the only demigod
child that has great bitterness for his godly parent about their absence in
life. On the other hand, when you’re raised by a mother like his, it’s not a
surprise that he ran away so young, or that he’s angry that his father never
gave his assistance. In the end, Luke had one redeeming quality, and that was
his loyalty to his friends. As much as I still believe he should be held
accountable for the bad decisions he’s done, he proved in the end that the only
thing he ever wanted is the one thing that could’ve prevented the war in the first
place: the knowledge that their parents – especially his – cared for their children.
Nico’s
storyline also came to a close with the revelations about his mother and how he
and his sister Bianca ended up in the Lotus Hotel in the first place. It was
one of the most shocking revelations I’ve read, and it gave a great deal of
insight into Hades’ character and his past. The fact that Hades was the only Big
Three God that hadn’t broken his oath of celibacy after the Great Prophecy was
made had always struck me as ironic, but it hadn’t occurred to me until
afterwards that Bianca, back in The Titan’s
Curse, revealed that she and Nico had been stuck in the Lotus Hotel for
over seventy years – and if that were true, she and Nico would’ve been alive
just as the Great Prophecy was made. (Dun
dun dun!) The only thing that made that part of the story even more
exciting was the revelation that the Oracle who made the Great Prophecy was still
technically alive during that time. When I found out what happened to her, well…
(Cue sympathy music.)
So
many things have happened in The Last
Olympian, and so many characters die. (Sob)
From start to beginning, readers are introduced to new mythological beings and
creatures – like the Titans Prometheus and Hyperion who, just as Riordan had
done with the Greek gods, were given modernized personalities but retaining the
essence of who they are remembered as in Greek stories – and reunited with old
familiar ones, such as the Minotaur. Rick Riordan also made sure that every
character – like Luke, Ethan Nakamura and Silena Beauregard – are given a say,
so readers have a peek into their psyche and we begin to understand them and
their motivations better.
Ultimately,
The Last Olympian was about family,
or more specifically, parent-child relationships. This is a large theme that
appears in each of the Percy Jackson novels. Kronos had been able to sway many
of the demigods to his side and that was because half of the demigods were
bitter toward their godly parent, and the other half were the demigod children
of lesser unacknowledged gods. Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis, claimed allegiance
to Kronos because he was promised that the minor gods would be recognized and
given respect when Olympus fell. Many of lesser gods – Morpheus and Hecate, for
example – aligned with Kronos because Kronos promised them the respect and
prestige they were denied.
Percy
recognizes this and he understands it as well. One of my favorite parts to read
throughout the series involved Percy and his continuous understanding of the
gods and their children. He recognizes that the Olympian gods are nowhere near
as perfect as they appear; recognizes that many of them are actually selfish
and careless in regards to their children, and that they can and have done
awful things, whether out of anger or paranoia. He doesn’t excuse any of it and
doesn’t accept any of it; we see him get frustrated and horrified; we see him
question himself and everything he’s told; we even see him get bitter and
resentful toward the gods. But he never wavers from the loyalty he has for his
loved ones. The interesting thing about Percy understanding all this is that
his empathy for children like Luke and Ethan Nakamura leads him to make a
decision to further prevent war and, hopefully, create a better future for the
demigod children not yet claimed.
Readers
and fans of Rick Riordan will not be disappointed with The Last Olympian. Set against the Manhattan skyline, The Last Olympian is truly an epic end
to a fantastical world and series, featuring battles, romance, treachery, and
shocking twists that will leave readers wanting to know more and read more. The
latter most especially, as in the end of this long book, Rick Riordan guessed –
correctly – that five books just wasn’t going to be enough for us readers. The Last Olympian has one last surprise,
and that surprise leads to a whole new set of adventures: the Heroes of Olympus series.
And
that, ladies and gentlemen and fandom lovers alike, is where my next journey
lies!
(PS: I did end up eating my words
about Annabeth. Just thought I’d let you all know that.)
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