The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan
I'm gonna get this out of the way first. Rick Riordan knows how to craft an addictive, gut-churning story. I didn't want to put this book down, even though I spent most of the time thoroughly disgusted with the main character (more on that later). He really makes you want to cheer for everyone - and then turn around and make you question why you were cheering for them. As a reader you can't help but invest yourself in this story.
And what a story it was. Almost right away you knew where the battlegrounds were being drawn. There was no question about where the "dark prophecy" was coming from or who the ultimate victor would be, however, that wasn't the point of the story. It was what you didn't know. Who was going to fight at Apollo/Lester's side? Who was the real bad guy? And what was Apollo's connection to all of the new (and old) characters being introduced?
I mentioned earlier that the main character disgusted me...well, Apollo is REALLY annoying. He is conceited. He is a whiner. He is everything a middle-adventure hero shouldn't be. And yet...that is kind of his point. He is a character in the process of being remade. He isn't supposed to be likable. Riordan threw the supporting characters in the story to be the likable ones. Meg, for instance is extremely likable in her ornery "Meg-ish" way. It is Apollo's devotion to her that makes his character redeemable.
There are several new characters that come into play from both mythology and the mind of Rick Riordan himself. It was fun trying to decipher who was who. I have to admit that I kept my phone next to me the whole time to randomly Google names to find out their mythological backstories. One character - who I guessed was coming based on clues planted in the last book - is even familiar to people who have seen a certain Roman-set movie. Lets just say he is way more disagreeable in this book than he was in the movie, and that is saying a lot!
And along with the new characters, we get to revisit some old friends. Not just Leo and Calypso, either. Several familiar faces pop up in this book, and not all of them will make you comfortable with your own way of thinking. I had to question several of my previously held beliefs from old books in order to realign my view of Rick Riordan's world.
There are several new characters that come into play from both mythology and the mind of Rick Riordan himself. It was fun trying to decipher who was who. I have to admit that I kept my phone next to me the whole time to randomly Google names to find out their mythological backstories. One character - who I guessed was coming based on clues planted in the last book - is even familiar to people who have seen a certain Roman-set movie. Lets just say he is way more disagreeable in this book than he was in the movie, and that is saying a lot!
And along with the new characters, we get to revisit some old friends. Not just Leo and Calypso, either. Several familiar faces pop up in this book, and not all of them will make you comfortable with your own way of thinking. I had to question several of my previously held beliefs from old books in order to realign my view of Rick Riordan's world.
As for the action in the book, there was a lot of it. Every chapter has something going on and the desire to skim over sections just isn't there. Overall, this book was a definite winner! And once again, Rick Riordan has us drooling for the next segment, THE BURNING MAZE, coming next spring.
Continuity/Flow – 5
Action - 5
Overall – 5
Action - 5
Characters – 4
Storyline – 5
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