Riordan Retrospective: The Hammer of Thor

Welcome once again to the Riordan Retrospective.  For those of you just joining the fun, this is my look back at the works of Rick Riordan.  That means we're taking a look at Percy Jackson, its sequel series and its spin-off series.  This is less of a formal review, and more of a look back, along with my thoughts and observations.  Last time we took a look back at the companion book Camp Half-Blood Confidential.  This time, we return to Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard for the moment you've all been waiting for.  We're taking at The Hammer of Thor, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard book 2.  Let's kick things off with a brief summary. 

Magnus Chase, son of the Norse god Frey, has been adjusting fairly well to his afterlife in Valhalla.  Ah, but things rarely stay calm for long.  Thor's hammer is missing again, and if Magnus and the gang don't it back, it could mean the start of Ragnarok.  To do this, Magnus will need the help of a green-haired genderfluid sociopath named Alex Fierro.  There's action and adventure as Magnus develops Stockholm Syndrome and begins a budding romance that has all the hallmarks of an abusive relationship.  He's also got a massive Oedipus Complex going on.  Seriously dude, how many times are you going to compare Alex to your dead mom?  Along the way, he'll team up with his trusty sidekick Sam, who had degenerated into a token Muslim with no personality beyond her religion and being a walking oxymoron.  Also, Blitz and Hearth are there too.  So, get ready to get woke as Helheim, as Norse Mythology meets an overbearing political screed in a massive brain fart that Rick Riordan decided to turn into a book...for some reason. 

Yeah, as you can tell by my unusually bitter and sarcastic summary, I really, really hate this book.  I didn't think it was possible.  I never thought I'd see the day that Rick Riordan wrote a book that I loathed with every atom of my body.  Ah, but how the madman proved me wrong.  This is the moment I've been hint at for a while now.  Where do I even begin with this one?  

Well, let's start with the big one: Alex Fierro.  Imagine a scenario a bit like the movie Weird Science, but instead of creating a hot girl, something goes horribly wrong and the computer brings Tumblr to life.  That, in a nutshell, is Alex.  Riordan said he wanted to use Alex so that transgender kids would feel represented.  You might claim this is well intentioned, but as is often quoted, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Moreover, unless those transgender kids happen to jerks and sociopaths, they probably won't see themselves reflected in Alex.  The very first thing she says to Magnus, when he gets confused about her being trans, is "it's not my job to educate you!"  She says this, and yet she always flips out whenever someone gets her gender wrong.  Okay, so if it isn't your job to educate them, how are they supposed to know any of this?!  

Alex is clearly cast from the same mold as Thalia and Zia, but Riordan left out a critical component.  Thalia and Zia worked because they actually had sympathetic qualities and got called out when they went too far.  Alex, by contrast, lacks any sympathetic qualities and never gets called out for being a dick to everyone she encounters.  Riordan seems to have fallen into the trap of thinking that, because Alex is spunky and irreverent, she's a strong character.  He also seemed to be under the impression that, if he made the other characters love Alex, it would translate into the readers loving Alex.  Suffice it to say that this turned out to be very, very wrong.  He did this before with Jason and Piper, but it's even worse here.  

It almost feels like Alex is an example of black propaganda.  Black propaganda is where you pretend to be in favor of position A, but you're actually in favor of position B, and you're trying to make people who support position A look bad.  Also, let's talk about when Magnus first meets Alex and pontificates about homeless transgender kids.  The way the dialogue is written makes it sound like he's become possessed by a gender studies major.  Seriously, you expect me to believe a kid whose been living on the streets of Boston for the past two years would talk like that?  As for Alex being genderfluid, I find that suspect as well. It is hinted that this is due to her shape shifting abilities.  However, if that is the case, it makes for piss-poor representation.  Shocking as I’m sure you’ll find it, most people who identify as genderfluid are not shapeshifters.  I'm also baffled at how many LGBTQ awards this book won because of Alex.  Representation doesn't mean jack when the one transgender character has no empathy for other people, and is a total sociopath.    

Okay, enough about Alex, let's get on to the second major problem: Sam.  As I've previously stated, she had a lot of red flags that I really should have taken more seriously.  Whereas in Sword of Summer she was ambiguously Muslim, by Hammer of Thor, Sam is unabashedly Muslim.  So, she's a Muslim demigod...um, what?!  Yeah, Riordan bullshits about how Sam doesn't believe the gods are actual gods, but it just doesn't hold water.  How does she reconcile the fact that the afterlife is different than what Islam says?  For that matter, why would God have created the Norse gods at all?  Frankly, Sam's not being a skeptic or keeping an open-mind, she's in complete denial.  As Carter and Sadie Kane will tell you, denial ain't just a river in Egypt.  Riordan should have stuck to what Chiron said back in The Lightning Thief; the matter of capital-G God should have been kept out of the books.  Also, Magnus should not be calling himself an atheist!  He has rock-solid proof that there is an afterlife and gods.  I don't know what I'd be calling myself in his situation, but I sure wouldn't be calling myself an atheist anymore. 

The entire universe seemed to bend over backwards to accommodate Sam and her beliefs.  For example, there was the meeting with Heimdall.  I'm not sure I'm ever going to forgive Riordan for what he did to Heimdall.  In Norse Mythology, Heimdall is a noble and honorable god who guards the Bifrost bridge that links Asgard and Midgard.  He knows that one day Ragnork will come, and yet he doesn't run from his duty.  So, how does Riordan portray Heimdall?  Why, as an overgrown teenager who is addicted to his cellphone, of course.  Then, to add insult to injury, Riordan has Heimdall tell Sam that he doesn't believe he and the Aesir are actually gods, and he's with her.  It was at this point that I was very tempted to throw by head back and scream at the sky in frustration.  That scene further underscores the world bending over to accommodate Sam and her beliefs. 

Heimdall demonstrates a major flaw in the series: the gods as Riordan has written them, are too quirky for their own good.  Well, there are a few exceptions such as Frey and Vidar, but overall they're just too damn silly.  It is true that Rick has often given the gods little quirks and moments of silliness, but he always balanced it out with moments of seriousness and gravitas.  

Also, the pop cultural references.  My gods, this book is practically a time capsule of the mid-2010s.  It's like Riordan was unintentionally writing a period piece.  Rick said he purposefully avoided too many pop culture references in the Percy Jackson books so that they would have a timeless feel to them.  When he started using references in The Kane Chronicle and Heroes of Olympus, he did so sparingly.  He also referenced things that have been around for a while, such as Doctor Who and Marvel and DC Comics, so they would age well.  Here, it's like he's having a contest to see how many references he can cram in. 

Ironically, in his bid to be progressive, Riordan has promoted the most conservative aspects of Islam.  For example, he had Sam wearing a hijab.  Contrary to what the media might have to believe, over half of all the Muslim women in America don't wear the hijab.  There's also a certain irony of a supposedly strong female hero running around in a medieval chastity helmet.  Does this mean we're going to get a Mormon demigod who wears the special Mormon underwear?  Or maybe a Scientologist demigod who constantly quotes from Dianetics?  Yeah, don't hold your breath; Riordan wouldn't be able to score any political brownie points if he did that.  Sam talks about how the hijab is her choice.  However, this ignores the fact that, for Muslims women in most other parts of the world, hijab is most certainly not a choice.  These women will often face major social and legal repercussions if they dare appear in public with their hijab.  Way to kick them while they're down, Rick.

Also, Sam is in an arranged marriage...to her cousin.  Did Rick Riordan seriously just promote incest in the name of so-called diversity?  Oh, but it gets worse.  Sam takes an oath that she will not touch another man until she marries Amir.  Oh, and did I mention that she invokes Allah while making this oath in the presence of a pagan deity?  I can't be the only one who found the whole thing downright creepy and utterly cringeworthy.  Also, Sam and Amir must be chaperoned by a male guardian/authority figure whenever they're together.  What the actual Helheim, Rick!  Are you seriously promoting male guardianship culture?!  There are women in the Muslim world risking their lives to fight that shit!  Rick Riordan is spitting in the faces of Muslims Reformers and Ex-Muslims everywhere, and he doesn't even have the decency to call it rain!  

Riordan has said that Percy and Annabeth aren't getting engaged because they're too young.  Yeah, serious double standard there.  Apparently, teenagers getting engaged is okay if they're Muslim.  Also, here's another fact you probably didn't know, over sixty percent of all religiously motived hate crimes in America are committed against Jews.  Bizarrely enough, it took a while before we finally got a Jewish demigod.  Islam is not like Judaism.  You can be culturally Jewish even if you're an atheist; there's no such thing as a cultural Muslim.  Muslim denotes religion.  

Now, some people say Riordan made Sam to fight racism against Muslim.  Oh, really now, and just what kind of racism is that?  Is it against White Muslims from Chechnya?  Black Muslims from Nigeria?  Asian Muslims from Malaysia?  Brown Muslims from Bangladesh?  Or maybe Iranian Muslims who are so fair-haired and light-skinned that they look like white people?  Islam is a religion, not a race.  Also, Middle Eastern does not automatically mean Muslim.  Riordan ought to know this, give that Zia is a non-Muslim Middle Easterner.  

Well, enough about Sam for now, let's move on to other matters.  So there a scene where Magnus complains about Hotel Valhalla engaging in cultural appropriation...Mr. Riordan, did you seriously just have Magnus say that?!  Okay, one, cultural appropriation is...well, basically the history of how culture works.  Cultures have always mixed, matched and borrowed from each other.  It is exceedingly rare to find anything that doesn't owe some aspect of its existence to another culture.  Oh, and this is my favorite part, Rick Riordan wouldn't have a career if it weren't for cultural appropriation!  Tell me, Rick, are you Greek, Roman or Egyptian?  If not, then why did you write books about those mythologies?  Are you perhaps throwing around terms without knowing what they mean in a desperate attempt to prove you're down with the kids?  Is this why The Kane Chronicles has been treated like a red-haired stepchild as of late? Then again, Kane Chronicles is getting a movie, and Magnus Chase is not.  Be thankful for small mercies, I suppose. 

Moving on, the trip of Alfheim was very disappointing.  I had this problem a bit with Nidavellir in Sword of Summer, it just didn't feel magical enough.  Alfheim was exactly like a bog standard rich people suburb.  At times, I had to remind myself that those scenes were in the land of the light elves.  One of the big appeals of the Riordanverse, to me, is how it blends the mythical with the modern.  I love how it shows that there can be magic and adventure in America, and you don't have to go to some distant land for all that.  However, whenever Carter and Sadie go to the Duat, or Percy and company go to Mount Olympus, it's all properly mystical and otherworldly.  The Nine Worlds lean far too much on the mundane side of the equation.  

Magnus talks about how black homeless people are bullied by the police and...wait a minute.  In Sword of Summer, Magnus mentions a Latino policeman giving him and the other homeless people trouble so...did Rick Riordan accidentally admit that Latinos can be racist too?  Also, it's kind of hypocritical for Rick to be preaching about how money isn't everything.  He might not be a millionaire, but he's certainly not hurting for money either.  The really sad part is that Alfheim, and Hearth's abusive family, could have worked if Rick had put actual effort into writing it, rather than making it a caricature of the 1%.  

Let's see, I feel like I'm forgetting something.  What could it be?  Oh, yeah!  The gods of Asgard, allegedly, they were in this book too.  In Sword of Summer, I liked how Loki had a somewhat nuanced portrayal.  Well, that's all been thrown out the window come this book.  Loki was so mustache-twirlingly evil he came across as less a figure from Norse Mythology, and more like a villain on a Saturday Morning Cartoon.  There is way more too Loki than just his role in Ragnarok.  True, Loki did kill Balder.  However, the gods bound his son Fenris wolf, banish his daughter Hel to Helheim, turned his son Vali into a wolf that killed his other son Nari.  Then they killed Vali and used his intestines to bind Loki.  I guess what trying to say is, Loki has some damn good reasons to be pissed at the gods.  You could see him as representing consequences, for it was by harming his children that the gods made Loki their enemy.  

Moreover, Odin knew the prophecies of Ragnarok.  He knew that by doing these things he was guaranteeing that Loki would fight against him at Ragnarok, but he did them anyway.  Though, you could argue that Odin knew that he was as much a slave to destiny as Loki, so what would be the point of fighting it?  

Well, back to Political Pontificating with Uncle Rick, also staring Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.  The Floor 19 gang were even more criminally underutilized than in the last book.  That's especially bad, given that they're all way more interesting than Alex and Sam!  Also, ugh, why oh why did she have to be named Sam?  Why Rick, why?!  I guess this is how people named Gabriel feel about Smelly Gabe.  In other underutilized characters, we get a cool cameo from Vidar at the end.  Sadly, he never returns.  I forgot to mention this last time, but it's made to seem like the gods are missing from Asgard and need to be gathered and reassembled.  This plot threat never goes anywhere, and is apparently a red herring.  Well, that or Rick just didn't care. 

As I've previously stated, Surt would have made a much better villain than Loki.  He's fated to kill Frey, Magnus' father, and would have made a fitting antagonist for Magnus.  He's been working on a flaming sword since the dawn of time.  When he completes the sword, it will be one of the things that will signal the start of Ragnarok.  

There's another mark against Magnus Chase as a series, going back to what I said about the gods being too silly.  In the past, even with Riordan having his fun and being silly, you could tell he had a deep respect and appreciation for the Greek, Egyptian and Roman myths.  That is totally absent here.  It feels like he's almost gleeful about the way he's pissing and shitting all over Norse Mythology.  

Well, guess I ought to analyze the cover.  We see Magnus standing before an oversized version of the titular hammer.  On either side are the faces of Thor and Loki. 

The audiobook version is one of the more redeeming aspects of The Hammer of Thor.  They've changed narrators with Kieran Culkin taking over as narrator.  Overall, he does a pretty good job, and doesn't sound too noticeably different from Christopher Guetig.  

What else can I say?  The Hammer of Thor sucks and I hated it.  This was the peak of the storm, but I'm not done tearing Magnus Chase to shreds yet.  We've still got to get through The Ship of the Dead and Nine From the Nine Worlds.  For now, however, we're going to return to The Trials of Apollo to discuss a book a actually did enjoy.  

Join me next time when we take a look back at The Dark Prophecy.  I will see you all then.  

Riordan Retrospective: Camp Half-Blood Confidential

Welcome once again to the Riordan Retrospective.  For those of you just joining the fun, this is my look back at the works of Rick Riordan.  That means we're taking a look at Percy Jackson, its sequel series and its spin-off series.  This is less of a formal review, and more of a look back, along with my thoughts and observations.  Last time, we began our look back at the Trials of Apollo with a look back at The Hidden Oracle.  This time, we're continuing with Trials of Apollo, but also taking a slight detour...you'll see in a minute.  Anyway, we're taking a look back at the companion book Camp Half-Blood Confidential. 

As per usual, there will be spoilers beyond this point, so turn back now if you don't want any of that.  

Now, let's clarify something before we go forwards.  A lot of people were worried that this book would be the Greek version of Hotel Valhalla Guide to the Norse Worlds.  I can assure you that this is not the case.  Frankly, I wish it had been the Norse version of this book

The in-universe story is that Camp Half-Blood Confidential was made because the campers were sick of the old orientation film Apollo made back in the 1950s.  It's just as corny and cheesy as it sounds, and throughout the book we see little scenes from it, along with Percy's commentary.  Camp Half-Blood Confidential is dived into a series of vignettes where various characters tell us about the history of Camp Half-Blood.  We also get descriptions of the various sights at Camp Half-Blood courtesy of Pete the Palikos.  

We start off strong with Chiron telling us about when the camp was first founded back in Ancient Greece.  He'd never fit in much with the other centaurs, being far more civilized any them.  When he started training heroes, however, he finally felt like he had his own tribe, and a place where he truly belonged.  We also learn that the magical boundaries, and the camp moving with the Heart of the West, were things the gods granted after Chiron asked them for help with the constant monster attacks of the early camp.  Also, apparently the campers used to all sleep in the Big House, but they kept getting into fights, so the cabins were made.  

This vignette provides great insight into Chiron's mind.  In many ways, he is a surrogate father to many of the campers, and apparently the feeling is mutual.  The campers are his family, the children he could never have, and he loves them all very much.  They're also literally his family, because Chiron was a son of Kronos just like the elder Olympians.  That means he's Percy's uncle and Annabeth's great-uncle.  It must make it hard when campers die.  Chiron must know, deep down, that every generation he trains is yet more campers to be sacrificed on the altar of war.  Kind of makes you want to give him a hug. 

We also learn that the first six heroes he ever taught were Perseus, Jason, Achilles, Atalanta, Asclepius and Aeneas.  Yeah, Achilles and Aeneas probably shouldn't have been there, since the Trojan War happened towards the later end of Greek Mythology, well after most of the other heroes had lived and died.  On the other hand, mythology is hardly ever consistent.  Or maybe Chiron is misremembering how things went?  And yes, Aeneas was a Roman demigod, but the Trojan War hadn't happened yet, so the Greek-Roman rivalry hadn't happened yet either.  I like to think that the chitons those first campers wore were orange, just like modern day Camp Half-Blood t-shirts. 

We also get a brief list of famous demigods who have attended Camp Half-Blood over the years. From this, we learn that Arthurian Legend is true in the Riordanverse, because apparently King Arthur, Merlin and Queen Guinevere were all demigods who went to Camp Half-Blood.  Interestingly, Merlin is often said to have been the son of an incubus and a mortal woman.  A misremembering of his true origins, perhaps?  In other famous Camp Half-Blood alumni, there's Joan of Arc and Frank Lloyd Wright.  Well, Joan of Arc is said to have had visions from God, most frequently attributed as the Christian god, but I guess you never know.  Kind of makes me wonder how many other saints were actually demigods in the Riordanverse.  It has interesting implications, to say the least.  Frank Lloyd Wright, being a famous architect, is all but confirmed to have been a son of Athena.  

In our next vignette we learn that Annabeth lost her damn mind and jumped on the tiny house craze.  I legitimately do not understand people who would willingly live in an undersized house for any appreciable amount of time.  The ones with kids are even crazier.  Anyway, apparently finding space for all the new cabins is getting to be a bit of a problem.  So, in an uncharacteristic act of stupidity, Annabeth makes tiny cabins.  No, no, no!  I refuse to believe that Annabeth wouldn't realize that the children of the minor gods would find that insulting.  Then, the problem is solved by putting four of them together to make a cabin, which kind of defeats the purpose.  

The new cabins can have everything about them changed with a simple touch.  I get the feeling that Riordan did this because he was running out of ideas for cabins.  Though we do know, per word of Rick, that Tyche Cabin looks like a miniature Las Vegas casino.  It feels as though Rick can't think of any challenges for Annabeth, so he makes her acted stupid to compensate.  He seems to be forgetting that he was able to give her plenty of challenges in the Roman catacombs in The Mark of Athena. Well, that was a bust, on to the next vignette.

We are treated to another history lesson on courtesy of Miranda Gardiner.  This time, we learn why the camp grows strawberries.  You know, I've always wondered why the camp even needed to raise money.  Shouldn't the gods provide everything the camp needs?  Then again, it wouldn't be out-of-character for the gods to be neglectful.  Anyway, we the camp first came to America...actually, let's talk about that first.  As you will recall, I've noted multiple discrepancies with when the gods moved to America.  Later in the book there is an interview with Percy, Annabeth and Nico.  Annabeth herself notes this, and says she'll have to ask Chiron about it later. I guess Riordan was admitting that he'd been inconsistent and screwed up the dates.

Back to Miranda's story, everyone had different ideas about how to raise money.  The Ares kids wanted to open the butcher’s shop, the Athena kids wanted to grow olives, and the Poseidon kids wanted to open a seafood restaurant.  We also learn that modern times weren't the only time Zeus tried to avoid having kids, as it was mentioned that this is why no Zeus kids were at the meeting.  Ultimately, it was the Demeter kids who had the idea to grow strawberries, and the rest is history.  Miranda couldn't get anyone to listen to her story, but I liked it, if nothing else.

We get a fun vignette where Valentina Diaz discovers a box of clothing from Ancient Greece.  Contrary to popular belief, most clothing in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome was not white.  Most of it was very vibrant and colorful, as this vignette demonstrates.  We then get a vignette with Malcolm Pace, where we learn that his last name is Pace.  Hmm, Athena sure seems to like men whose last names end in -ace.  Anyway, Malcolm has been told by Athena, via a dream, that the campers should revive the Panathena, a series of games and festivals held in honor of Athena.  You can think of them like the Olympics or the Hera Games, but for Athena.  Also, the Hera Games were the female version of the Olympics that were held in Hera's honor.  The Olympics were held in Zeus' honor, and only men could participate in them.  Really great to see more Ancient Greek history and culture being brought to the series. 

Then we get a vignette about Nyssa Barrera and her friends talking about the wreckage of a racecar in Bunker 9.  It belonged to James Dean, who was a son of Aphrodite in the Riordanverse.  He fell in love with a Hephaestus girl who loved working on cars, but then he dumped her when he hooked up with an Ares girl.  In other words, it was the Aphrodite-Hephaestus-Ares love triangle with the genders reversed.  The Hephaestus girl was so mad and heartbroken that she cursed James' racecar, and thus that was the real reason James Dean died from a car accident in the Riordanverse.  Nyssa doesn't know why the wreckage is still there.  Maybe Hephaestus kept it as a trophy because he was proud of what his daughter did?

This one in particular had a strong impact on me.  Hephaestus has always been one of my favorite Olympians, because I find him to be one of the most relatable and sympathetic of the bunch.  Here, however, we see a darker side of Hephaestus.  Maybe he's not so different from the other Olympians after all.  

We also finally discover how Connor and Travis got the note Percy and Annabeth sent from Tartarus out the offering fire.  Apparently, Hermes gave them a special pair of celestial bronze barbecue tongs, that could only be used once, not long before it happened.  Hermes has always been one of the friendlier gods towards Percy and the gang.  It's nice to see that, in his own small ways, he's got their backs.  

We get an interview, courtesy of Thalia and Nico, with Mrs. Jackson and Mr. Chase.  From this interview, the finally learn why climbing wall has lava on it.  Apparently, it was the result of a Parents Day that went horribly wrong, but everyone decided to keep it.  Said Parents Day took place in 1901, and was so bad, because three monsters tried to sneak into camp, that Parents Day was permanently canceled.  Mrs. Jackson and Mr. Chase have never actually seen the camp, but they don't mind.  They're happy to know that Percy and Annabeth have a place to be safe.  It was also a bit funny when Mrs. Jackson, cheerily but somewhat passive-aggressively, reminds Percy to write to her.  As I've said before, what Mrs. Jackson lacks in physical strength, she makes up for in emotional strength and willpower.  It further adds to my theory that she was like Annabeth when she was younger.  Silk hiding steel indeed.  It was also nice to get to see more of what it's like for the parents of demigods. 

We also get that interview with Percy, Annabeth and Nico that I mentioned earlier.  From this, we see that Percy and Nico are getting along quite well, and that Nico seems reasonably happy.  There a couple other vignettes, one staring Ellis Wakefield and one staring Rachel and Apollo, but I'll leave those as a little something for you guys to discover if you read this book, and I certainly hope that you do.  I loved how this book gave the minor characters love and attention, in sharp contrast to how The Heroes of Olympus gave them the shaft.  I'm also very pleased that Jason, Piper and Leo didn't show up, and thus the minor characters didn't get overshadowed by The Seven again. 

The end of the book also contains a sneak peek at The Dark Prophecy, but we'll get to that retrospective soon enough.  Jesse Bernstein once again returns as the narrator of the audiobook version.  He is a welcome presence, and it goes without saying that I enjoyed the audiobook very much. 

Camp Half-Blood Confidential is a great companion book.  It helps to expand the worldbuilding of the Riordanverse, gives welcome insight into the history of Camp Half-Blood, and gives the minor characters a chance to shine.  Rick should really make a version of this for the Camp Jupiter characters.    

Well, I think that should do it for now.  We'll be returning to the regular alteration of one Trials of Apollo book followed by one Magnus Chase book.  As such, join me again next time when we take a look back at The Hammer of Thor.  I will see you all then. 

Riordan Retrospective: The Hidden Oracle

Welcome once again to the Riordan Retrospective.  For those of you just joining the fun, this is my look back at the works of Rick Riordan.  That means we're taking a look at Percy Jackson, its sequel series and its spin-off series.  This is less of a formal review, and more of a look back, along with my thoughts and observations.  Last time we began our look back at Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard with a look back at The Sword of Summer.  This time we're beginning our look back at The Trials of Apollo.  We're taking a look back at The Hidden Oracle, The Trials of Apollo book 1.  As per usual, let's kick things off with a brief summary.  

Apollo is the Greek god of the sun, music, poetry, medicine and archery among other things.  At least, he was anyway.  Lately he's been feeling down in the dumps, and not just because he's just landed in a dumpster.  Zeus has stripped Apollo of his godly powers and forced him to live as the lowly Lester Papadopoulos.  The sources of prophecy have gone dark, and if Apollo wants his godhood back, he's going to have to restore them.  First his first mission, he's heading to Camp Half-Blood to seek the help of a powerful demigod.  A child of the elder Olympians, a demigod destined to do great things.  A demigod named...Meg McCaffery, daughter of Demeter!

As per usual, spoilers ahoy are to be found beyond this point.  Turn back now if you don't want any of that.

Even before the end of The Blood of Olympus, I think we all knew that a third Camp Half-Blood series was on the way.  The sources of prophecy going dark was too big of a plot thread to leave dangling.  It's a bit early to say, because the series is still incomplete as of this writing, but it is shaping up to be one of Riordan's best series yet.  I really hope I don't come to regret saying that, but I'm going to keep a cautiously optimistic attitude.  In many ways, The Trials of Apollo feels as though it was written to address the criticisms of The Heroes of Olympus.  It has a very back-to-basics feel to it.  Apollo and Meg are the main focus of the book.  While there are other characters, they are complimentary, rather than being the over-bloated roster that The Heroes of Olympus had.  Also notable is the limited scope of the book; it takes place almost entirely at Camp Half-Blood.  Camp Half-Blood has always played an important role, but this is the first book set almost exclusively at the camp.

Apollo's characterization...took some getting used to, but it still seemed a bit off.  Back in The Titan's Curse, he was the Mr. Cool Dude with maybe a dash of surfer dude.  Come this book, he's become a total queen.  Apollo gets a bit of a undeserved reputation for being a puff by modern audiences, because of the whole god music and poetry thing.  Well, that and his many male lovers, but there were plenty of other gods who had same-sex lovers, and I don't mean just Zeus.  In ancient times, however, Apollo was considered one of the manliest of the gods.  I should also note that this is the first time we've ever had a book from a god's point-of-view.

On a related note, this series finally addresses the fact that most of the gods are bisexual.  Not only that, but apparently the gods can have demigod children with same-sex lovers.  Now I know that a lot of readers objected to when Apollo pauses to explain his sexuality to the readers.  It didn't bother me, but I can understand why it rubbed some people the wrong way.  All I'm saying is, it was downright nuanced compared to the complete and utter shitshow that is Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.  Funnily enough, turns out Apollo met Frey and Jack in a bar in Stockholm once, albeit he doesn't remember their names.

Apollo's human name does have some significance.  Papadopoulos is the most common last name in Greece.  In other words, Apollo has been turned into a no-name nobody.  Papadopoulos means son of a priest in Greek, which is kind of funny, since getting called a son of a priest in Greece is an insult.  The children of Greek Orthodox priests, who unlike Roman Catholic priest can get married and have families, have a reputation for being wild and unruly.

Percy's characterization also struck me as a bit off.  On the one hand, I can understand that he'd be pretty pissed about having to be dragged on yet another tour of duty for the gods.  On the other hand, it all really goes against his previous characterization.  Percy might not always have enjoyed having to save the world on a constant basis, but he never backed down nor tried to runway from his responsibility as the world's defender.  You can make the argument that, at the beginning of the book, he didn't know how urgent things were.  By the end of the book, however, that just does not hold water.  He knows the world is danger and goes "piss off, I have homework to do."  Back in The Son of Neptune, Percy had the choice runaway to the sea, but he pressed on even knowing how hard it would be.  The way he's written in The Hidden Oracle, you'd get the impression that Riordan had grown somewhat resentful of his greatest creation.  On the third hand, I'll admit that Percy's reaction seems ways more realistic than Jason does in The Burning Maze.  More on that when we get to it.

Also, why does the University of New Rome charge tuition, and why do they have a special test to take to get in.  What could their test possible test for that a mortal test wouldn't?  It does make sense that New Rome would have an economy, but Percy talks as though the admission fee is pretty bad, explaining why he's aiming to have a scholarship.  Though, I will say, I'm glad that Percy finally came to his senses and joined his school's swim team.  He's also got a baby sister on the way.  Doing the math, would have been conceived around the time Hera/Juno put Percy into a coma.  Does that mean Mrs. Jackson and Paul had her because they thought they'd lost Percy?  Did Mrs. Jackson want at least one kid who wouldn't constantly be going on dangerous quests all the time?  Percy never really mentioned that his mom and Paul were thinking about having a kid, so you never know.

Now let's talk about Meg.  Demeter and her children have always kind of been the butt of jokes in the Riordanverse.  As such, it was bit of a pleasant surprise that a daughter of Demeter turned out to be one of our protagonists.  It is through Meg that the long-standing theory that children of Demeter have the power to make plants grow was confirmed.  On a darker note, Meg is an excellent example of a child in abusive parental relationship.  Nero wasn't mean to her all of the time, and that's reflective of a lot of abusive parents.  Abusive parents often have their moments of kindness, and because of this, abused children will often rationalize the behavior of their parents.  Percy says as much at the end of the book.

I suppose I ought to talk about Nero.  I'd been wondering when Riordan was going to incorporate the emperors of Rome.  Nero and the other members of the Triumvirate make for an interesting contrast to previous villains.  They might not be powerful deities, like Kronos and Gaea, but that doesn't mean they're any less deadly.  Arguably, they're an even bigger threat, as they rely on their wits and cunning rather than brute force.  As it turns out, Luke and Octavian were funded by the Triumvirate.  Unfortunately, there is a minor plot hole.  Roman emperors were indeed deified after their deaths as part of the Imperial Cult.  However, bad emperors, such as Nero and Caligula, were denied the Imperial Cult after their death.  I'm hoping future books will explain this discrepancy.

Also, when Nero is about to burn the trapped campers, and the Grove of Dodona, Apollo says "Don't trust him Meg, he burned Christians!"  Um, Apollo, quick question, why do you care about that?  It sure seems weird that a pagan deity would care about Christians being killed.  Especially given that Christians are a big part of the reason that the Greek and Roman gods are no longer worshiped, except for a handful of Neo-Pagans.  I also found it rather annoying that Apollo constantly referred to Nero as a nackbeard.  It was a pretty obvious attempt by Riordan to prove that he's hip and down with the kids, and it failed miserably.  Rick, it is a trite but true staying that you don't have to be cool to rule our world.  Just be yourself.

Nero almost did something Kronos and Gaea could have only dreamed of: destroying Camp Half-Blood itself.  You knew that hearth in the center of the cabin grounds?  Turns out that's the heart of camp, and if it is destroyed then the camp dies and stops moving from nation to nation.  The land around it would have been useless for centuries, and Chiron and the campers would have no home.  A chilling thought indeed.  Still, where was Hestia?  She's the one who tends the hearth, and is goddess of the hearth, so shouldn't she have been able to defend it?

After a long absence, Rachel is finally back, and she's gone a bit nuts from losing her prophecy powers.  Hey, she did give up boys and dating to be the Oracle of Delphi, she does have a bit of case to be pissed at Apollo.  I'm hoping she shows up again in future books of the series.

The way Rhea was portrayed was kind of lazy.  Riordan already used all his hippie jokes with Iris, so having Rhea be a hippie too just smacks of lazy writing.  On the flip side, I loved getting to meet the new campers.  Of particular note are Chiara Benvenuti, a daughter of Tyche from Italy, and Paolo Montes, a son of Hebe from Brazil.  They are nods to the Italian fandom and the Brazilian fandom respectively.  It is certainly nice to see that the international Percy Jackson fandom is getting recognition.  Though, wouldn't it make more sense for Chiara to be a Camp Jupiter camper?  Granted, the Ancient Greeks did have colonies in Southern Italy.  Also, why can't Chiron speak Portuguese?  Shouldn't he have magical omniglot powers?  If not, you'd think he would have mastered most languages if only out of shear boredom from having lived for so long.  It is nice to see some more children of the minor gods get a bit more time in the spotlight. 

During this book we discover that, though Chiron tries his best to discourage it, maiming isn’t unheard of at Camp Half-Blood.  Paolo can attest to that, but never fear, the Apollo campers are masters at reattaching severed limbs.  Yeah, Harley from Hephaestus Cabin sure seems to get a bit too much pleasure out of hurting his fellow campers.  Chiron might want to keep an eye on him.  We also learn that Mr. D still hasn't come back.  I've said it before, but I'm surprised at how much I miss him and Clarisse, who has apparently gone off to college.  Travis has also left for college, and Connor is learning to be responsible and keep his younger siblings in line.  This is further proof that the Stoll brothers are indeed not twins.

So, Nico and Will are officially a couple now.  As I've previously stated, it was unexpected, but it worked out in the end.  It looks like Nico might be getting some happiness for the first time in a while.  And hey, at least they've got more to their personalities than being gay, and they aren't jerks, unlike Alex Fierro.  On a less than pleasant note, this book sees the return of Leo Valdez. You know, it's kind of fitting that his last name is Valdez, because he's a complete disaster of a character.  Just as I feared, the return of Leo also meant we had to hear the other characters gushing about what a great guy he is.  Although, we did get to see Percy and Calypso meeting each other again, so I guess it wasn't a total waste.

With the main villains of the series being Roman emperors, and going off of later books, it looks like Roman Mythology is going to be much more at the forefront of The Trials of Apollo.  One of my issues with The Heroes of Olympus was that, even though it introduced Roman Mythology to the Riordanverse, it felt like it got a bit sidelined in favor of more Greek Mythology.  As such, I'm glad to see that The Trials of Apollo is working to correct that, and to incorporate more Roman History as well.  I'm hoping that more Greek History will also be incorporated in future books.

As per usual, there is an excellent audiobook version that I'm going to plug.  It is narrated by Robbie Daymond.  Maybe he isn't quite as iconic as Jesse Bernstien, but he's better than the narrators of The Heroes of Olympus.  Though that is not to say that they were terrible, or anything of that sort.

Now let's analyze the cover.  We see Apollo crouching in the alleyway in New York City, not too far from the dumpster he landed in.  In the background is a golden glowing image of his former godly glory.  Note how the alleyway is far drabber than Apollo's godly self.

I hope I didn't sound overly negative or nitpicky.  The Hidden Oracle was a breath of fresh air after The Blood of Olympus, and I enjoyed it very much.

Well that should do it for now.  I know I said we'd alternate between Trails of Apollo and Magnus Chase, but we have one more Trails of Apollo book to look at before we return to Magnus Chase.  As such, join me again next time when we take a look back at Camp Half-Blood Confidential.  I hope to see you all next time.