Percy Jackson: The Titan's Curse || A Book Review

Oooooh, boy.

Satyrs and minotaurs, Rick Riordan is a genius. He knows how to write a series, and he's doing wonders.

Ahem, anyway, this is my third book review for the Percy Jackson series. You can read the first one here, and the second one here.

So we're all caught up? Okey dokey. With Thalia, daughter of Zeus, back, everything seems okay. Well, until they find out that there are two more half-blood siblings, and one of them becomes a huntress, and Annabeth gets kidnapped. Percy, Grover, Thalia, Zoë (a huntress), and Bianca di Angelo (the half-blood huntress) set out across America to find Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, who has been kidnapped by Kronos's general, Atlas. Well, Percy's more in it to save Annabeth, but he doesn't let anyone in on that. Percy's back to his old adventures, running away from monsters and slashing his sword, Riptide, as he tries to save his friend.

!!! SPOILERS AHEAD (not the ending, though!) !!!

This book was the spaghetti to my tomato sauce. The ravioli to my pickles. My first impression when I saw the book's title was disappointed. I didn't want any more of the Titans; Kronos, tartarus, etc. I wanted more of Percy Jackson. But I was not disappointed when I started reading. It was more Percy than I ever could have wanted. We got to see a quirky new character, Blackjack, Percy's pegasus, who is hilarious and full of character.

Blackjack, Percy's pegasus

A ton of hay, maybe, Blackjack mused. That sounds good. All right, but be careful, boss. I got a feeling they didn't come here to meet anything friendly and handsome like me.

He's kind of like Donkey in Shrek! The character who always jokes when there's nothing to joke about.

We also got introduced to Zoë Nightshade, a feisty 2000-year-old, though she looks around fourteen. She is one of Artemis' ladies of the Hunt, and it's what it sounds like. Artemis and her ladies go around hunting animals. I really like Zoë and her personality, though she can be a little difficult at times, I understand her. She often doesn't understand modern slang. For example, when they're visiting the Hoover Dam, they decide they're going to go into the snack bar.

Zoë Nightshade.

"Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoë said. "We should eat while we can."

Grover cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?

Zoë blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"

"Nothing," Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam french fries."

Even Thalia smiled at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom."

Anyway, it goes on like that for a while. The name of the chapter is even "I Have A Dam Problem." Such humor, haha.

"Stars," she [Zoë] whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady."

A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. "Yes, brave one. They are beautiful tonight."

Thalia Grace.

The other character we were introduced to was Thalia Grace. She's a lot like Percy. A natural-born leader, hard-headed, and brave. Thalia and Percy are either hugging or at each other's necks. I love Thalia, because she just seems so free-spirited, like no chains would ever be enough to hold her down.

"Rubbing the toes," Thalia said.

And finally, the last two characters are two half-bloods. Older sister Bianca di Angelo, is 12 years old (or 84, more on that later), and her little brother, Nico di Angelo, 10 (or 82). They are orphans, and lawyers pay for their school and such. They're first seen at Westover Hall, where Bianca is scolding her little brother. Nico seems friendly and excitable at first. He has a passion for a card game called Mythomagic, which is a game with cards and Greek god figurines.

Nico asks lots of questions.

Was Annabeth my girlfriend? (At this point, I [Percy] was ready to stick the kid in a meat-flavored snack and throw him to the wolves.)

Bianca and Nico di Angelo.

 But he shows off his dark streak when Percy tells him some upsetting news. Nico is last seen running into the woods, after he tells Percy he hates him and wants him to die... Yeesh. Anyway, I hope Nico comes back, and is okay.

Bianca is Nico's older sister, and she took care of him all their lives. When Percy and Artemis rescue them, Bianca makes a quick choice to join the Hunt. Percy is disappointed, and so is Nico, since only girls can join it.

So, about their ages. Well, you know how in my first book review, I talked about how they got trapped in the Lotus Hotel and Casino? Well, the same exact thing happen to these small children. They eventually got out, but they were trapped there for years, and since Bianca joined the hunt and is immortal now, that means she still has many years to go.

Aaaaalso, there was some sort of romantic tension between Percy and Annabeth. Take this scene where they were dancing, for example.

So we went to the dance floor, and I looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things. I put one hand on Annabeth's hip, and she clasped the other hand like she about to judo throw me.

Percy and Annabeth dancing awkwardly.

[...] We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl- anything but the fact that Annabeth was taller than me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes.

Then they danced again during the Olympus celebration party.

"So," Annabeth said. "What did you want to tell me earlier?" 

The music was playing. People were dancing in the streets. I said, "I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And... I think I owe you a dance."

She smiled slowly. "All right, Seaweed Brain."

So I took her hand, and I don't know what everybody else heard, but to me it sound like a slow dance: a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful, too.

Now, if that's not cute, then I don't know what is.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book, and don't have anything negative to say about it! I hope this review encouraged you to read the book (which I highly recommend you do)! See ya!