Search - The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Bk 5)

My niece (she's almost 11) and I have decided that we like Percy Jackson better than Harry Potter. This book arrived on the day it was released and she had to read it first, and it will go back to her as a keeper. It's an action packed battle with a satisfying conclusion to the series as well as leaving an opening for another series, maybe featuring different heroes. Percy makes some very adult decisions and really is a good role model. If you haven't introduced your preteen to this series, they are missing out.

This is the final book in the "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" saga (there is another series scheduled for release in Oct. 2010, also about Greek mythology but it starts a new story arc with mostly new characters so it's a different series). This book sees the Great Prophecy made in the first book brought to its conclusion. While the gods are busy fighting the Typhon (which they see as the bigger threat), Percy and his friends are left to defend Mount Olympus from Kronos and his army. This will difficult since Luke (who houses Kronos's entity) has somehow become invincible and Percy must find out how to defeat him. Also making things difficult is the fact that all the mortals in NYC seem to have been put to sleep and Percy & co. must try to protect these bystanders as well during the battles that follow. Finally, Percy must juggle the feelings he's developing for Annabeth and Rachel Elizabeth Dare (hey, it can't all be battles to save the world).

This book brought the series to a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed reading it. This one doesn't seem to focus on parallel myths as much as the others did, but new gods are still introduced. My favorite was Hestia; I really enjoyed the way Riordan brought her into the story. I also liked seeing a side of Percy's mom that we haven't had the chance to see before (you'll know it when you get to that part). This is a great series for YA readers, and reluctant readers will probably enjoy this series since it's very fast paced and doesn't have a lot of downtime to get bogged down in. I didn't want to like this series (I only started it to see what all the fuss was about), but I'm really glad that I read it! :-)

Good reading, definately geared to a younger reader. Passing this on on to my two nephews.

Awesome! I'm not really fully satisfied with the series ending, since I was left wondering what the heck happens to everyone, but it was a great addition to the series, and a great end to the main storyline. I loved it.

This was an amazing book by Rickn Riordan.

I've had this for a few months now, and got around to reading it while sick. Like most of the Percy Jacksons series, this is entertaining and I could see running or playing a game in this setting.

This is the last volume of the current Percy Jackson series. The book starts with Percy leaving a driving lesson in a hurry for a mission against the Titans to blow up The Princess Andromeda. The mission does not go well. From there Percy heads to Poseidon's palace, then back to Camp Halfblood. There we learns that the Titans have freed Typhon and the Greek Gods are battling him across the country to slow him down. Which leaves the demigods at Camp Halfblood to defend Olympus while the Gods are away. Add in that the full text of the prophecy regarding Percy is revealed and it states that Percy may die on his birthday, coming up in a week.

The story is interesting and fun. Not very deep, but fun. I liked the characters, and Percy is a good character for YA books - likable, entertaining and bright (but not so bright that the readers wouldn't be a step ahead of him). I found the ending to be a bit odd - almost a double ending. It didn't disappoint but the pacing was weird. However, I loved Percy's reward for his efforts

Likes: Sense of desperation, Gods at their petty worst, not the same line up as the last Titanomachy (minor gods and 'good' Titans on the side of the Titans), Percy deciding to get an edge.

Dislikes: The addendum to the prophecy and the loop hole reading that Riordan uses.