Story:
Percy Jackson, while on the run from monsters, finds himself at a camp that is modeled after Rome on a smaller scale. While settling in, some of his new friends are assigned a quest to head north to find a lost relic that could save the camp from an incoming invasion of Gaea's forces.
It was interesting to see a camp that was modeled after Rome instead of our own camps. The author clearly did his research in the lifestyles of Ancient Rome, and managed to bring them successfully into the twenty-first century. The term for the location of the quest, The Land Beyond The Gods, reminded me of Hadrian's Wall in Britain, as the Romans were never able to push their way into Scotland. When reading this, I felt like Riordan took that piece of history, and added a mythological twist to it. I did enjoy how he took the traditional descriptions of some monsters, and managed to make them work in this story. He has successfully expanded his mythology universe to include the influences of Rome, and that will continue to build as the series progresses.
Caution:
A girl is skewered, but doesn't die. Monsters attack the characters, and many are injured. Some action sequences may be intense.
Lessons:
If we ignore the counsels and teachings of the prophets, we may find ourselves in spiritual and physical danger. People deserve a second chance to do the right thing. We can learn a lot about ourselves by learning about our ancestors.
When it seems like everything's going smoothly, they go wrong. Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood end up preparing for war while Percy and his friends have to flee across the sea to Rome in order to stop Gaea. Annabeth is forced on a side quest by her mother to right a wrong committed to the goddess centuries ago, and she may not survive it. No one in the team is going to walk away from this unscathed.
I really enjoyed how the characters are leaving the New World and heading back east, to the lands of ancient myth. It adds more to these modern myths by having them retrace the roots of the ancient heroes. My biggest pain with this book was Athena, and the quest she gives her daughter just screamed "suicide" to me. However, upon thinking about it, I saw things differently, and while my initial shock has abated, I still gained one lesson, one that several adaptations seemed to forget: the gods of Greece and Rome were petty, and cared nothing for humanity. I did enjoy the history and archaeology involved with this story, and waiting for the next book will be torture.
Lessons:
We should learn what we can about our heritage and learn from the mistakes of the past. There will come a time when we will be tried and tested, and it will be painful and difficult times for us, but if we have faith and persevere, we will emerge better than before.
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