Inside cover blurb:
“The god Apollo, cast down to earth and trapped in the form of a gawky teenage boy as punishment, must set off on the second of his harrowing (and hilarious) trials. He and his companions seek the ancient oracles – restoring them is the only way for Apollo to reclaim his place on Mount Olympus – but this is easier said than done. Somewhere in the American Midwest is a haunted cave that may hold answers for Apollo in his quest to become a god again…if it doesn’t kill him or drive him insane first.
Standing in Apollo’s way is the second member of the evil Triumvirate – a Roman emperor whose love of bloodshed and spectacle makes even Nero look tame. To survive the encounter, Apollo will need the help of a now-mortal goddess, a bronze dragon, and some familiar demigod faces from Camp Half-Blood. With them by his side, can Apollo face down the greatest challenge of his 4,000 years of existence?”
-from publisher
Thoughts:
At this point, I am just reading these books out of obligation. I loved the Percy Jackson series and The Heroes of Olympus. The Kane Chronicles were actually my favorite, even though he wrote the least of them. Magnus Chase…was hard for me to get into, but I eventually began to enjoy it.
Trials of Apollo on the other hand…
I have attempted to explain why I dislike this series to several people, so it’s more concise and easier to follow now- it’s just too much.
Rick Riordan books already take a pretty hefty suspension of disbelief to get into. He really lays it on thick with the voice of his characters- they are all teenagers with magical, godly powers who have a quick comeback and pop culture reference for every situation.
Trials of Apollo takes that voice and multiplies it by one million. Not only are we listening to the thoughts of a super-powered teen, we are getting the inner monologue of a GOD. It’s just too much for me.
So I keep reading these Apollo books, but I’m mostly just skimming. Nothing much seemed to happen with the plot of this installment so I don’t think I missed much.
Plus: Cool Roman monsters like Blemmyae. I always enjoy the mythical elements Riordan uses.
Minus: 400 pages of not a whole lot happens.
If you like this book, try:
The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Rick Yancey- Now people think The 5th Wave when they think of Yancey, but way back when, he wrote this charming book about a kid who gets caught up in a scheme to steal King Arthur’s sword. An oldie, but a goodie!