Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsLoved the series, but disappointed in the final book
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2014
I'm very sad to be saying goodbye to a good series and to some characters I met 6 years ago. I'm also very sad I'm giving it three stars. It was an ok book, not nearly as good as the others. I was definitely expecting more out of it. It had a very entertaining plot, but it felt so rushed like Riordan just wanted to get it over with. The characters that Riordan chose to give POVs were Nico, Reyna, Jason, Piper, and Leo. I loved learning more about Nico. In my opinion, he was one of the most interesting characters in book. Leo is still determined to find Ogygia again, but I was disappointed that it wasn't spoken about more. Jason and Piper were ok characters, not really unlikeable or likeable. I don't think they had enough time to develop. Reyna's story was rather boring. We do learn about her past, but I think that could've easily been found out through one of the other characters POVs. She didn't really deserve her own POV.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
Now lets get on to the things that made one of my favorite authors get three stars for this book. I was so sad and disappointed that Percy or Annabeth didn't get their own POV. Percy was the one that basically started it all! In this book, he seemed to be put into the background along with Annabeth. I strongly believed that Percy should've had his own POV in probably the last long book he would ever appear in. In the book, we also heard a lot about Percy's big flaw, but we never ended up seeing it in action.
This is less important, but I still would've like to see more of Grover, Tyson, and of course how can you forget about Mrs. O'Leary. I would've even been happy with more Clarisse and Thalia.
Last of all, I was a bit disappointed in the ending. The ending was rushed which made it seem like all the buildup about Gaea and the giants rising was wasted. They do rise, but then they're defeated right away. In the beginning of the book, Rick Riordan warned me that there would be a cliffhanger, but I didn't think that it would be one I pondered for days after. I really wished he'd tied up all loose ends because all of Leo's friends basically think Leo is dead when he isn't. I can't help but wonder if they ever find out if Leo is still alive.
It was still a good book, and worth reading. Those were just my problems with it. I would for sure recommend it to others. I am super happy that Rick Riordan is writing another series, and can't wait until it comes out.
