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I zoomed through The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian, and have now finished the Percy Jackson books! I'm pretty sure The Titan's Curse is still my favorite, but I can definitely say that Riordan stuck the landing, and dealt with at least some of the things I was hoping he would. Just in general, I've grown much fonder of the series than I ever expected to - there's just something very endearing about the books. And a bunch of you can come say 'I told you so' now, if you want.
(Also, for some reason seeing the Achilles myth replayed with a female Achilles and Patroclus filled me with enormous and inexplicable amounts of joy. I don't even like the Achilles story that much! Achilles was a jerk! So I don't know where this joy comes from, but if it makes me happy why question it?)
One thing I did find myself noticing, though, especially in the last book, is how often Riordan presents us with important relationships that have been apparently developing in the background without Percy noticing, and then uses those relationships for plot development and emotional impact. Grover and Juniper, Clarisse and Chris, Silena and Beckendorf, Clarisse and Silena - these relationships have enormous repurcussions for the story, some of them verging into the realm of epic tragedy, and they're pretty much all introduced with an offhanded comment along the lines of "oh, and Clarisse and Silena were BFF now because of something that happened offscreen between last book and now." I mean, on the one hand, since the books are all first-person POV and most of these things happen while Percy isn't paying attention, it makes sense - and I generally don't have complaints about riding out the series inside Percy's head; he's a likeable narrator, and I don't feel frustrated by being stuck there the way I did in, for example, Harry Potter's head. But I do wish that Riordan could have figured out a way to show the buildup of some of those other stories before they became directly plot-important, even just in hints around the edges.
Also, I would read the hell out of the Epic Adventures of Clarisse, Daughter of Ares. I'm just saying.
(Also, for some reason seeing the Achilles myth replayed with a female Achilles and Patroclus filled me with enormous and inexplicable amounts of joy. I don't even like the Achilles story that much! Achilles was a jerk! So I don't know where this joy comes from, but if it makes me happy why question it?)
One thing I did find myself noticing, though, especially in the last book, is how often Riordan presents us with important relationships that have been apparently developing in the background without Percy noticing, and then uses those relationships for plot development and emotional impact. Grover and Juniper, Clarisse and Chris, Silena and Beckendorf, Clarisse and Silena - these relationships have enormous repurcussions for the story, some of them verging into the realm of epic tragedy, and they're pretty much all introduced with an offhanded comment along the lines of "oh, and Clarisse and Silena were BFF now because of something that happened offscreen between last book and now." I mean, on the one hand, since the books are all first-person POV and most of these things happen while Percy isn't paying attention, it makes sense - and I generally don't have complaints about riding out the series inside Percy's head; he's a likeable narrator, and I don't feel frustrated by being stuck there the way I did in, for example, Harry Potter's head. But I do wish that Riordan could have figured out a way to show the buildup of some of those other stories before they became directly plot-important, even just in hints around the edges.
Also, I would read the hell out of the Epic Adventures of Clarisse, Daughter of Ares. I'm just saying.
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Anyway, I was definitely satisfied by the resolution, and am also excited for the sequel series, which I have been spoiled for as much as it is possible to be and am definitely intrigued by. (And will probably get around to the Egyptian Gods series one of these days soon, too.)
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Oh and I'm liking Fire and Hemlock more as I keep reading, Polly is very real.
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While Fire and Hemlock is a controversial book, Polly's definitely one of DWJ's most fleshed-out and real heroines (and I say this as someone who loves all of DWJ's heroines.) I will also forever love her for the terrible melodramatic teenaged fanfiction alone.
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How much did you totally love Hestia actually having a role? Talk about Ascended Extra. Also, and I think you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when I ask: DID YOU CRY?
Silena and Beckendorf did actually have a short story about them getting together. It's in The Demigod Files, along with two others.
So The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero comes out next month. It's set a couple of years after The Last Olympian and has a new hero named Jason. Apparently Percy is a damsel in distress.
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. . . I don't think I knew about the Demigod Files, actually! What else is in there?
I have heard about the Percy getting kidnapped thing and ALREADY I find it hilarious. It is his turn!
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Uhhhhh. A map. A schedule, I think. A picture of the inside of Annabeth's suitcase. Interviews with Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and the Stoll brothers. Those were fun. For the most part it's...somewhat blah, except for the short stories. Oh! One of the short stories is about Percy and Clarisse. I...can't remember the other one.
It has already been carried by fandom to the logical conclusion: Percy chained to a rock with Annabeth coming to his rescue.
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Maybe I will just hunt for other ways to find the short stories. >.> I am always looking for more Clarisse! (I guess it is not really a surprise that the fandom does not provide one million Clarisse-centric stories for my viewing pleasure, but if I were in charge of fandom that's what it would be doing.)
. . . I would endorse this conclusion. *dying* Bonus points if Annabeth gets a winged horse and a snappy one-liner while she's doing it!
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She did show up on a winged horse in the LH preview!
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THEN I COULD NOT ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE.
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I'd love a series about Clarisse (or Clarisse and Annabeth having an adventure back when they and Luke were basically the only kids at camp year round, when all the other kids had gone home) or the huntresses. Sadly, we're stuck with a hero based on Jason, who has, like, no redeeming qualities. I mean, with Achilles, at least he was prone to carrying eternal grudges and even dropping out of wars when you mistreated women.
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. . . as discussed above, though, I'll go with a lot if it comes with Percy hilariously damseled and Annabeth riding to the rescue.
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(oooh, I might just do that! Perspehone has so much potential)
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(It's still not the most complex portrait, but I was very fond of Mysterious Secret Superheroine Persephone Working to Better the Lives of the Dead. Which is a spoiler but kind of an obvious one, so I don't mind iving it to you.)