In book two of The Heroes of Olympus cycle, Riordan comes through on the perceived promise of keeping things as exciting as in The Percy Jackson and the Olympians cycle. I’ve already discussed my lack of enthusiasm over the Kane Chronicles so I’ll move right in to this review/summary/pontification.
This novel takes place immediately after the events of The Lost Hero. However, rather than continuing with Leo, Piper and Jason we finally get to catch up with Percy Jackson. Not only do we not find out what happened over the past eight months, he was apparently sleeping, but he also appears with very little recollection of who he is and what he’s done in the recent past. (However, he knows more than Jason – I guess because his story was already written.) Instead of waking up in Camp Half-Blood, he is on the run from various monsters and steadily making his way to Camp Jupiter – a Roman demigod camp located somewhere in California – where all Greeks face a cold welcome.
I could be predictable and say the story is about the English patient, as the title suggests, or any of the main characters, but it’s not. It’s not even about living through World War II. To me this novel is about survival.