Art Reads Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

[Artemis97]

So, after years of seeing them on the shelves and thinking, those are too kid-like for me, I've finally broken down and checked out Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief from the library. I've always gone back and forth about reading this series. About the only detractor was that I'm not the target audience. But I love Greek mythology. I also really liked the movies, even though, of course, the books are better. Anyways, I thought I'd do some reading and share my thoughts with you. There's going to be a lot of contrast with the movies, because that's what I know. So without further ado...

Spoiler: Chapter 1

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Percy is your average kid that no one understands~

Actually, he's not average. He mentioned being a half-blood, but doesn't explain what this means, other than to say it's dangerous. Gets a little meta saying if you can read this as fiction good for you. I'm really curious how being a half-blood somehow allowed him to aim a loaded cannon at a school bus. But that's probably a noodle moment that won't be explained further.

I'm surprised at how young Percy is compared to his movie self. He's only 12 here, so I have to shift my mental picture a bit. Grover is... dorkier, but seems nice. Knowing his role later, it makes sense that he seems older than Percy. This Nancy girl is a prick, makes me wonder if she's one of the monsters too, or if she's just a jerk. Mr. Brunner seems like an awesome teacher. I'm a history major, and I've always loved the more hands on lessons from my teachers. Ms Dodd... is excentric for wearing a leather jacket all the time, but there's nothing that points her out as being a bad guy, other than disliking Percy so much. And liking Nancy. Who can like Nancy? I mean who eats ketchup and peanut butter?

Anyways, we get a scene with a carved stele, which depicts the myth of Kronos and Zeus and the other gods. Percy actually knows his stuff when questioned, though Mr. Brunner adds more detail with the mustard and wine vomit inducing mixture. Brunner seems to expect more of Percy and is disappointed when he can't apply myth to real life. I know the kid's a half-blood, but even I'm hard pressed to think of how a creation myth like Kronos eating his kids applies to real life, and I've studied the classics.

Then we break for lunch and Nancy gets dunked in the fountain. I like how this plays out, because Percy's not sure how it happened, but someone saw the water grab her. Grover tries to take the blame, but too late, Mrs. Dodd has her eye on Percy. They enter the now strangely empty gallery and she transforms. Percy calls this weird. I think maybe a bit stronger language could be used here. Bizarre perhaps or F-ing INSANE. And then Brunnor shows up with the pen, which is actually a sword, and percy swings it at Mrs. Dodd and she goes poof. And then it's a pen again, and Mr Brunner's not there.

And then NO ONE remembers Mrs. Dodd. What, exactly, is going on here? How do you not remember your algebra teacher, who was talking to you earlier that day? I'd expect at least Grover to remember her, since he all but confirms she's not human. But no. So I'm left really confused. I guess I'll have to keep reading to find out. On to the next chapter!

Spoiler: Chapter 2

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Percy gets back to school and no one remember Mrs. Dodd, only Ms. Kerr who joined the school at the tail end of the field trip. Percy's school life keeps getting worse. He keeps picking fights with stupid Nancy (she's not worth your time, dude). He calls his English teacher an "old sot" which must have been too close to the mark because he's soon told he's being expelled.

Percy tries really hard on his Latin exam (who gives a 3 hour Latin exam to a 12 year old? I like Brunner less for that), and studies like mad, but then gets the idea to actually talk to his teacher and ask for help. So he goes down to Brunner's office and overhears Grover talking to Mr. Brunner. Percy's in danger. There's some summer solstice deadline. Mrs Dodds was real! Also some strange sights and sounds, clopping and someone tall possibly holding a bow (is it me? no no it's not). Percy manages to stay hidden from Grover and Brunner in the hallway and goes back to his dorm.

A bit later, Percy goes home on a greyhound bus, with Grover right beside him, going back to New York. Grover's acting all fidgety and Percy asks if he's looking for "kindly ones" which he over heard Grover talking about to Mr. Brunner. Now I'm not sure what a Kindly One is, but I don't think it's good news. Grover starts to open up about things, and gives percy a business card. Then the bus breaks down. This screams trap to me. But no, they breakdown across the street from a fruit stand where three spindly old ladies are knitting some giant socks from electric blue yarn. Riordan spends a bit of time mentioning how luscious the fruit is, I feel like someone's going to be tempted to eat it, but no one does. The ladies just stare at Percy and *snip* cut the yarn. This freaks out Grover, who mentions something about "they never make it past sixth grade."

Now, knowing a bit about greek mythology, I'm pretty certain those old ladies are the Fates. You don't want them snipping your yarn any time soon. But Percy isn't dead... yet.

Spoiler: Chapter 3

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Percy gets back to the city and immediately ditches his best friend Grover. Good going Perce, real classy. He then ends up in his mother's appartment. Well, it's his stepfather's apartment. And his stepfather, Mr. Ugliano (Mr. Ugly?) is a poor excuse for a human being. He immediately demands money from Percy to pay for his gambling habit. This burns me up for a few reasons, I won't go into here. The man smells horrible, and has a horrible personality.

Then Percy turns to talking about his mother and you can just feel the love he has for her. They've been dealt a bad hand, but she takes it all with grace. We find out about Percy's father. He was important, probably rich, but was then lost at sea. Not dead. Lost at sea.

Percy and his mom convince Mr. Ugly that they were going to go to the cabin on the beach, after a bit of negotiation they leave and drive up to the place, arriving at sunset. This place is special to his mother, because it's where she met Percy's father. They talk for a while, eat blue foods, but never get around to what happened to Percy with Mrs. Dodds or with the Fates, or Grover being so paranoid.

Percy talks a but about his strange experiences in the past. One that stuck out at me was when he killed a snake in his sleeping mat in kindergarten. Very Herculean. Or at least, Disney's Hercules... Man I need to study my myths again. He then has what seems to be a prophetic dream with two animals fighting on the beach, an Eagle and a Horse. Now I know the symbol of Zeus is the Eagle, and Poseidon is a god of Horses. The godly brothers are fighting, and percy feels he has to stop them, but he's running too slow. He wakes up and there's a storm raging outside. His mother wakes too, when someone bangs on the door. It's Grover... and he's not wearing any pants. Normally this would be a problem, but he's got fur and cloven hooves.

Spoiler: Chapter 4

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So Grover's a Satyr, half goat half man. And we're riding dangerously fast down the back country roads of Long Island towards a summer camp that Percy's dad wanted him to go to but his mom didn't. Which is odd because Percy's dad disappeared before he was born.

A bolt of lightning strikes the car and sends it careening into a ditch. Grover's out cold, but mom's alright, Percy's a bit dazed, but functioning. They all crawl out of the car and there's this guy... the Minotaur, Percy eventually realizes, and it's after them. Percy manages to dodge away, but his mom can't and she's caught by the Minotaur. He gets her in a one handed choke hold and she disappears in golden light. This, understandably, pisses Percy off. So when the Minotaur comes for him again, he leaps on its back and snaps off one of its horns. He then tumbles off its back and uses the horn to stab the Minotaur, making it dissolve much in the same way Mrs. Dodds did.

Percy then drags Grover over the property line of the camp, marked by a giant pine tree, and down to the lit farm house. The last things he sees is a man and a blonde girl with curly "princess" hair. Before passing out.

Spoiler: Chapter 5

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Percy wakes up, having weird dreams, and being fed pudding that tastes like buttered popcorn. There's a guy with too many eyes, and the blonde girl, Annabeth, is there. When he finally wakes up properly, he's seated in a lounge chair on the deck, talking to Grover. It's a beautiful day and everything seems normal, until Grover passes him a shoe box that holds the Minotaur's horn. Percy realizes it's all real, it all happened, and his mother is gone. Grover gives Percy a drink, which tastes like his mother's fresh made chocolate chip cookies. I suspect this is Ambrosia of some sort. That gives him enough strength to get up and walk around the corner.

There, is Mr. Brunner, now Chiron, and Mr. D, along with Annabeth. Annabeth gets sent off rather quickly, and the group discusses the existence of the Greek Gods. I liked how Riordan doesn't discount the existence of capital G God while confirming the existence of the Greek Gods. It was something he could have easily done, but I suspect that would have made a lot of people mad. I like the concept that the greek pantheon is tied to Western Civilization, and move based on where the heart of that civilization is.

A neat part was Chiron revealing himself as a centaur, stepping out of the "box" that was his wheelchair. After that, it's off to find Percy a place to stay!

OK, I think I'm gong to read more and talk less from here on out. I am definitely into the story and can't wait to see where it goes, but I'm going to read more chapters before writing my speals here, instead of taking it one at a time. Of course, if I'm not careful, I might accidentally read the entire book, too.

[Dragonexx]

Blast from the past. I love these books, and am currently reading through the third series (Trials of Apollo) and enjoying it immensely. Looking forwards to this Let's Read.

[Rynjin]

I'd be wary of comparing the books to the movies unless you want a headache. Without getting into which is better and which is worse (but it's the books. The books are better.), they're very different. The first movie heavily deviates from the book at a certain point and many key scenes are done differently. Almost ALL of the characterization is different in either case, particularly where Annabeth, Grover, Clarissa, and even Luke (the undisputed villain of the movie) are concerned. The second movie is an In Name Only adaptation.

Enjoy each for what they are, by all means, but don't compare. Whichever your preference it will only make you sad.

[Gastronomie]

It's definitely a series aimed for children, but that being said, it's probably one of the best novel series ever created aimed for children.
It basically has everything required to be a good read. Humor, memorable characters, interesting and badass plot devices, original ideas that help connect modern America and Greek mythology and make the story actually believable (at least for young children), and well-thought out plot twists.
It's like Harry Potter, only it stays enjoyable till the end (just my opinion).

Deltora Quest, Cirque Du Freak and Percy Jackson were my favorite books back in those days.

[Artemis97]

Alright, up next, chapters six through nine.

Spoiler: Chapters 6-9

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We're introduced to how the camp works and Percy gets 'sorted' into Hermes' cabin. There's 12 cabins for the big 12 gods of Olympus, although some are always empty, like Hera's and Artemis'. They give burnt offering at dinnertime, and apparently they smell amazing. Percy learns some sword fighting from Luke, an older son of Hermes, who's sort of taken Percy under his wing. Annabeth teaches him Greek in the mornings.

Oh! Then there's Ares' kids, particularly Clarisse. She tries to give Percy a swirly in the girl's bathroom, but Percy makes all the water from the pipes blow her out the door. Even Annabeth gets soaked.

On Friday there's the big capture the flag match, and Anabeth makes a plan to use Percy as bait for Clarisse and the children of Ares. It works, as they go straight for him, and he holds them off pretty well until Clarisse starts stabbing at him with her enchanted spear and electricuting him. Percy falls back into the creek and gains strength from it, managing to fight off all the Ares kids and to break Clarisse's spear. Not bad with an oversized shield and an overbalanced sword. It makes me wonder what he would do with a balanced blade. Camp with it's own blacksmith and no one can make a balanced sword? Hephaestus would be ashamed.

Team Athena/Apollo/Hermes wins the capture the flag game and are celebrating when a hellhound dives out of the woods and goes after Percy. Some quick arrow shots from Chiron kill it, but not before Percy is hurt. Annabeth tells him to go back in the creek, and the water heals him, and he receives his sign, Percy is the son of Poseidon.

This is apparently a big problem, because the Big 3, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, had agreed since WWII not to have any children. Zeus broke that rule and had Thalia, who almost made it to camp but was hunted down by monsters. She died protecting other half-bloods, and was turned into the big tree at the edge of the property line, on top of half-blood hill. Seems Poseidon also broke the rule with Percy.

Percy gets moved into Poseidon's cabin, all by himself, and continues to have dreams about Zeus and Poseidon fighting, now including calls from the underworld.

Mr. D and Chiron call Percy to the big house and explain the situation to him. The gods aren't happy, on the brink of war, because someone stole Zeus' lightning right out from under him on Christmas. Guess who was in New York, the new seat of Olympus, for the Christmas holidays? You've got it, Percy. Zeus blames Poseidon, and Percy, for the theft. Poseidon claims it isn't true and doesn't like being called a thief. They've given everyone until the summer solstice to produce the Lightning or it's ON!

So Percy is tasked with finding the Lightning. But first he goes on a trippy visit to the Oracle of Delphi who lives in a mummy in the attic of the farmhouse. The prophesy is told to him in the form of his step dad, Mr. Ugly, and his power buddies, spouting off rhyming couplets. Go to the west, you'll be betrayed, you'll fail to save what's important. Percy comes back downstairs with his sanity intact and tells Chiron he has to go west. This makes sense, because the Underworld is in the west, and guess who has the most to gain from Poseidon and Zeus fighting? Hades! Who else could send a fury (Mrs. Dodds) and a hellhound to try and eat Percy. (always thought Mrs Dodds was a harpy, guess she's a fury).

Grover isn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of going to the underworld, but if he wants to protect Percy, and earn his searcher's license, he's going to have to go along. Annabeth, too, is coming along, since the boys need some brains around to solve this one.

Let me know if you like this longer, but more condensed format better, or taking it chapter-by chapter. A note, I am trying to read this quickly, since the e-book will disappear off my kindle in a week.

Edit:

I am well aware that the books and the movies are very different. It was a comparison of the two which led me to want to finally read the books. I'll try to keep comparisons to a minimum, though I keep seeing Grover as movie Grover. I liked Movie Grover, though.

While it's definitely for Children, it's not... childish? I guess. I mean, the dude's mom dies in the third chapter, the world's about to go to ruin if he doesn't travel to the underworld. That's big stuff. And all the Mythological references. I'm sure I'm not getting them all, and I want to do this for a living.

Really enjoying it so far.

[Gastronomie]

While it's definitely for Children, it's not... childish?

Well, that's definitely one extremely important aspect when it comes to creating novels aimed for children. Just 'cause it's aimed for children, doesn't mean it needs to be like it was written by children. In fact, you could say it's often the opposite.

[Gray Mage]

This is a book series I really enjoyed. I specially like all the small nods and foreshadowings to mythology.
Looking forward to reading more.

[Artemis97]

Spoiler: Chapter 10

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Percy and the crew leave camp, ferried away by Argus (that's who the eye guy was!) After recieving some gifts of magic items. Annabeth has the baseball cap which makes the wearer invisible, a gift from Athena for her 12th birthday. Chiron gives Percy the magic pen/sword from his father, Riptide. Seriously cool name for a sword. Luke shows up and gives Percy some winged sneakers. Unfortunately Percy can't use them, having the God of the Skies mad at you kind of nixes flying. So they go to Grover, who definitely needs to practice with them. I'm surprised they stayed on his hooves.

The trio hang out at the bus station for a bit, waiting to get on the bus to California (I guess?). Grover starts to get twitchy when they board and for good reason. Who's there, but Mrs. Dodds and her two sisters. The three furies are out in force.

When the bus goes through the Lincoln Tunnel, the Furies move to the back of the bus to attack. Annabeth gives Percy her cap so he can slip by them. The Furies start harassing Annabeth and Grover, so Percy starts messing with the steering wheel, sending the bus careening around the road. They exit the tunnel and end up crashing into the woods. The bus empties and Percy reveals himself, pulling out Riptide. With Grover and Annabeth's help, he quickly dispatches the three furies, and just in time too, because as soon as they exit the bus, it explodes.

Why didn't they include that action sequence in the movie?

[Dragonexx]

Well, that's definitely one extremely important aspect when it comes to creating novels aimed for children. Just 'cause it's aimed for children, doesn't mean it needs to be like it was written by children. In fact, you could say it's often the opposite.

Yeah, what makes it readable for adults is that while aimed at children, it doesn't talk down to it's readers, and makes the characters and stories complex and interesting.

As to the chapter format, do whatever feels right. Sometimes there's not much to summarize in a chapter so you can combine it with the next.

[khadgar567]

Literally blast from the past and prety good series i advise you to read kane cronicles to then read aditional side stories of both parties hijinks man the nostagia

[Artemis97]

So I haven't forgotten this. It's just that my library e-book rental ran out during the forum outage and i haven't re-rented it just yet. Plan to grab it again this weekend and continue on.

[khadgar567]

So I haven't forgotten this. It's just that my library e-book rental ran out during the forum outage and i haven't re-rented it just yet. Plan to grab it again this weekend and continue on.

if you have a e book i can send you the pdfs pm me if you want

[Gray Mage]

Glad to know it's still alive.
Looking fowards to it.

[Artemis97]

Spoiler: Chapter 11

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So through the woods, the trio go, and onto a scene I do recognize. They find themselves at Auntie Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, which has some strangely lifelike garden statues in it. Creepily realistic. Especially that one that looks like Grover's Uncle Ferdinand. The kids don't see the danger, though. Well, Grover can smell it, but all Percy and Annabeth can smell is hamburgers (which honestly made me hungry). They meet Auntie Em who invites them in for dinner and, without them noticing, locks the door behind them. She does feed them, which is nice of her. I also like her look here, more of an Arabian style black veil than the look they gave Uma Thurman in the movie. I like Uma Thurman, but the big sunglasses that they gave her looked a little ridiculous. The veil makes more sense to hide a bunch of snake hair, too.

Auntie Em, or Medusa, really has it out for Annabeth, remembering "those grey eyes" that she inherited from her mother, Athena. She wants to preserve Percy, probably because he looks like his dad, who Medusa still has the hots for centuries later. Grover just got unlucky to be there, I guess. She keeps calling the kids by their names, despite never having been introduced to them. In hindsight, Percy realizes this should have been a red flag, but he didn't know it at the time.

Medusa gets the kids together to take a 'photograph' and almost succeeds in turning them all to stone when Annabeth realizes it's too dark for a picture and she doesn't exactly have a camera. Annabeth goes invisible, Grover runs away, but Percy is heavy under Medusa's spell and almost looks up at her. Annabeth shouts at him, stopping him in time, just as Grover comes flying in on those winged shoes of his, swinging a tree branch at Medusa. He connects and she goes down. Annabeth tells Percy he has to kill her with his sword, while musing about mirrored shields. But they don't have one of those, so a mirrored gazing ball will have to do.

So ball in one hand and sword-pen in the other Percy approaches Medusa and Snicker-Snack! lops her head off. Annabeth retrieves the veils and throws it over the now detached head, finally making it safe to look. The trios wrap it up in some plastic bags, and Annabeth explains it's now a trophy, a spoil of war, like Percy's minotaur horn.

Like good adventurers they loot the place, stealing a delivery label to Persephone, leading to DOA records in LA. I laughed at that one, actually. Dead on arrival. Good cover name for the underworld. They also find a way to deliver things through Hermes, in a box with a small money bag attached. Just add a few drachmas and POP off your package goes. In this case, Percy sends Medusa's head off to Olympus for the gods. Impertinent, he calls himself.

Now, this whole scene went a little differently in the movie, as the kid used the backs of their shiny cell phones as mirrors to keep track of Medusa. Annabeth didn't have her hat, and Grover didn't have his shoes. It was basically all Percy. They kept the head, too, but I'm glad they got rid of it here. How are you going to explain lugging a leaking, decapitated head across the country? Just gross.

[Gray Mage]

Spoiler

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Yeah, most of the fights/plot developments are way better in the book. Not only there's more teamwork and less Percy doing everything alone, I'd say it's more faithfull to the greek mythos.

Great read.

[Hiro Protagonest]

...I forgot some of these details. The cap and the shoes, Argus working in the camp, the barrier being from the tree.

I still remember a lot more of it than the books that Riordan wrote after Percy Jackson, though.

...These books are probably in my sister's room. I'll see about getting them tomorrow.

Blast from the past. I love these books, and am currently reading through the third series (Trials of Apollo) and enjoying it immensely. Looking forwards to this Let's Read.

I still hold the actual Percy Jackson set (quintology? Quilogy?) as pretty well-written, but not the books past that. Actually, I hold the point it started showing signs of decline as Book 5, but Riordan had everything he needed to push the series to a solid conclusion.

I wasn't aware there was anything after Heroes of Olympus.

Spoiler: Short ramblings on sequel series, maybe minor spoilers?

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I gave Heroes of Olympus two and a half books. Jason was vanilla as hell, wasting so much of the potential in his great narrative position (I remember him being cool all the time, so maybe he could've been written as very chill. Now I want to reread it, actually). I only remembered the daughter of Aphrodite as I wrote this, though now I feel like she was more interesting than Jason (main problem being that Riordan's not so good at romance). Leo was the best character of The Lost Hero.

In Son of Neptune, Riordan managed to mostly get Percy's narration back, but it still didn't seem as good and it was a legacy character. I didn't particularly care for the other two, though I did enjoy Hazel's first impressions of Percy.

Then we get into Mark of Athena and it feels like Annabeth's lost some of her edge, without showing enough of a comfortable familiarity around Percy to justify it, really. I also didn't like the weird setup for the other romance. I stopped reading there.

I barely remember anything of what I read of Kane Chronicles. I think by the second book they were laying it on a little thick with the crossover winks, even though it wasn't affecting anything.

[Rogar Demonblud]

(quintology? Quilogy?)

Pentology, although pentad would also be acceptable.

[hamishspence]

I still hold the actual Percy Jackson set (quintology? Quilogy?) as pretty well-written, but not the books past that. Actually, I hold the point it started showing signs of decline as Book 5, but Riordan had everything he needed to push the series to a solid conclusion.

I wasn't aware there was anything after Heroes of Olympus.

Spoiler: Short ramblings on sequel series, maybe minor spoilers?

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I gave Heroes of Olympus two and a half books. Jason was vanilla as hell, wasting so much of the potential in his great narrative position (I remember him being cool all the time, so maybe he could've been written as very chill. Now I want to reread it, actually). I only remembered the daughter of Aphrodite as I wrote this, though now I feel like she was more interesting than Jason (main problem being that Riordan's not so good at romance). Leo was the best character of The Lost Hero.

The last two are better I think (House of Hades and Blood of Olympus). Leo takes front-and-center position there. House of Hades has Percy & Annabeth take a more prominent role than they do in Blood of Athena.


I think you gave up a little early. Jason gets a bit more character development, as does Nico, in House of Hades.


In The Trials of Apollo, Leo is present in book one, and plays a major role in book 2.

[Spacewolf]

The last two are better I think (House of Hades and Blood of Olympus. Leo takes front-and-center position there. House of Hades has Percy & Annabeth take a more prominent role than they do in Blood of Athena.


I think you gave up a little early.


There's more books with Apollo as protagonist. Leo is present in book one, and plays a major role in book 2.

Yea they do get better right up until the finale which sucks so badly I've never reread that series even though I've read the first about 6-7 times.

Spoiler: Spoilers for end of Heroes series.

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Wait what happened with Calypso and all that?

[hamishspence]

I liked the finale. The paperback version gives two versions - the author's one, and a contest-winning fanfic one. I felt the author's was better.

Spoiler: Spoilers for end of Heroes series.

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Wait what happened with Calypso and all that?

Regarding Calypso:

Spoiler

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I think her curse by the Olympians was that no man could return to her island in his lifetime. Since Leo has died and come back, he can return to her. And by doing so, he broke the curse - so they could leave.

[Spacewolf]

I liked the finale. The paperback version gives two versions - the author's one, and a contest-winning fanfic one. I felt the author's was better.



Regarding Calypso:

Spoiler

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I think her curse by the Olympians was that no man could return to her island in his lifetime. Since Leo has died and come back, he can return to her. And by doing so, he broke the curse - so they could leave.

Spoiler

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I knew he went back at the end of Heroes since he had that crystal just wondering if it comes up much that he's got a literal god as a girlfriend if he's fairly involved. I read the hardback which I assume was the authors where everything just shoots towards and ending in about two pages.

[khadgar567]

Spoiler

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I knew he went back at the end of Heroes since he had that crystal just wondering if it comes up much that he's got a literal god as a girlfriend if he's fairly involved. I read the hardback which I assume was the authors where everything just shoots towards and ending in about two pages.

Spoiler: from apolo must jive book

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well she is kinda mundane demigod sorceress know and have new much hectic home in way station and her home mates are native son of thunder god, two ex hunters of artemis with their adoptive daughter and many many more i just forgot and odin sleeping satyr( i am not gonna spoil this one)

[Mith]

Is Trial of Apollo worth picking up then? I really wasn't happy with the Heroes series, for reasons specified already? I would probably grab them as library books or through an ebook deal. I do not know how much of my problem with the Heroes series is the series itself or Riordan being pretty formulaic and taking things in a different path then I would do it (I doubt I will ever read any more of the Asgardian books for example).

[khadgar567]

Is Trial of Apollo worth picking up then? I really wasn't happy with the Heroes series, for reasons specified already? I would probably grab them as library books or through an ebook deal. I do not know how much of my problem with the Heroes series is the series itself or Riordan being pretty formulaic and taking things in a different path then I would do it (I doubt I will ever read any more of the Asgardian books for example).

Well its slow in start but its kinda good

[Artemis97]

Hey I'm back to reading. Had some small personal issues that kept me away, and then my laptop broke (still not fixed, pray for the poor thing). Yadda yadda, excuses excuses. I'm back now and that's what matters.

Spoiler: Chapter 12

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The groups has camped in a clearing off the side of the road after their run in with Medusa. Percy takes first watch, and annabeth goes to sleep right away, but Percy and Grover get to talking. About the environment and how mumans have taken over, and about the Search for Pan. Thought the joke about Percy mishearing that as Pam, like the cooking spray, was funny, cheesy, but funny. They discuss the quest, and Percy admits that he's not going to the Underworld to get the bolt, but to get his mother back. Grover says he knew that, but he came on the quest anyways. They also briefly mention the situation that happened 5 years ago, when Annabeth showed up at camp halfblood and when Grover's first job went so wrong. Percy doesn't press for more information, though, probably not wanting to make Grover cry. Grover also points out that Percy is a little glad to have Poseidon notice him and claim him. Percy denies this, not wanting to be a pawn of the gods or have anything to do with his absentee father, but I think Grover's got it right. Percy is just a little bit trying to prove hismelf to his dad. Grover then offers to take the first watch, playing a bit of a magic tune on his pan pipes, and Percy is soon asleep. Onto the prohetic dreams!

Percy stands on the edge of a pit, with misty ghostly creatures floating all around him. He looks into the abyss and can sense something is rising out of it. That something starts talking to him and shows him an image of his mother at the moment of her death at the hands of the minotaur. It offers her in exchange for his help. Help me rise, it says, and to strike back against the treacherous gods. The creature puts an invisible grip around Percy, and starts using him as leverage to get out. Meanwhile the spirits of the dead beg him to wake up.

I'm betting this is some sort of titan, and knowing what I know from the second movie, a titan does show up, but this is some pretty early foreshadowing.

Percy wakes up to a breakfast of nacho cheese chips and Grover having found a pink poodle in the woods. Gladiola, as the dog is named, has run away from his owners, but there was a $200 reward for his return. Grover can apparently speak poodle and convinces the dog to let them return him, and they'd have some cash to get west. Seems awful convenient to me, but these sorts of things happen in quests, right? The chapter ends with Annabeth pointing out some nearby train tracks and saying that Gladiola tells them the westbound train leaves at noon.

Now, I've looked at cross country prices for train tickets. $200 might get them ONE ticket, so I'm wondering how this is going to play out.

Until next time. Cheers.

[Gray Mage]

I'm happy to this this is back.
This was a good character chapter, but kind of uneventful.

[Artemis97]

Hey folks, I'm back with the next chapter. On with the show!

Spoiler: Chapter 13

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So we just jump straight in with travelling west by Amtrak for two days. Does Riordan know how expensive that is?! Maybe prices got really hiked in the past two decades, but I really, really doubt you can get three people on a train going anywhere for two days for $200. Gyah

And oh no, Percy's in the newspaper for accosting three elderly women just before the bus blew up. There's a picture of him holding his sword, blurred enough to look like a baseball bat of some sort. Not good news.

Percy sees some interesting sights from the train, like a family of cantaurs and what I'm guessing is the Namean lion. Kinda scary knowing that's out there.

Their train tickets only get them as far as Denver, and not in a sleeping car. So they just sleep in their seats. Percy tries not to drool on Annabeth, and Grover's fake foot falls off at one point. Seems Percy talks in his sleep too, since Annabeth overhears him saying he won't help the evil thing in the pit. Finally he explains it to Annabeth, who tells him it's not Hades. Hades appears on a black throne and never laughs.

Percy recalls that the furies were looking for something on the bus. Annabeth explains that just because the furies weren't as aggressive this time, it doesn't mean they aren't trouble. Percy asks if she's run into them before, but she says nothing, only fingering the necklace she wears, bearing a white bead with a pine tree painted on it. (foreshadowing for the second book/movie?) She tells him she has no love for the lord of the dead,. but you can't barter with him. Percy turns things around on Annabeth and asks what she would do if it were her dad. She says she'd let him rot. Her dad never wanted a baby, and took her miraculous arrival as something inconvenient. when she was five, he got married to a mortal woman and seemed to forget all about Athena, had two kids, and pushed Annabeth to the side.

Percy explains how his mom married Mr Ugly to hide his scent from the monsters, and maybe it was a similar thing. Annabeth touches her father's college ring on her necklace and tells him that she was resented for every danger she put her step-family into. She wasn't allowed to play with her step-sblings. Finally she just left. Wtih a little divine guidence and some unxpected friends, she made it to Camp Halfblood.

On the way their train passes through St. Louis, and they see the gateway arch. Annabeth admits her dream to build something like that, a big monument tp the gods. As Athena expects her children to create things "Unlike a certain god of earthquakes I could mention." Percy wonders if they can just cooperate a little. Surely there was a time when Athena and Poseidon got along. Annabeth metnions the chariot, which Athna invented, but Poseidon created the horses to pull it.

There's a 3 hour layover from the train, and Annabeth decides she wants to go to the top of the gateway arch, Grover's happy to go along as long as there's food. I'm expecting them to miss thier next train due to monsters.

They visit the museum under the arch and Percy gets paranoid, wondering if Hades could be there right now watching them thanks to his helm of darkness. Then Percy sees the tiny elevator to the top and gets really nervous. He doesn't like confined spaces. The trio get in with a fat lady and her little dog. Something's off about these two. Can't say what, though. Still, they make it to the observation deck just fine. They hang out there for a while until the park ranger declares that the observation deck was closing. Everyone piles into the elevator, except there's no room for Percy. He stays behind, saying he'll meet them at the bottom. Don't you guys know not to split the party?

There's only a small family with a young boy, the park ranger, and guess who, fatso with her little dog. She smiles at Percy, her forked tongue flicking between her teeth. Wait what? The chihuahua starts going nuts and the lady calls it her son. A chimera. The lady is soon to be revealed to have scaley green skin and pointed teeth. Meanwhile, with every bark, the chimera became bigger and bigger.

The bystanders panic and head for the exit door.

Aha, that's her name, Echidna, mother of monsters. Should have known from when she called the Chimera son. All Percy can say is "Isn't that some sort of anteater?" Echidna begins ranting about how she hates Australia. Very funny.

Percy's got his back to the wall with the bystanders, and knows he needs to move before the Chimera turns him into lunch. He uncaps his sword and runs for the other side of the observation deck and the Chimera comes on fast. It blows a gout of flames at Percy who dives right through it, coming out singed, but no worse for wear. Behind him is a melted hole in the Gateway Arch. Not good.

Percy tries to swing at the thing's neck, but is thwarted by the rhinestone collar its wearing and he's so worried about the head, he forgets the tail. The snake end of the chimera sinks its fangs into his calf. He swings again, trying to jab the sword into the creature's mouth, but gets pulled off balance by the serpent tail. Riptide goes flying out the hole in the side of the Arch. He knows the sword is supposed to return to his pocket, but it hasn't yet. Maybe it was too far away or something, he's not sure, he just knows he's in trouble, as he can feel the poison coursing through his system.

Percy's backed up against the hole in the wall, wondering how he's going to help the family and the park ranger. Would the monster go away if he died? Far below, the Mississippi River gliters.

Echidna tells him to jump. Prove your bloodline. Water won't hurt you. (does the Arch actually stick out over the water?) Percy figures he'll splatter on impact, knowing jumping from a great height into water was like falling onto concrete. The chimera gets ready to relase another shot of fire and Echidna taunts him. He has no faith, but she doesn't blame him. Better to die not. The poison is in your heart.

Percy begins to recall things about his father. The warm smile when he was a baby, the trident that had appeared during captured the flag, claiming him. But this wasn't the ocean. There were no sea gods here.

And so the chimera relases a blast of fire at his face.

"Father help me" he prays, turning and jumping. Poisoned, on fire, and plummeting towards the surface of the river.

[Wristlet Eater]

Is cost of the travel a problem when they have gold coins with them? Or do I remember that wrong?

[khadgar567]

Is cost of the travel a problem when they have gold coins with them? Or do I remember that wrong?

Kinda gold coins for mythical transport not mundane( around few book we see what i try to tell)

[Wristlet Eater]

Kinda gold coins for mythical transport not mundane( around few book we see what i try to tell)

But it is still gold, they can just sell it or trade it or something.