#tis. YAY! yay. idk who my favorite doctor was.... difficult to decide

[itsalwaysdark]

dearly beloved you are in the presence of a man who has seen all of dw*

*not counting the original series or the audio or any of the prose or any of the spinoffs and probably other things im forgetting about

[emthinks]

The Trials of Apollo #1: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

Now, I’d like to preface this review by stating that the reading of this series without prior knowledge of previous books in this universe, while possible, would be difficult. So while I recommend everyone to read Rick Riordan’s mythology books (they’re gold and they teach you a lot of shit about the ancient civilizations), for ToA, you really need to read Percy Jackson & The Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus first. And then get around to this. Because this book is good.

Here, we get to read first person POV (which I really do think is Rick’s strong suit) about Apollo (yes, the Greek God) being turned into this skinny ass mortal with flab and acne and - the coup de grace really - stuck with the name Lester Papadopoulos. Which. Honestly. How could you pass up on that? And Apollo, while I do admit was kind of an ass sometimes and really annoying (are all Greek gods that egotistical? Wait. Don’t answer that question) was really entertaining the rest of the time. 

Rating: 8.8/10

An Overview:

That whole bit in the beginning, where Apollo met Meg the Dumpster Girl and then had to traipse through the city to find Percy was my least favorite part. Probably why I actually paused and put the book down. I know right? Shocker. 

But then we got to Camp Half-Blood and things picked up a lot. Apollo trying to greet his kids (his cabinmates? His friends? What does he call them?!) was priceless. Hearing about Meg’s exploits in the meantime was a nice touch (good job, Crotchkicker).

But then we learn about Rachel. And the Oracle. (Well, I guess I learn, because I’d apparently forgotten that Apollo had been punished back in HoO? Well, nevermind.) We learn campers are disappearing. We learn shit is bad. Apollo has these weird-ass dreams (which, uh, usually I have a decent background on Greek mythology, but these two were just weird). 

It was a little odd for me for them to not be thrown into a quest and leave camp so early on. I was always waiting for a quest...and then forgot that the Oracle (aka. Rachel) wasn’t exactly working. So no quest. The Catch-88 or whatever Apollo called it.

And then there’s the three-legged race. That was...interesting. Mostly because it was kind of adorable how everyone just wanted to please this little Hephaestus kid. Apollo and Meg were, naturally, bound together. And then thrown into the labyrinth. Which. Whoa. Did not see that coming. Who knew Daedalus’s labyrinth would be such a throwback? So we traipse around a bit in a really dark maze. And then, of course, we end up in Delphi. Where we meet the Beast and the Python. And then we learn shit is about to go down.

So we travel into the woods. We meet the geyser dude (ah, there’s Rick’s nice weirdly-modernized touch). And then Meg gets captured. By....giant ants? Apollo is saved by Rhea. Which. Did not see that coming. 

He goes back to camp. Heals. Decides, oh fuck it, and takes the bow and arrows. He already broke half of his promise on the Styx anyways (which, idiot, why would you swear that?) and delves right back into the woods. The ant hive. Those couple minutes of him shooting every ant was great. He rescues Meg (eventually, after some trouble). Apollo naming the queen ant-thing Mama was just a nice touch. (Which, thank God he did, because we needed her help later on.) And then they were out into the clearing. The entrance to Dodona. And we meet the first of three Triumvirates.

Nero. Now, I have no idea who Nero is. But. He kind of sounds like an ass. And he’s Meg’s stepfather? Now, I can’t say I didn’t see it coming, because I did have this half-suspicion formed in the back of my mind, but really, Meg? That’s just a bit ridiculous. But thankfully, Meg comes around, eventually, although she totally still leaves. (Which. Apollo is bound to her still. So how’s that gonna work?) We get some prophecies from Dodona. Yay. Then we go back to camp and all is well, right?

Nope. There’s Giant Naked Apollo strolling up the beach. Ah. There’s that potential problem Nero mentioned. They’re all a mess. It’s kind of bad. (But kinda cute when Apollo’s kids still were so eager to help, even after the mess they just went through. I guess it just goes to show. Demigods are sturdy af.) 

Still, was I glad to see Percy at the end. That was nice. “The weekend had arrived.” The cavalry, more like it. Thank God. Oh, and good job causing hay fever in Giant You, Apollo. And then we get that lovely fluff bit at the end with Leo and Calypso? Adorable. The line that was formed so everyone could punch Leo was great, and Apollo realizing Calypso had willingly left her island and given up her immortality for this elfish boy was pure gold. 

The Characters:

Can we talk about Nico and Will for a second? (Do they have a ship name? Solangelo? Lol. God their names are hard to combine.) To be honest, I totally forgot they existed. No, not that they as characters existed, but like, they existed. So when Apollo first saw them together, I was like “whaaaaa?” Because I totally remember in House of Hades where Jason (the fucking idiot, really) thought Nico was in love with Annabeth and we had to jump through those hoops, but it obviously never registered to me that Will and Nico were together-together until, well, now. And boy, must I say they are great. They’re so entertaining. Like, the bickering is adorable. And how Nico is all “I have to sit with my boyfriend because I have a doctor’s note given to me by my boyfriend...who is also my doctor”. Like, they are cute af. 

Now. The heart of the problem: Meg. Meg was....well. Meg was ratty and dumpster girl and rebellious (and obviously Demeter’s daughter as soon as we saw her throw fruit and summon a grain spirit, but hey, some people can be dumb) and she was fun. She was Crotchkicker and Eyebruiser on Day One and she was great. She was also, for all her hemming and hawing, obviously a spy. Well, she was obviously the spy as soon as we overheard the Beast mentioning there was a spy. She skirted around talks of her stepfather and obviously froze up with the mentioning of the Beast (at the sound of his voice?). But she’s Meg. She’s resilient. And, well, she’s still tied to Apollo, so they’ve gotta figure something out there. Maybe they’ll have to go find her (save her?) in one of their quests? Or they just run into her again? Idk. 

And what about Apollo, our lovely protagonist. A god. Who knew? Reading first person POV from Apollo was weird. Enlightening, but weird. Yes, I was annoyed - especially in the beginning - with how he ranted about how great and awesome he was and how everyone should bow at his feet and how if he only had his godly powers, he could totally smite them all. It definitely took me a while to accept the fact that he couldn’t accept he was mortal. Not completely. Eventually, he improved his outlook on humans, but in the beginning, God I was pissed. However, the fact that it was never really forgotten that he was mortal - that he couldn’t do all this magic that he was used to with the snap of a finger - was nice. He wasn’t omnipotent. He had to rely on others. And I do think he became a better person-god from it. He learned from his kids. These kids, whom he barely acknowledged when he was a god, still risked their lives to help him. Wasn’t that admirable? The one thing I really hope is that, in the end of his whole journey (trials, whatever) he doesn’t forget them and, after he’s a god again, he actually still spends time with them and cares a little more. That would be a nice bit of character development.

Questions:

Do you think the Labyrinth will come into play again?

Eventually, yes. I think, in general, a lot of the things we’ve encountered in the past two series will come into play, because there are only so many Greek/Roman myths we can poke around in. It’s not like Riordan can conjure up more. Also, the Labyrinth has, supposedly, spread throughout the world, so it can basically bring anyone anywhere. And isn’t that terrifying.

What do you think will happen next?

Well, the bit we got from the Dedona trees mentioned Indiana, right? And they sit the Triumvirate had split up North America into thirds...Indiana is in the middle of America, right? (Yes, great job Emilie. Much thought it took to come up with that idea.) I just hope Festus can be helpful the whole journey this time, instead of breaking down halfway. I loved that dragon in HoO. 

So that’s that really. When does the second book come out? What’s it called? The Dark Prophecy. Huh. Well, that bodes well.