Book Review: The Titan’s Curse

THE TITAN’S CURSE, by Rick Riordan

“It’s like American Gods for younglings.”

This is the third book in Rick Riordan’s series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Thankfully, the books as they sit on the shelves don’t bear that title blazing on their covers, otherwise I’d cringe at another “Person’s-Name And The Such-And-Such.” This naming convention upsets me so much that I can’t even listen to Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s. (And even if I were to shed myself of that prejudice, I’d still make grumbles at that apostrophe.)

The series thus far:

1. The Lightning Thief
2. The Sea of Monsters
3. The Titan’s Curse
4. The Battle of the Labyrinth ( due May 6, 2008 )

Here is yet another book where my paperback-only convention was broken, but it was hardly my fault. I loaned the first two of the series to a friend. I shouted words at her as I thrust them into her hands. “They are enjoyable, good action, light, and fun. Well-written. I like them.” She read them, agreed, accidentally ruined my copy of The Sea of Monsters and bought me the third book as compensation. I didn’t fight it, although I’ll probably give it back to her and buy the paperback when that comes out.

I have this thing about consistent editions in a series. I like when my bookshelf is jagged, but when there’s one series, it should all be uniform. I have my peculiarities. Leave it alone.

Basic Story: You would think being half-god would entitle you to a wonderful life, or at least an average one, but Perseus Jackson would tell you otherwise. Percy is a troublemaker plagued with Attention Deficit Disorder and an outright jerk for a stepfather. His mother is quirky and fun, but his stepfather is outright abusive, drawing the entire family tight as violin strings. And when he finds out he’s the son of an Olympian, things go from bad to worse.

He attends a summer camp with other kids like him, known as Camp Half-Blood. Chiron is an instructor there, and Dionysus is the camp director (through no desire of his own, which he makes very clear). Everything you’ve ever learned about the Greek Gods is true, and they haven’t faded away. They are the spirit of the West, of the Frontier, and they go with the end of civilization (which is apparently America, with the portal to Hades in Los Angeles – a statement I didn’t find disagreeable).

The thing about being half-god is that you’re destined to be a hero. It’s sort of what is done. You go on quests, slay monsters, rescue the distressed, and then return home for some ambrosia squares. Especially if you’re the child of one of the Big Twelve. But Percy’s quest is much bigger than your average kill-the-manticore escapade. When he rolls into camp, he stumbles onto a plot that has been brewing for some time, woven by Kronos, the fallen Titan. Kronos wants to take back what he feels was his, to sweep the world from the control of the Gods. War is on the horizon.

To make matters worse, during World War II, a prophecy was revealed that the child of one of the Big Three (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades) would make a decision on their sixteenth birthday that would change the world, that would turn the tide in a battle between the Gods and the Titans.

And wouldn’t you know it: Percy is the son of Poseidon.

The fun thing about writing these book reviews? I’m getting practise at writing synopses. How fun is that? I’m still rubbish but hopefully I’ll improve.

The first two of the series are fairly light. They start cute, end cute, and hang cute throughout the middle. Although our hero is often in peril, he isn’t in that much peril. I never found myself wondering if he or anyone else would make it out alive. Of course they would. This isn’t to say I wasn’t entertained. But death didn’t hang on the horizon here.

The third book, however, isn’t light. People die, quite a few of them, and not in an abstract They Fell Off A Cliff Into The Mist or They Were One of the Many Fallen in Battle. The titular character and his comrades watch a person go still, whispering about the stars. It was actually quite sad. My heart may be a cold dead place, but I’m not a huge fan of death when people don’t particularly deserve it.

If you like YA, Greek Mythology, and a little attitude in your main character, you’d enjoy this series. Give it a go.

Edit: A comment below and a good deal of search engine hits have led me to add this message: Hey kids. Read the goddamn book and quit fucking plagiarizing book reports.

Lots of Love, D.