The Last Olympian ~ Rick Riordan

All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of a victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows.

While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time.

In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy’s sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.

Last books in much beloved series are tough. I tend to cope by putting them off. Way off. Sometimes waiting a year or more to pull it out and read it. (As a result, you’ll often find me with my fingers plugging my ears and humming as people around me talk about whichever book I’m putting off.) I was fully prepared to put The Last Olympian off indefinitely. Until I was invited to take part in a local school’s book discussion of this title. So I put aside my weekend reading and found myself absorbed back into Percy’s world.

I’ve made no bones about the fact that I love this series. I was fortunate enough to find The Lightning Thief not even a week after it was originally released (and consequently foisted it on anyone I could.) I immediately became a huge, gushing fan, waiting impatiently for the next chapter in the series. It was bittersweet to find out pretty early on that Riordan only had five books planned, and so when this last one came out I was, well, slightly worried and a whole lot sad.

But you know what? Riordan’s awesome. His books are awesome. And The Last Olympian really delivered.

If you don’t mind spoilers…

So, a few of the things I loved about the book (in random order):

1. Tyson and his “peanut butter” war cry. I so love that cyclops.
2. That Demeter seemed to have a cereal hang-up. Who knew?
3. Nico. He really surprised me in this one.
4. Mrs. O’Leary! Anyone know where I can get a hellhound?
5. That, for the longest time, I was convinced that Annabeth was the spy (and was relieved when she wasn’t)
6. That Poseidon listened to Percy and rocked out arriving to take care of Typhon in style
7. Blackjack!

The list could go on and on because the book was so good. Even though I would have loved a few more books in this series, The Last Olympian wraps things up nicely, and with the next great prophecy having been revealed, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for Riordan’s return to Camp Half-Blood.

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