Third Post!

Took me a long time to get this one out. Sorry... Truth is, I typed up about half of this post two-ish weeks ago, but then my mom wanted her computer back, and I was avoiding the internet on mine (long story), and then, well, I kinda forgot. And then we went college shopping up in Oregon and Washington, so I there went five days, and then I forgot again. But anyway:

As promised, I continue my Percy Jackson and the Olympians review string with the third book, The Titan's Curse. Good stuff! But once again, I WARN YOU that there are spoilers ahead and you should stay far away from this post unless you have read the first two books in this lovely series.

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

Unlike the previous two, this book does not begin with Percy on the brink of getting kicked out of another school. No, it begins with Sally Jackson driving Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia to the boarding school that Grover is stationed at, to retrieve two possibly very powerful demigods that he has discovered. But the retrieval does not go at all as planned, and the teens have to deal with a manticore. Just when it looks like all hope is lost, the Hunters of Artemis arrive to save the day, but the manticore escapes - with Annabeth as a hostage. Percy and the others are, of course, distraught. They join with two of the Hunters and embark on a quest to rescue Annabeth and Artemis (who, somehow, has been kidnapped as well), find and stop a mysterious monster that could destroy the gods, and unravel the ominous-sounding Titan's curse. Oh, and, according to the newest prophecy, two of them will die in the process.

Rick Riordan is awesome! As always, his writing is engaging and extremely entertaining, as well as educational. (Wow, four big "e" words in one sentence. Alliteration! In all modesty, I have impressed myself.) Some of the great new characters include Bianca and Nico de Angelo, Zoë Nightshade, Blackjack the pegasus, and, most interestingly of all, Thalia, the daughter of Zeus. She's a great character, and it's wonderful to get to know her after the constant references in the past two books, not to mention that cliffhanger at the end of the last one. And her relationship with Percy is quite something. There is also an introductory cameo on a new and very intriguing character: ME! Just kidding. Well, no, I'm not, not really. Not at all, actually, but that's okay. Read the book, and maybe you'll see what I mean. ;) . Sorry, the winky face was necessary. Anywho, if you don't get it after reading, I'll explain in my review for the next book, because I am thoroughly convinced that I am in this series. Well, enough about me. Continuing: We also get to learn some very exciting things, such as how to drive Apollo's sun chariot and why Dionysus is secretly the king of super-beast-awesomeness and the god any sane (key word, here) person would pick if they could only have one on their side. And there is, of course, an abundance of all those other ridiculous situations that Percy always seems to find himself in. It's why we love him. That, and the snarky thoughts he has when he's in such situations. It's all very endearing, in my opinion. Not to mention hilarious.

Okay, so while Sea of Monsters is my least - sorry, fifth - favorite in the series, Titan's Curse is one of my favorites. If we remember that the Lightning Thief is my all-time favorite because it's the first and it has to be, and then demote it to fourth because it is actually not my favorite at all, we can set up a pretty simple hierarchy. My favorite would have to be the fifth, because, well, because. Read the fifth, or my review of it (coming soon), and you will understand. THIS book, The Titan's Curse, the third in the series, is second. It's just incredibly intense and fresh, and the new characters are beautiful, and it's darker than the previous books - just the right amount of darkness. Very refreshing, this darkness. And exhilarating, actually. I do love it. The book, I mean. I love the darkness, too, but just now I was talking about the book. I love it. At any rate, the fourth (review coming soon) is my third favorite. I think. The top three are very close; though the fifth is my favorite for sure, it's a close race, and my ordering of the third and fourth is a bit iffy. Though I think that this is my official statement. And then, the first is my fourth favorite and the second is my fifth favorite. Yep. Let's go with that. Ha. Well, the point of THAT whole unnecessarily long paragraph is that this third book is my second favorite book in the series. And that it's awesome. Yay!

Hey guys! Let's pray to the gods that they don't try to make this one into a movie, too!
Oh my gods, they probably will. Ugh.

Thanks go to my lovely mother, Lark, who drove to Barnes & Noble at nine in the morning (when it opened) the Tuesday this book came out, because I couldn't, and then dropped it off at my school so I could start it immediately and finish it later that day. Thanks, Mama!
Thanks also to my friend Pamela, who I haven't talked to in a while, for being a bit more than reasonably gullible and for making eighth grade Spanish class (which started the fall after this book came out and continued through the release of the fourth) WAY better than it deserved to be. See, I like connecting myself to actors and characters that I like, and my connection to Percy Jackson is that he is officially my big brother (though he's not that much older than me). It was great, though, because I was always telling Pamela about my big brother who I absolutely adored but rarely got to see, and I kept talking about how I couldn't wait for May 6th (the day the fourth came out) because he was visiting. And she believed it all. She thought it was weird, but she believed it. She figured it out much later when I wore a PJ shirt, but still. It was pretty great. Love you, Pamela!

Recommendation: EVERYONE should read this book. Except everyone should read the second and first books first. But not in that order.