The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus, Book 3) [Hardcover]

Rick Riordan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 2, 2012 | Age Range: 10 and up | Series: Heroes of Olympus (Book 3)

In The Son of Neptune, Percy, Hazel, and Frank met in Camp Jupiter, the Roman equivalent of Camp Halfblood, and traveled to the land beyond the gods to complete a dangerous quest. The third book in the Heroes of Olympus series will unite them with Jason, Piper, and Leo. But they number only six--who will complete the Prophecy of Seven?

The Greek and Roman demigods will have to cooperate in order to defeat the giants released by the Earth Mother, Gaea. Then they will have to sail together to the ancient land to find the Doors of Death. What exactly are the Doors of Death? Much of the prophecy remains a mystery. . . .

 

With old friends and new friends joining forces, a marvelous ship, fearsome foes, and an exotic setting, The Mark of Athena promises to be another unforgettable adventure by master storyteller Rick Riordan.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rick Riordan (www.rickriordan.com) is the author of the # 1 New York Times best-selling The Heroes of Olympus, Book One: The Lost Hero; The Heroes of Olympus, Book Two: The Son of Neptune; The Heroes of Olympus Book Three: The Mark of Athena; the #1 New York Times best-selling The Kane Chronicles, Book One: The Red Pyramid; The Kane Chronicles, Book Two: The Throne of Fire; The Kane Chronicles, Book Three: The Serpent's Shadow; as well as the five books in the #1 New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. His previous novels for adults include the hugely popular Tres Navarre series, winner of the top three awards in the mystery genre. He lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and two sons.

Product Details

• Age Range: 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 608 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH; 1 edition (October 2, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423140603
• ISBN-13: 978-1423140603
• ASIN: 1423140605
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 2 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,303 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Greek & Roman
  • #8 in Books > Children's Books > Action & Adventure
  • #17 in Books > Children's Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy & Magic

More About the Author

Rick Riordan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the Kane Chronicles, and the Heroes of Olympus. He is also the author of the multi-award-winning Tres Navarre mystery series for adults.

For fifteen years, Rick taught English and history at public and private middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Texas. In 2002, Saint Mary's Hall honored him with the school's first Master Teacher Award.

While teaching full time, Riordan began writing mystery novels for grownups. His Tres Navarre series went on to win the top three national awards in the mystery genre - the Edgar, the Anthony and the Shamus. Riordan turned to children's fiction when he started The Lightning Thief as a bedtime story for his oldest son.

Today over 30 million copies of his Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, and Heroes of Olympus books are in print in the United States, and rights have been sold into more than 35 countries. Rick is also the author of The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones, another #1 New York Times bestseller. In 2011, Rick received the Children's Choice Book Award for Author of the Year.

Rick Riordan now writes full-time. He lives in San Antonio with his wife and two sons.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#40 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#34 in Books > Teens

#40 in Books

#53 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction

#58 in Kindle eBooks

#34 in Books > Teens

#40 in Books

#53 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction

#58 in Kindle eBooks

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

148 of 161 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, READ IT October 2, 2012

By Kiba Rater

Format:Hardcover

This is a very fun read. I like it because it feels different enough from the other books. There's action - but not too much. Instead we get to see the characters who were separted for so long kind of merge and the struggles that go with that. There's a lot of drama relationship wise, and I know Percabeth fans will be very happy with this book because there are a ton of Percy/Annabeth moments.

I also thought it was interesting seeing so many different views of Percy. Of course we know him very well, but then you have Piper's view point who is like - well Jason is way hotter.

And in this book we are FINALLY able to get to know Annabeth a lot more, even more than we did Percy in this book (which is kind of disappointing) I think her personality really shines. In the Percy Jackson books we had Percy's POV of Annabeth, but Annabeth is a master at hiding her emotions. She is a really complex person underneath that blonde hair, and I like that. Plus, she really cares for Percy, and she has such a big burden that doesn't have such a simple solution which made for an exciting read.

A problem I found with this book was that there were too many view points that didn't offer anything meaningful. Piper is sort of just there, and more worried about her relationship. Sadly, Percy also seems like a filler character. He has some concerns but I don't think his POV added much besides that. Annabeth and Leo combined told the story well, and the thoughts of the other characters could've been told somehow through their chapters. I almost wish Frank or Hazel also had a POV but I suppose that's for the next book.

What I really loved in this book were all the funny moments. Leo is quickly becoming my favorite character. He's likable in that Percy kind of way, but different enough with his own problems that it's not tiring.

Overall a solid book. As usual the wait for next year is going to be long and hard.

An Amazon.com official commented on the review below

76 of 94 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Book content Great! Kindle edition crash issues October 3, 2012

By Michael J Koval

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love all of Rick Riordan's books. I am disappointed that this book crashes the Kindle Fire. I thought I was alone last night with this issue but I see that there have been more people with bad files reporting crashes. I have read numerous books on the Kindle Fire and this is the first one that has crashed my Kindle. I got to around chapter 25 and 4 pages in the application crashed back to the home screen. I contacted Customer Service and was informed that the book would be removed from the Kindle store and the publisher would be contacted to get the issue corrected however it will take at least a week before this happens. Hopefully it will be resolved soon so I can continue reading this wonderful book.

An Amazon.com official commented on this review (What's this?)

Kindle Content Quality saysOctober 6, 2012

We have made improvements to the Kindle Edition that fix issues experienced by some customers. If you purchased the previous version of this book and wish to receive the improved content, please visit Amazon.com/MYKupdate and click the update link next to the title.

58 of 71 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Another enjoyable read for those who love Percy Jackson October 2, 2012

By Karen

Format:Hardcover

My oldest son made me read The Lightning Thief a few years ago, and after whipping through that series, he and I both await each new entry into the series with excitement. I just finished reading it on the Kindle, and the hardcover awaits my son. So let me start by saying I enjoyed this book almost as much - but not quite - as the others to date. I enjoy the characters, the mythology, Riordan's ability to portray the ages and culture of the teenage characters. I loved that the new series (The Heroes of Olympus) brought back favorite characters and the familiarity of the demigod world while still keeping his material fresh with new characters and the introduction of the Roman camp and demigods.

In The Lost Hero, I enjoyed having the narrative voice switch from character to character - it made a nice change from the first series and gave insight into more than one character. Riordan repeated this device in The Son of Neptune, and while it still worked, I never developed the attachment to Hazel and Frank that I had for Jason, Piper and Leo. I realized that for me, it was because Percy's narrative voice was familiar and overshadowed the others. I couldn't get "into" Hazel and Frank because I just wanted to go back to Percy's POV. So, while I've enjoyed the changing narrative voice, which I think is one of the ways Riordan is distinguishing the second series from the first, it presents some challenges. And for me, using the different POVs was a challenge that didn't work as effectively in Mark of Athena.

As hinted at in Son of Neptune, Mark of Athena brings together all 7 demigods. So I expected to read chapters from all 7 points of view. That's not the case. There are only 4 narrative voices, and I found it distracting from the story to keep wondering when/if I was going to get the other points of view. I'm first to admit that having seven different narrative voices would probably have been worse. That probably would have been too frenetic and fractured. So even though I was distracted by the "missing" voices, I'm willing to accept this was probably Riordan's best option.

Regarding the other "spoilers:" I'm not giving anything away. But I will say that in every previous book, Riordan has satisfactorily concluded a quest within the framework of the multiple-book story arc. The quest is complete and everyone's together at the end of the book enjoying some well-earned R&R. That's not *quite* the case in this book. A goal has been successfully achieved, yes, but it's definitely a departure from the other books in that it's more of a "prelude" to what will come next. The end feels more like a stalemate than a celebration. Think Empire Strikes Back, or even the end of Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring.

It's going to be a very long time until the next one!