Customer Reviews

The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3)

5 star:		(183)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

You know, it still strikes me as odd when I run across a kid who hasn't read a Percy Jackson book yet. Take, for example, the homeschooler bookgroup I run. These kids aren't exactly sheltered, but at the same time they don't feel unnaturally compelled to follow the latest trend due to peer pressure. They hadn't even heard of Rick Riordan when I proposed to them that we read, The Lightning Thief the other day. Obediently they took the book home and in a week some of them were back, basically begging me for Book #2. Now they've found out that I've a copy of #3, "The Titan's Curse," hidden about my person and if I don't give it to them soon there will be blood shed. My blood. So while I usually take a long time to process a book before finally getting around to reviewing it, in Mr. Riordan's case I'm gonna make an exception. The third in the series, in "Titan's Curse," Riordan raises the stakes, adds in a couple new gods and monsters, and basically ratchets up the tension while cutting down on the easygoing moments. It's bound to make the fans happy.

Percy's on a rescue mission. Nothing new there. The fact that he's getting a ride to the rescue mission with his mom and two of his camp mates is definitely a unique occurrence, though. Percy, Annabeth, and the now re-humanized Thalia (daughter of Zeus) are traveling to a private school where their friend and satyr Grover has made an important discovery. There are two new half-bloods there, a brother and a sister, and it's up to our heroes to get them to Camp Half-Blood before the resident monster spirits them away. Unfortunately the rescue mission is botched, Annabeth disappears with the enemy, and Percy finds himself facing a whole new bad guy. He's called The General, and under his command he's captured the goddess Artemis and is hellbent on destroying the Gods for his master, the Titan Kronos. Now it's up to Percy and company to rescue the goddess, find Annabeth, and stop The General's plans before it's too late. Which, I might add, it might already be.

Riordan's a much cleverer author than anyone gives him credit for. He's smart enough to know that many of his readers have probably read up on their Greek myths all thanks to his books. Therefore, when someone like Apollo says, "I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees," you may or may not know what he's referring to, depending on how well you know your myths. And in retrospect when I look back at the series, it was a really good idea for Riordan not to make Percy the son of Zeus or something like that. It would've been the easiest thing in the world to make Mr. Jackson a latter-day Hercules and let the story write itself from there. Far more interesting to give him a lesser god as a pop. Still powerful, mind you, but not heir to the big bad father of them all. Extra kudos for his treatment of Artemis and her Hunters in this book. In the story, the girls that join Artemis to hunt with her have, for one reason or another, eschewed the company of men. Annabeth, it soon turns out, was contemplating joining them. This easily could have been played up as an evil choice or one that no right-minded woman should go with. Instead, Riordan prefers to be nuanced. The choice, we learn, may not be for everyone, but for some people it's a legitimate lifestyle. It would have been too easy to demonize an all-woman group of this sort. He could have made them into nasty man-haters. Instead, they don't particularly like men but they also don't act cruelly towards them.

Riordan's also a big fan of casting mysterious phrases the reader's way. This is nothing new, of course. He's always loved to bring up an important sentence, then delay its explanation via a fight or some other distraction. Normally he knows how to keep this instinct under control. In "The Titan's Curse," however, he's gone a little overboard. There are more times in this title where the book will say, "It was a long time ago. Never mind," or, "I decided not to ask what she meant," or something to that effect than he can really justify as an author. He also isn't afraid to throw in a convenient plot twist when the fancy strikes. Like, for example, finding an abandoned truck with a full tank of gas when you really need to drive as fast as you can across America. Or someone just happening to fashion bullets out of celestial bronze and then placing them in a helicopter not long before the moment when evil monsters are nigh. That sort of thing. Even Percy's dreams are never explained, even though they act as perfect little narrative devices. It's a pity.

Which is not to say that the situation in this book isn't direst it's ever been. The pace and plotting of this book work together very well here. Possibly better than they've ever worked before. Riordan juggles humor and action together fairly well, always taking time to introduce new, interesting characters. I also have a weakness for Riordan's chapter headings. Titles like "I Learn How To Grow Zombies," or, "The Gods Vote How To Kill Us," just reel the child reader in. As for his hero, you always root for Percy. Unlike his magician equivalent, Percy never really stays on top of things. If something bad can happen to this guy, it will. He's a hero but he's also kind of a screw-up, so he tends to be interesting to watch since you never know who'll be putting him down next.

Some series books have a clear cut sense of when they're going to end. Take Harry Potter as your example here. Harry attends seven years of school (in theory) so therefore he has seven books in his series. A Series of Unfortunate Events follows a tragic and unlucky set of characters, therefore their books are the unarguably unlucky number thirteen. The "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," series, however, isn't so clear cut. We do learn in this book that Percy may have to fulfill a prophecy of some sort around his sixteenth birthday. So at the very least that may mean two more books, always assuming Riordan makes each title exactly one year. However he chooses to wrap the series up, it really doesn't matter. For the time being, "The Titan's Curse," will satisfy its die-hard fans. I don't know how Riordan managed to find the right child-reader sweet spot, but he definitely managed it. A fine supplement to a fun, fast-paced series.

The The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2) ended with a bang, with another child of the three gods emerging from the tree guarding Camp Half-Blood. Percy Jackson now has his hands full in THE TITAN'S CURSE, the third volume of the series.

When he answers an urgent call from his best friend, Grover, at a school in Maine, unexplainable things start happening. Grover has found two more half-bloods, who are siblings, but the assistant principal is a powerful monster in disguise. Grover will never get the half-bloods to camp without help. Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia set off for Maine to help Grover, but don't realize that they're walking into a trap.

Dr. Thorn, the assistant principal, has some tricks up his sleeve. When Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, arrives, things get out of hand. Dr. Thorn falls off a cliff with Annabeth. Artemis goes after her and everyone else returns to Camp Half-Blood. Here, they try to act as normal as possible, but two camper's dreams indicate severe trouble with both Artemis and Annabeth.

The Oracle speaks and five campers must find and bring back Artemis before the Winter Solstice. For the first time, Percy remains behind, but not by choice, and not for long. When Percy meets up with the group, the enemies start showing themselves--and the race to reach Artemis and Annabeth alive becomes more crucial. Can Percy save both them before the Winter Solstice?

THE TITAN'S CURSE leaves the reader hanging, waiting for several important questions to be answered in the final two books of the series. This fast-paced novel, along with the action, makes it a great series for fantasy lovers, reluctant readers, and anyone looking for a good story.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel

If you've been following this fascinating series, you'll already know that it is based on Greek mythology, with a touch of artistic license and a ton of humor. Apparently, the big three of Olympus (Poseidon, Zeus and Hades) had reluctantly agreed to stop popping over to earth and siring offspring with the local mortals, in order to nullify a prophecy that foretells certain disaster when said offspring reach the age of sixteen. However, gods will be gods, and as we pick up the story from The Sea of Monsters), we have two potentially dangerous demi-gods running around, namely Percy Jackson, star of the series and son of Poseidon, God of the Sea, and Thalia, who formerly had roots on Half-Blood Hill, and is the daughter of Zeus, Lord of the Sky. This is not to say that some of the other gods weren't busy as well, and the majority of the supporting cast is made up of children of the other residents of Olympus.

This third book of the planned five book series starts with a rescue mission to save two newly-discovered demi-gods from a monster attack, and during the battle, a daughter of Athena is taken, despite the timely arrival of Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and her hunters. While Artemis sets off alone to hunt another monster that is destined to cause the downfall of Olympus, the rest are sent to Camp Half-Blood for their safety. While there, The Oracle (whose description makes her sound like Norman Bates' mummy) delivers a prophecy that leads to the rest of the action that packs book three from cover to cover.

To cut the story short, a team of five is chosen to set off in search of Artemis, but there is a last minute unplanned substitution, who has another quest or two to fulfill along the way. The route takes them through Manhattan and across the country to San Francisco, where our hero experiences what it's like to carry the weight of the sky on his shoulders.

Cool monsters, skeletal warriors and bad guys abound, as well as gods behaving badly and making bad haiku, but the most upsetting thing about this book is that after reading the ending, it will be a very agonizing and excruciatingly painful wait for books four and five. This is one of those series where you just gotta get them all.



Amanda Richards, May 11, 2007

Ok maybe not the best title for this review but true enough, this book is addictive just like the rest of the series. Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth start off together in the beginning but things quickly change when they fall into a trap; leaving Percy and Thalia to save the world and Annabeth and as usual, must do so in less than a week or witness a potential doomsday. With the usual humor and allusions to Greek mythology, this book keeps you hooked from start to finish just like its 2 predecessors (The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters). Before reading this book, it is best to read the first two as there is little character or plot introduction. Some lingering questions are solved from the first two books such as Thalia and Percy's ability to get along and Percy's fatal flaw is revealed. However, The Titan's Curse will leave you with many questions and hints at the future books (there is supposedly to be 5 books) and for sure it will leave you ready for the next book as the end introuduces a new adventure. All in all, Rick Riordan has done what many writers struggle with: he has actually written a great middle book. it maintains pace and action throughout the story, keeps the characters lively and original, and occasionally makes you laugh out loud which i something i didn't think i would ever do with dignity. anyone who wants to read a great story full of action, humor, and great characters just pick up this book.

I thought that The Titan's Curse was a fantastic read because the plot was about a boy around my age who seems to always be getting into trouble, but not just any normal trouble. The boy's name is Percy Jackson and his father is the god named Poseidon. Yes, his father is the ruler of the ocean and the brother of Zeus. However, because his mother is a mortal Percy is a demigod, which means he's half god and half mortal. Oddly enough, Percy is getting into trouble with Greek and Roman mythological monsters from Homer's epic adventure, The Odyssey. Some of the monsters Percy runs into are a manticore, an ophiotaurus, and literally bits and pieces of the Titan Lord himself. This book is part of an unfinished series called Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
There are a few reasons why I thought this book was such a great read. One reason I read this book with so much enthusiasm was because I was always on the edge of my seat. There was so much excitement that I had trouble setting the book down and doing my homework. Oddly enough, I would choose to read this book a hundred times over playing video games. Another reason I enjoyed the book was it had a steady pace. The book had a nice steady build up to the climax, and a nice steady decent from the climax. This made me feel like there was just the right amount of action and suspense throughout the book. A third reason I couldn't stop reading this book was I could relate Percy's life to my own. For example, Percy thinks he is more experienced than he really is. On page fourteen, Percy says, "The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time I found my friends. I knew monsters. I could handle this myself." Sometimes, I think something similar when I become over confident after I do a good deed or make a funny joke.
There are many great parts in this story, but the best part is during the battle in San Francisco between a group of three demigods, a goddess, a huntress, and a small portion of the ever growing army of the Titan Lord. This battle is the best part because most of the action and excitement is released in this short blossom of words.
Even though the book is great overall, there could be some improvements. One improvement could be the dialogue. Sometimes I found the dialogue to be a little on the cheesy side. For example, Percy's demigod friend Annabeth calls him "seaweed brain" because he is a son of Poseidon. I understand that the author was trying to put humor into the book, but such an obvious nickname was more silly than humorous. However, even with the missed humor, many people would like this book. If the reader likes mythology, action scenes, and books in a series, they will absolutely love this book. If I could give this book a rating, one being the best and ten being the worst, I would pick one because I was so engulfed in the words and the story every time I picked up the book. Fortunately for all readers who like the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Titan's Curse is the third book, so there are two more wonderful pieces of work before this book, and the series still isn't finished because I am sure more will be written. But readers beware: once you start reading the series, you won't be able to stop.

This book thoroughly lives up to the quality of adventure and plot seen in the first two. It still has the savvy wit, and yet the characters are still visibly growing. I'm excitedly looking forward to the next book, because I absolutely have to know what happens next. :)

After the second book came out and disappointed, I wasn't sure that this series was going to last, but I'm happy to report that this entry might be the best of them all. The plot zips along, and the heroes engagement in lively battles, dialogue, and interpersonal relationships ring with some of the best written work in memory for a novel of this genre.

An excellent adventure filled with action, humor, and humanity. Not to mention the cutest sea monster in history.

If you like Harry Potter, you will probably like this book, too. Come to think of it, if you do not like HP, you may still like this book. Recommended reading ages are grades 5-9 but if you're younger and like to read this book may very well be fine . . . and, this book is actually written well enough for adults to enjoy as well.

Tale focuses on a 12 year old boy named Percy who isn't getting along with just about everyone in school and soon discovers part of his problems are related to the fact that he's the son of the Greek God, Poseidon, which leads him to a training camp for Half-Bloods/Demigods and then a quest to find the Golden Fleece which will protect the Half Blood camp (i.e. where all his friends are located).

PROS

(1)Told in first person narrative and therefore flows particularly well.;
(2) Hip and cutting edge enough, focusing on popular, trendy spots like Las Vegas, at one point, for instance.;
(3) Well detailed info on mythology so one could learn a lot without cracking open a mythology book. A lot of the details are woven into the story rather than just told to you.;
(4) Some really funny lines or events;
(5) Well established relationship with his mortal mother;
(6) Some good action scenes that focus on Greek Mythology; and
(7) A few surprised even the veterans of fantasy reading won't spot.

CONS

(1)For adults, if you don't like archetypes and standard story archetypes, you may find this a bit predictable in certain parts. Remember that it's written for young readers.; and
(2) Percy tends to fall into a few jams because he doesn't think things through. He's twelve so I suppose he gets some slack for that but then he also does some smart things so judge it as you will.

This book is a my daughter's favorite! My nine year old daughter loved this whole series and wouldn't leave me alone until I got her the 2nd (and ultimately the 3rd) book. She loved the hidden twists and turns to the story. She thought the book was quite exciting. She likes the mix of ancient mythology and action. She reads one to two 100+ books a week and this is her Favorite series, by far, of all the books she has read.

The latest Percy Jackson and the Olympians continues to tell a wonderful story of children of Olypmic gods and goddesses dealing with not only this world, but interacting with the gods themselves. Forces of the Titan Kronos, are gaining power. The are amassing an army of Titans, monsters, and half-bloods to overthrow Zeus and the Olympians. And they are going to start at Camp Halfblood - Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover find Artemis, and her band of maidens to help them. Artemis is captured, (and Annabeth is missing) and the kids have to rescue her and get Artemis to the winter solstice. They have to cross the country to San Francisco to find her - with the gods' help, statues come to life, pegasus like horses are at their command, and all show their courage against the evil ones trying to take control.
This is not a stand alone book, and knowledge of mythology helps to keep gods and characters clear - Look the characters up on the Internet, or a mythology book to know more about them and what they mean to the story.
The series is a delight to read, and while it is aimed at young folks, it, like the Harry Potter books that also were aimed to young ones, have caught adults' attentions too.
We glimpse at what the next adventure will be, and am sure it will be just as great as the first three books.