Battle of the Labyrinth

The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4) continues Percy's adventures. Camp Half Blood is under threat as the supporters of Kronos are on their way to Camp Half Blood through the Labyrinth. Percy will need the assistance of a mortal and his fellow campers to survive this new threat.

This book answers some questions established in the first book and others added during the following two books. Pan's fate is finally revealed. The author also explains Luke's involvement with Kronos. Nico, son of Hades, works through his issues with the death of his sister, but still has unresolved issues regarding his place in the world as the end of the story. The story introduces readers to more Greek mythology.

This is the fourth story I have listened to Jesse Bernstein read and I am really enjoying his narration. I read this series when it was originally published, but listening to it on CD has allowed me to enjoy it in a new way.

While I was pleased Riordan started to resolve more of the story in this book, he could have used some editing to make it a stronger novel. The previous three books were tighter books with better plot and character control. This book tried to accomplish too much. As a result, it often lost focus.

The Sea of Monsters

I listened to The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2) while working on various writing and craft projects. It had been a while since I read the book and the audio version held my attention.

Percy Jackson's adventures continue. Camp Half Blood is in trouble. Percy is denied his request to go on a quest to save the camp, but as any reader of the series expects he becomes involved in the effort to retrieve the Golden Fleece regardless of the rules.

Unlike the Alcatraz series, the Percy Jackson series does maintain momentum and quality writing throughout the series. This story continues to move the individual book plot as well as the series plot along at a solid pace. We know more about the Titans, we see a developing relationship with Percy and his father Poseidon, and his relationship with the other half blood heroes.

As a former teacher, one of the things I like about this series is that it is a natural way to generate interest in Greek mythology. Children can read this story without much knowledge about Greek history and come away knowing a bit more about the Greek Gods. However, a clever teacher or parent can use this series to interest students in learning more about Greek myths. While the Greek Gods are given a modern update in this series, it is easy to motivate students to learning more about the casual references to myths that the author leaves in the stories for the reader to explore further on their own.

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