Book Review|| Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

Blurb: 

'A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don't need the Olympians mad at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week.' So begins Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic--and sarcastic asides--to the classics. He explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who's who of ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back. 'If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that.' Dramatic full-color illustrations throughout by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco make this volume--a must for home, library, and classroom shelves--as stunning as it is entertaining.

Amna's Rating: 3/5

This book promised much. Knowing that it would feature the long-awaited Percy first person narration, it probably got fangirls all over the world excited.

Except for the fact it wasn't a Percy book.

I mean sure Percy was 'supposed' to narrate it but it didn't really have the feel we have come to expect of a Percy Jackson book (atleast before Heroes of Olympus). It's witty, sarcastic, entertaining but it would be better suited if it had been narrated by Rick Riordan( Chief Scribe at Camp Half-Blood as he likes to call himself). Percy... I don't know, he seemed kind of forced. If it had been Percy he couldn't go through what happened to Tantalus and the lot without adding some sarcastic comment based on his own experience with them.

                                      

Don't get me wrong, I am a major fan of PJ (thankfully not a mind-numbed fangirl) and that's why it annoys me to find him telling a story which fits in with the rest of the series like a glove potato sack

There were a lot of contradictions with the original series. I know, I know greek myths have lots of versions but if you are making it a Percy book atleast stick to the ones used in the books, especially the ones which had an impact on the plot. Hestia giving up her throne in favour of Dionysus was important the The Last Olympian, it taught Percy about yielding when necessary and if that didn't happen, he wouldn't let Luke be the hero of the prophecy and Kronos would have probably come to power, defying the whole purpose of the series. Not giving Hestia a throne in the first place in this companion book was not a cool idea. Other contradictions include Dionysus's past and Zeus's captivity.

Otherwise, it was an okay-good book. It weaves through the Olympian's backgrounds effortlessly making you absorb a lot of cool info. The stories are interconnected seamlessly and for a book without any plot or characters, it keeps you reading nicely. PS. that wasn't an insult, it isn't supposed to have a plot as it is mostly follows up on important events related to the major olympians but it is much cooler than a factfile. 

It's a decent read if you want to know about Greek mythology and I would have rated it more if it hadn't been labelled as a PJ book because that really spoiled it.

It's written in the typical easy- flowing Rick Riordan style which is easy on the eyes and leads you in a chatty way through various important events in a oh-theyre-not-so-important way.

The illustrations were pretty cool but had little to do with the reading experience.

Cut to the chase: pretty interesting book on the olympians and their history but not a PJ book, though if you are a Rick Riordan fan then there aren't a lot of reasons not to read it as it is somewhat entertaining. Just don't think of it as 'omigosh! its the last Percy narrated book the author's gonna ever write and just before Blood of Olympus eek!'' (or whatever fangirls do)

I Liked:

• The easy flowing style characteristic of Rick Riordan
• Interconnection between stories

I Didn't Like: 

• A forced Percy POV
• Contradictions

Check it out on Goodreads

Heroes of Olympus|| Best of Character Art

Heroes of Olympus. Loved by readers because of Mr. Riordan's humorous yet gripping writing style and of course the great character art. Have a look at some of the best yet.

No.1 Hera 

No.2 Arachne

No.3 Ella the Harpy

No.4 Festus the Dragon

No.5 Aphrodite

Kane Chronicles|| Best of Character Art

Rick Riordan's character art is gaining popularity at a fast rate. See the best of Kane Chronicles Character Art.

1. Anubis

2. Isis

3. Zia Rashid

4. Ra

5. Horus

Mark of Athena

Book Review by Elvenarya abd Obsidian Fury

Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close—the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare....

Epicness unleashed... not without its share of awesomeness courtesy of my favourite characters in the world Rick Riordan has crafted.

Percy - just as cool as a son of Poseidon could get.
Nico - stays for a far lesser time than I would've liked, but I'm not complaining.
A new surprise entry into my Favourite list - Leo Valdez... I'll just say he's some hot stuff, not a bad boy yet but too good for himself. ;)

The rest... 
Hazel and Frank tie up somewhere in the middle tier of the Seven Demigod List...
Someone, unsurprisingly, has taken the official bottom list. 

So Mark of Athena: full of expected and yet unexpected surprises, new gods... new maniacal, obsessive gods... or not. 
Overall, though I was really tempted to give it FIVE stars, I had to remind myself the reason as to why I can't, and it did the trick. Some fans are in for a boring surprise. This time, the Percy 1st-person POV, I sorely missed. 

I guess pretty much large part of this amazing book is quotable - more or less revolving around Leo Valdez - Hot stuff...
Oh, and these demigods have added, yet again, a ship/tank/Argo II/'colossal-worth of adventures and run-ins with enemies... and some friends. And where there aren't much enemies... they make 'em. =D

It's action-packed. 
It's thrilling.
It's a tornado-whirling, sea-crashing, fire-breathing, transforming ride.
With a crazy goat bent on singing Old Mc Donald (with weapons in place of animals. Naturally!)  things will never be the same after this trip's over.

The infectious humour and the sweet, sweet absurdity, a much-loved of this awesome teen writer's writes, left me rolling my eyes and grinning like Coach Hedge when he's allowed to fire 'em ballistae. 
And the narrations... Oh WOW! Of course, the narrations belonging to two of my Favourite characters only of course. Read to find out. The mini plots were amazing as always with the encounter with Echo and Narcissus and the fight in the hypogeum leaving me laughing and fearing for the heroes’ life simultaneously (the later not so much in the former's case).
Brilliant setting, snappy dialogues and the depth of emotion in the characters won my heart enough to make me ignore the few dragging flat parts in the book(something I never came across in the Percy Jackson Series). This series is definitely darker than its predecessor, the threat more real and the team's fears and challenges dogging their footsteps all the way. Its hard to see all have them making their way through unscathed. That, coupled  with the cliff-hanger ending- makes me await The House of Hades with great anticipation.

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) By Rick Riordan (Reviewed by Amna) || Book Review

Blurb:

After getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities: He is a demigod, half human, half immortal. Even more stunning: His father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There's little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus.

This first installment of Rick Riordan's best-selling series is a non-stop thrill-ride and a classic of mythic proportions.

Introduction: I first heard of this book when I saw the trailer of the Lightning Thief. Frankly I was totally disgusted by the whole thing. If anyone had asked me then whether I'd like to read the book my response would have been "ew!!!". It was quite some time later when my sister recommended this book to me that i took any interest in actually reading it. At first I just kept it in a dusty corner not meaning to read it at all. However one day when I was totally bored and had nothing to read I finally picked it up and started to read. My response after finishing it was-"ITS AWESOME!!!!!!"
Analysis: This book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys fictional books no matter what age. Rick Riorden grabs the age old Greek Mythology tales and sets it into a totally different background- the 21st century (for e.g Mount Olumpus is in the Empire State Building and the Underworld in Los Angelas). In the meantime children of Greek gods and mortals are being hunted down by monsters .The only safe place left for them is Camp Half-Blood but they don't always make it there.
12 year old Percy Jackson has always had a hard time settling in schools (which has resulted in him getting expelled from quite a few) . However when he vapourizes his teacher , well lets just say that it capped all his previous mis-adventures. Then Percy finds out that he is as far from normal as possible for he is a demigod.
After a great sacrifice (read the book and find out yourself what the sacrifice was) he manages to reach the only place where he can be safe -Camp Half-Blood. Just when he had finnaly started getting adjusted in this 'new' life (which was hard enough) Percy finds that Zeus the chief Olympian has blamed Percy and his Olympian parent for stealing his Lightning Bolt. Unless Percy , along with his friends Annabeth and Grover can find the bolt and bring it back to Zeus before the Summer Solstice (which is 10 days away ) the gods will be at war with Earth as a battle-field.
This book will apeal to any fan of fantasy-fiction no matter what age.I really loved this book, you simply cannot put it down. This book will grip you harder than Zeus could if he caught you running off with his pants (no idea where that came from) . The occasional humor and cutting remarks from the three friends puts a smile on your face. As for the story line well its simply great. The excitement and suspense mounts specially when the trio get into seemingly unescapable situations. All the characters are well-developed. The story goes at a perfect pace - not too fast and not too slow. 
Conclusion: Overall this book is simply amazing. The writer has put great effort in developing the story as well as the characters. It is a must-read for every-one. I especially recommend it to fans of the book 'Alchemyst' by Michael Scott because in that series the author has also modernized the myths. However Percy Jackson is funnier.