a review: the dark prophecy by rick riordan (trials of apollo book 2)

"It's not how long you live that matters. It's what you live for." - Rick Riordan, The Dark Prophecy

Alright, I am a HUGE Percy Jackson fan. I was in fifth grade when I got The Lightning Thief and have grown up on the series, purchasing each new book every year since.

However, I've noticed a slight shift in Riordan's writing in his past few novels. Sure, I've grown from a 10 year old to 22 year old reading these books targeted to middle schoolers...but that's not the issue.

I have reread the original series multiple times (and recently, too), and have never found that I've "outgrown" Riordan's style of writing or silly humor. In fact, I still find those original five books, as well as those in the Heroes of Olympus series, to have some pretty serious themes, accompanied by many (genuinely) funny moments.

Then there's The Trials of Apollo. Having now read the first two books (there are two more books planned to be released in this spin-off series, and I will be publishing a review of book 3, The Burning Maze, very soon), this is what confuses me. This series, as well as the previous two, were all targeted to the same audience--yet, The Trials of Apollo reads much, muchyounger.

All of a sudden, I'm not laughing at the humor, but cringing. The characters often come across as just plain dumb, and don't even get me started on the monsters. You know that thing in movies where the bad guy is going to kill somebody but first has to explain his entire scheme, letting them escape? Yeah, the monsters in this book are like that, times 100.

However, I did, and always have, appreciated Riordan's attention to detail and mythological accuracy, and this book is no exception. We get to learn about many awesome, new characters, some of whom have seriously dark backgrounds. Not gonna lie, these stories were my favorite parts of the book. And that leads us into the pros and cons:

Pros:

Mythology backstories. As mentioned above, Riordan always does a fantastic job staying accurate to mythology, and his backstories of Apollo and some of the characters he encounters in this series are very intriguing.

Emperor Commodus. Did anyone else picture Joaquin Pheonix every time Commodus came into the story (Gladiator fans?)? Cause I certainly did, which did nothing but help the character. ;) That fact aside, Commodus was actually a really twisted bad guy. His was one of the backstories I really loved reading about.

Meg McCaffrey. This girl is just plain bada**, and I love it. Having come from a twisted background as well, Meg is a girl of few words but serious skill, saving her companions on numerous occasions. I fell in love with Meg in the first book, and she only got better in this one.

The climax. No spoilers here, so I'll just say the ultimate "battle" at the end of the book is done perfectly. There isn't any of the "silliness" I've talked about, and the sense of danger is very real. Excellently written and executed.

Cons:

"Relevant" humor.I can't tell you how many times things like Google Maps, Wikipedia, Kids Bop, or a Magic 8 Ball were referenced. And I get it, Riordan writes with a silly sense of humor, but I don't know, it just feels extremely childish compared to his previous books. Instead of actually being cute or funny, the jokes just came off as immature, something the characters should have outgrown by now.

Polite monsters. Again, the stupidity of these monsters is astounding. They are more focused on being polite that they are actually completing their missions. Why? Beats me.

Leo not being nearly as cool a character.I really liked Leo in the Heroes of Olympus series, but he was just bashed on this entire book. Rather than coming across as dorky but charming, he read as a scrawny character who could never take anything seriously and got on everyone else's nerves--particularly Calypso. Which brings me to...

Leo and Calypso as a couple. No, this just doesn't work. At all. Maybe Riordan will further their relationship in the next few books, but the pairing just doesn't feel natural. They constantly bicker and seem to have very little in common. I know, this is a minor con, but I'm just not a fan of such a forced relationship. It reads as if Calypso is staying with him out of pity.

As this is a spin-off Percy Jackson book, I have to give it some love. The story, as a whole, holds together and is written very well. I only wish Riordan would limit the "cringy" humor and grow more with his readers, cause there is a vast difference between the way this book reads and The Lightning Thief.

Rating: 2.5/5