Review: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan 
Reviewed by Steph with Dani’s commentary in blue.
Steph’s rating: 5 stars Dani’s rating: 5 stars Overall rating: 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

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. . . .

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 prophesy 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.

Dani’s comments in blue

Steph’s Review:

JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE TO RANT AND GASP A LITTLE AFTER THAT DANG CLIFFHANGER ENDING RICK RIORDAN. WE HAD TO WAIT A YEAR FOR THIS BOOK AND YOU DROPPED US ON OUR BUTTS AT THE VERY END. I never knew how much the term “cliffhanger” could apply to this book *nudge*. The wait for the next book is going to be a long one...*sighs*.

In this book, the representatives from Camp Half-Blood have arrived at Camp Jupiter. There is lots of tension between the two camps, but Riordan tones it down a lot by giving us the cutest Annabeth and Percy reunion scene *squeals!*. Oh in your FACE Reyna! The said “seven demigods” in the prophecy are confirmed in this book, and they take off on their flying trireme/airplane to complete the quest of saving the world and their friends yet again, despite the skepticism of the Roman camp.

A lot of the questions about the Great Prophecy are answered in this book. You learn what has to happen for Olympus to be saved, and it created a nice outline for the events that will happen in the rest of the series. Don’t think that just because we can expect what’s going to happen later means that this book isn’t packed with the action that  Percy Jackson fans love. There are plenty of fight scenes, lots of sarcastic humor, and plenty of...quite swoony scenes that I thought were a bit uncharacteristic for Riordan’s writing, but were good anyways. Don’t fret, they are between “that” couple from the previous series <3. A certain pale boy with a black sword comes around, and there are these twin dwarf-giants (yes I know, an oxymoron, but you will understand once you read the book) that dress up in tutu’s. Well, actually only one is obsessed with ballet and tutus. Oh, did I mention they are male-giants?

I’ll go ahead and do a character run-down:

Percy: I think I love him even more now. He was so sweet towards Annabeth even though he was under so much pressure from his personal problems and the quest. Going strong as always! *smooch* *wink*

Annabeth: Her reunion with Percy was soooo cute! Just think of typical Annabeth and how she treats her Seaweed Brain, and you know what is going to happen. Even though she has Percy back in this book, Annabeth is more alone than ever because of this mystery “Mark of Athena”...but you go girl! You will think of chinese handcuffs differently after you read this book.

Frank/Hazel: Their relationship was pretty “meh” to me. I still like both of them...but I felt they weren’t essential to this book.

Leo: You rock! I love you! Please don’t feel alone, your ship is awesome, and you are hilarious and ingenious! And no, you are not an idiot. Leo’s relation to Hazel/Sammy is revealed in this book...and it is kind of a wide-eye moment.

Jason: He felt like the Roman version of Percy here. His worries really correspond to those of Percy’s, and I think that he and Percy will really be good friends in the future. I never knew he was younger than Percy though.

Piper: She was kind of annoying. The only thing she really thought about for the majority of books was her bf/gf relationship with Jason. She didn’t become useful until one life saving moment of the book in my opinion.

Gaea: BI*CH. Please excuse my profanity.

    This book was just as amazing as all of the ones before it. Actually, I think it is the best installment of “The Heroes of Olympus” series so far. Despite it’s few minor faults, it deserves every one of those shiny 5 stars. Recommended for: everyone. Whether you like mythology or not. I can’t wait to see what Riordan has planned in the last two books!

Wow Steph's style of reviewing is so...intense. It reflects her mood swing feelings about this book. One moment she's swooning over a Percabeth moment and a second later she's calling people names. She thought that Piper thought about Jason too much, but isn’t that what girls do?? Obsess about the guy they like? Well, duh, of course we do!

I disagree with Steph on a few things.  Before reading The Mark of Athena, I had heard a people saying that Rick Riordan put more romantic scenes in it. I didn't think there was a significant increase, but I do think that his writing tone has changed a little. The characters are older and more mature since The Lightning Thief so the writing,  and the thoughts of the characters has also become more mature. I enjoyed the different POV's instead of seeing the world in just Percy's eyes. It was nice to read from Annabeth's POV  and find out what she thought of PERCY! I did not think that Piper "obsessed about her relationship" and she was not annoying at all! The annoying one is mother nature, aka Dirt-Face as someone likes to call her. I always thought that it was ironic and surprising that Rick Riordan chose Gaea as the villain. She is the earth, the thing that we live on. So the thing that sustains life wants to kill us? Well, actually, humans have been so mean and disrespectful to the earth (i.e. pollution, global warming), maybe she just wants to eradicate us.

Piper was useful in her own way throughout the book and especially in one life-saving scene, although Piper had doubted herself and wondered if she was really a contributing member of her quest. Steph argues that Piper was only useful in ONE life saving scene, but I think that there were a few more...Although Piper did worry about her relationship with Jason when she was comparing it to Percy and Annabeth’s relationship. She said something like,” Percy and Annabeth were just so natural together! Why do Jason and I not have that?”

Ahh... Leo...By far the funniest and most innovative character! I loved reading from his POV. Reading about all of Leo's hilarious reactions to different things? Um YES! I agreed with everything else Steph said about the characters. And I'm beginning to wonder I'd Jason is cuter than Percy...but Nico di Angelo himself said "Percy is the most powerful demigod I've ever met". Power or looks? Steph says both.

Rick Riordan left Mark of Athena on a MAJOR cliffhanger involving your/our favorite couple. It has to be the worst cliffhanger I have ever read... So be warned! I am just going to say that 2 essential characters end up in their worst nightmare. Hey, but at least they're not alone!    Thank you Rick Riordan for creating so many amazing characters and these amazing books! I literally grew up reading your books! If I hadn't picked up and read The Lightning Thief, my childhood would have a hole in it. Percy Jackson has taught me life lessons, like how to deal with selfish jerks like Gabe Ugliano. I learned Greek mythology (and now Roman mythology) with Percy when Annabeth taught him. All in all, Rick Riordan should be a god in Olympus!

Huh maybe I should delete that last sentence...What if Zeus is disguised as a book addict and reads this? Will he zap me with his master bolt for this blasphemy? Bleh. I’ll take my chances.