The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Review: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

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The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Please note that this is a review for the second book in a series and may contain spoilers if you haven’t read The Lost Hero yet. Reading is at your own risk.

Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn’t know much more than his name, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth.

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem—when the Voice took over her mother and commanded Hazel to use her “gift” for an evil purpose, Hazel couldn’t say no.

Franz is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes, but his bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially in front of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely—enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart.

Prepare for a gushy and fangirly review.

When this book was delivered, I was ecstatic. I don’t do many happy dances when I get books in, but this one got the most extravagant one of them all. And then came the big question: should I read it right away? Or should I wait a bit so the wait for book three wouldn’t be so long? Of course, I picked the first, read it, and am now going insane at the thought of 11 months of waiting before The Mark of Athena comes out.

The Son of Neptune followes three different half-bloods in their quest after we’ve met Jason, Leo and Piper in book 1. One of the half-bloods is an old friend, and I was so excited to finally see him again. But don’t worry; Frank and Hazel get equal parts of importance in the story!

I thought it was wonderful to see a different side to the gods that were only shown from their ‘bad side’ (for lack of a better word) and to see that they are not superficial. We got to see their different personas, not only by seeing the Greek gods in their Roman forms, but by seeing their individual characters.

Riordan did not disappoint in his storytelling, his dialogue and most of all, his humor. It was exciting to read, fast paced but filled with so much humor. I found myself laughing out loud several times, which earned me a couple of Evil Eyes from my sister, but I don’t mind. The story is absolutely brilliant and I love what Riordan did with the Amazons. It was equally hilarious as it was brilliant!

For me personally, the characters really come alive. They all have their distinctive habits, characters and appearances and I could (once again) fully visualize the story. It was like I was watching a movie or simply being there. I haven’t experienced that since I read Harry Potter and that’s possibly the biggest compliment that I can give The Son of Neptune.

I absolutely loved everything about SoN. It was bloody brilliant and I think that everyone should read it!! My favorite quote was the one with the horse and Frank (those who read it will know which one I mean). Fan-freaking-tastic, this book is! Ever since I closed the book, I’ve been wanting to open it and read it again and again and again. The wait for the next installment might kill me…

Even though it is marketed as a spinoff series to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, I wouldn’t recommend reading these books before PJO. Sure, it’s possible, but you miss so many little remarks that Riordan has put into his story towards what happened in the first series. I’d suggest reading them all – they are so worth it. And you want the full experience with this one, believe me!

My overall rating:

Come on, did you honestly think that I might give it less stars? This one deserves all the stars!

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