Best Sellers post #10: The Mark of Athena Book Review

The Mark of Athena is the third book in the Heroes of Olympus Series. The Lost Hero and Son of Neptune both set the scene for the seven demigods that are entwined in a prophecy. But after several visits from different Gods, they realize that the Prophecy of Seven and the Mark of Athena are combined in some way. The Mark of Athena goes into detail about the demigod’s journey to Rome and Annabeth’s journey to finding out what her mother’s mark is.

Rick Riordan is the author of this book. He decided to write the book in a different style. Each chapter is narrated by a different character. For example, the chapter called ANNABETH is about what she is currently doing during that time. It goes into her thoughts, actions, discoveries, and decisions. How Riordan did this is interesting because it gives the reader an opportunity to get to see the story from multiple people’s point of view. It gives the reader the chance to pick which character they think is a hero, villain, back up character, non-important character, etc.

Piper is a well-developed character because her personality is relatable. When a chapter is labeled PIPER, there are always times when you compare yourself to her. She does not have any major powers like Percy or Jason, but she still is an important part to the team. Piper always says things like, “Piper had a new entry in her top-ten list of Times Piper Felt Useless” (Riordan 302). This sentence has a quality that none of the other sentences have… compatibility. Her character is compatible with regular people, with the reader. This quality makes her character well-developed in the story. The reader relates to how she thinks and feels.  

Percy Jackson can be a very bitter character because of how he holds the grudge against the wine god. Lord Bacchus is the wine god. In his Greek form at Camp Half-Blood, he was always very rude to Percy. However, this was a year ago and it was in the god’s other form (Gods have two forms Greek and Roman). In a scene of the book where Percy, Piper, and Jason go to see the Roman form of the wine god, Lord Bacchus, Percy is very rude. Lord Bacchus asks Percy why he has not changed him into a dolphin yet because he was so rude. Percy replies, “’It was discussed,’ Percy assured him. ‘I think you were just too lazy to do it’” (Riordan 122). Percy is being very rude to the god in this passage. He is still bitter towards the god for being mean and annoying during Percy’s Camp Half-Blood years. Even though it has been over a year and the Roman form of the god has a different personality than the Greek form.

Opinions that are heard about Percy Jackson are that he is the “best hero”. Many people have awarded him the best hero award when writing a class assignment. Most people say this because he is a young boy, who has given up a normal life to help save others. He never backs down from a fight and he is always trying to save everyone. Also it helps that he can control water. That is his “super power”. In the Mark of Athena, there are several parts where Percy steps out to defend the members of his team, especially, Annabeth. Also, he did not hesitate to get on the ship when the Greek demigods first arrived at the Roman camp. They told him how dangerous the quest was going to be, yet he still volunteered.

The novels purpose is to entertain. Also, it is a feel-good book. It shows the power of friendship, hard work, and peace. The plot has several battles between the demigods and giants/monsters. These creatures are always defeated by the power of friendship. They always show more than one demigod fighting and the demigods helping and protecting each other during the battle. For example, when the Greek demigods showed up at the Roman camp, Percy (Greek demigod at Roman camp) immediately defended them. They were his friends, so he stood up to all the Romans.

            This book was a perfect balance between action, mystery, and imagination. Just the right ingredients of a good fantasy novel. The ending was a great gateway into the next book.