A nice over all book. The only problem is that I just feel they tried to stretch out the subject too much.Let's go over traits that I did like and then talk about diction,literary elements, and Opinions.
The book was a nice edition to anybody who was just catching up to the Percy Jackson series. They may have missed some parts, but this book has it all.It describes all the characters Percy comes in contact with, that were made before this book, good or bad. Rick Riordan makes me proud to be one of his "followers". There is never a book he'll write that'll disappoint me, except the Kane series.
Diction- Rick Riordan,one of the best writer's in America, doesn't surprise me that he has one of the most exquisite vocabulary's ever. He knows just the right word to use every time without going overboard. He's so good that my 4th grade teacher used him as example for his writing. Let's have some examples: "Nancy Bobofit: freckled, red-headed kleptomaniac." (Riordan 18). Is there a reason not to love that? A lot of people don't even know what a kleptomaniac is (someone with an irrational urge to steal in the absence of an economic motive). One more citation: "Come now, Percy What you call Western Civilization. Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years." (Riordan 10). That's the kind of paragraphs my teacher read us. that's what he is famous for. Just simply being very active in the description field.
Literary Craft- Rick is so good at being very many people at once. It's like he steps into an alternate dimension and writes about his life as Percy Jackson, boy demon slayer.I love it!!! I'll give you two examples if different characters talking and you can see for yourself. BEWARE! YOU MIGHT WANT TO COVER YOUR EYES. Percy-"I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York. Am I a troubled kid? Yeah. You could say that." (Riordan 12). Uncle Rich-"It breaks my heart to write this note, but I have no one else to turn to. I know how well you've been doing in high school and how hard you worked to get to college. But now I know there is nothing more the doctors can do to help me and my health insurance has run out. You're my only hope...could you take a semester or two off to look after your poor old uncle till he finally departs from this world?" (Riordan 13) *sniffle sniffle* Oh what? Yeah that's over. Didn't you see how both quotes made you wonder what happened to cause those situations? That's just the way Rick rolls diggity-dawg.
Opinions- What's my favorite part(s)of the book? Since I don't pick favorites so I'll have two of the bets parts. My first favorite section is Percy Jackson's Beastiary. It has every monster mentioned, good or bad in the series before this book, from A-Z. They are described with a brief description and occasionally a picture for one of those lucky creatures. My next favorite part is the "Ten Signs you may be a Half-Blood". It's like a funny little pamphlet that gives ten major signs you or a loved one may be related to a god. What's even funnier is that there's another test to see which, if you "are", god you're related to.
Conclusion- It was a great book and a fun book. It's just an "encyclopedia" so there is really nothing in there that makes you want to turn the page. Which I gave it four stars since you had to turn the page about 77 times. That's the only reason a star was stolen from the review. The book is just a great way for Percy lovers to get their memory back up again about the ol' Percy gang.