Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Reviewed by SciFan Member A. Lee

I loved the Percy Jackson series, and I also loved the idea of mixing Greek mythology with Roman mythology when I read The Lost Hero. However… I have a few gripes about the Son of Neptune. First off, Riordan is great at writing short, concise, and very teen-sounding sentences so you forget that you’re reading written sentences but simply ending up visualizing or really living the scenes with the characters. But in SoN, there were several awkward sentences where I had to reread it a few times to really understand what he meant. I’m sure he just wanted to include as many details as possible, but since his writing is already so fluid and very easy to absorb, those awkward sentences really stuck out and I was annoyed that I had to “get out” of the scene in order to decipher exactly what he was trying to describe.

Another gripe was Percy himself.  Okay I love Percy. If he were a real person I would kill him in 10 minutes max for his immaturity and cluelessness, but as a reader I admire him as the idealistically heroic demigod (now don’t crush my dreams). However in SoN (in the chapters in his point of view), he didn’t feel like Percy to me. I know he had to go through the whole Lupa training and escaping monsters and such, and he lost his memory, blah blah blah, but I was kind of disappointed that the Percy I so loved and had gotten to know in the Jackson series wasn’t there. I know this is a new series, but Riordan DID include Percy as one of the MAJOR characters. There was basically absolutely no stupid/funny comments or weird/funny observations from Percy!! Why did it take such a long freaking time to finally mention that blue things made him feel at home? It may seem like a minor detail (and it is just one example) but the reason I cared so much for Percy was because he was so genuinely down to earth and quirky (eg. the need for blue cake) in addition to being an awesome, selfless, dorky, (and again, awesome) demigod. Basically, I just felt like he grew up/matured/got so serious too fast in a period of 6 months of “sleeping” and wolf training. Okay I mean, who at age 16? (is he 17 yet?) thinks about marrying and living in a certain place with his girlfriend, whom he doesn’t even REALLY remember?? COME ON. THAT’S JUST NOT BELIEVABLE. I think Riordan should’ve shown that he’s still the same Percy no matter what, thus including a little more of his naive and weird/funny personality.

The last gripe I had is the pairing of Hazel and Frank as a couple. REALLY?? Can’t they just be really close friends?? Why can’t there be room for some future Greek-Roman romances?? Because now that Riordan has set up Hazel and Frank as a couple, he won’t break them up. And I just really want more inter Greek-Roman relationships going on besides I-hate-you-and-I-didn’t-know-you-exist-but-we-need-to-save-ourselves-so-let’s-work-together type of relationship. Also I felt like pairing Hazel and Frank left Percy as the 3rd wheel, and he is ALREADY the outcast from being Greek (come on, the spirits know he’s a graecus), having crazy powers on the first day he arrives in Camp Jupiter, and having amnesia.

Now. Even though I have these grievances, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was fast paced, exciting, and quite educational (in terms of Roman mythology). I also hated but loved the cliffhanger, because I really really missed Annabeth and wanted to see her soon. Also I think Percy and Annabeth are totally perfect for each other so I can’t wait to see them together again!!