Book Review: The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

BLURB

How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favour.

But Apollo has many enemies – gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

Review:

I’m gonna say that when it’s a work of Uncle Rick, it’s never a long read. Yes, though I admit that I didn’t finish the book immediately because there are a couple of authors who requested me to read their books in an exchange of an honest review. So I kind of paused in reading this book. But the story didn’t leave my mind.

In this book, I get to know the god Apollo more. When I read the series of Rick Riordan’s Greek and Roman myth, I always thought of Apollo as a funny god though somehow silent. Sure Apollo is not a minor god but he’s always been in the limelight. And when I heard that Rick is having a series about Apollo, I thought, what could be the story of it?

When I read the first page of the book, I somehow had the idea that Apollo is a bit arrogant. And as I go deeper into the book, I found out that Apollo is arrogant indeed. Though not in a way that you want to strangle him or punch him but in a funny way. He keeps saying in his narration that if he’s a god, he could crush these puny mortals easily. Or something like that. Though, all throughout the book, Apollo is really really funny.

And then there’s Meg McCaffrey, Apollo’s master. That girl is a mysterious kind of pumpkin. When Apollo and Meg first met, Meg already gave an impression that she’s strong and has power. Though from the beginning of Meg’s appearance, I already knew who her godly parent is –if you’ve been reading Rick Riordan’s books for so long, you don’t need a lot of clues to figure out a demigod’s godly parent.

As the book go on the adventure of Meg and Apollo, I find their tandem cute and funny. One arrogant used-to-be-god and one mysterious pumpkin (Yes. I call Meg a pumpkin because she seems like one). I was actually glad that Percy gave a cameo in the book. Ha! Kind of expecting that one though.

Most of the book happened in Camp Half-blood so there wasn’t really that much adventure compared to the other Greek myth series of Rick. Sure they somehow ended up in the cave where Python is but there wasn’t much that had happened there. They just eavesdropped. And then the rest of the book remained in the camp. And most of the time I was reading the book, I cringe. Not because there are parts that are really cringe-able but I cringe easily on weird things. Like, I didn’t even know that one of Apollo’s great lover was Hyacinthus and Hyacinthus is a man. I’ve read the book Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods to know that Apollo had a dryad lover named Daphne. And all throughout as Apollo keep saying his failed love with Hyacinthus, I really thought that he’s a she. And yes, that’s weird for me. Also, I didn’t expect that Rick would put something a little gore in the book. That wasn’t in his previous books. But I just thought that the book isn’t in the same age level with the PJO series and HOO series. Still it’s under Disney. (Whatever)

In the part where things got revealed, I didn’t expect the plot twist Rick had in store. Though it’s actually a bit common plot twist in the first books of some of his series, I didn’t expect that he’ll also apply it to Apollo’s first book. I guess, most authors just have their signature everything, writing patterns, sense of humor, and even plot twists. It was both shocking and heartbreaking.

When the battle begins, I was hoping that Percy Jackson would show up but I didn’t expect it. Because that would be like Percy is still in the spotlight and this is not his book. So even though I’m hoping he’ll show up, I’m also expecting he won’t. But he did. (That’s the only spoiler I’ll give). And I didn’t expected the ending either. Seriously, who would’ve thought he’d show up at the end of the book to help Apollo in his mission? Not to mention he brought someone with him. Dang!

The ending only gave me more urge to read the second book. I guess I just need to wait yet another year for the sequel. I’m so excited! For those who haven’t read the book yet, you should! I promise you won’t regret it!

P.S

This is a bonus. I put the book’s prophecy. Although it was said on the part where it’s about to end, I think it’s also good to know the prophecy before reading the book. That way you’re brain will explode thinking what it means. (I’m also an author so I know the pleasure of torturing readers! Haha!)

“There once was a god named ApolloWho plunged in a cave of blue and hollowUpon a three-seaterThe bronze fire-eaterWas forced death and madness to swallow”

Rate:

I'm giving it a 5/5 stars because of the ending!

About the Author...

Rick Riordan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels for young readers, including the Percy Jackson series, the Kane Chronicles, the Magnus Chase series and the Trials of Apollo. He is also the author of the multi-award-winning Tres Navarre mystery series for adults.

For fifteen years, Rick taught English and history at public and private middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Texas. While teaching in San Antonio, Saint Mary’s Hall honored him with the school’s first Master Teacher Award.

While teaching full time, Riordan began writing mystery novels for grownups. His Tres Navarre series went on to win the top three national awards in the mystery genre – the Edgar, the Anthony and the Shamus. Riordan turned to children’s fiction when he started The Lightning Thief as a bedtime story for his oldest son.

Today over fifty million copies of his books are in print in the United States, and rights have been sold into more than 37 countries.

Rick Riordan now writes full-time. He lives in Boston with his wife and two sons.

Know more about rick Riordan in his site rickriordan.com.

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