The Last Olympian
The Last Olympian is a satisfying conclusion to the Percy Jackson series. Imagine the battle of Hogwarts in book 7 of Harry Potter or the Battle of Helms Deep in Lord of the Rings but move the setting into modern day Manhattan! It is grand and epic, and honestly perfect for a Hollywood treatment! I mean, comeon, a mystical battle raging in the city of New York, with landmarks like the Central Park, Grand Central, Williamsburg Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, the UN, Fifth Ave and of course, the Empire State Building as battlegrounds, that’s like a dream project for Hollywood!
Anyway, in this installement, old friends and enemies returns for one last battle. And two more famous Greek legends got written into the plot. I really like the series and this last book, but there are definitely things that I don’t like. First of all, given the length of the books compared to Harry Potter, Rick Riordan doesn’t seem to have enough time to develop the secondary characters – the other campers. So by book 5 when there are bound to be some casualties in war, the deaths doesn’t have the same emotional impact it should because we just don’t know those characters that well! And Riordan, unlike Rowling, doesn’t have the gust to kill his major characters. For example the main death at the beginning of the book, even though his name popped up way earlier in the series, but we never actually met him until now, so I don’t have a strong feeling for his death and yet Riordan’s description of his importance to the camp is way more important than he ever show to us in the whole series! It just seems like Riordan forced this character on us, don’t get me wrong, the character seems great, but I wish he got more face time earlier in the series to prepare us for this.
Another complaint I have is the 3 parts reinforcements at the battle of Manhattan is a bit artificial! Like Riordan just trying to drag on longer. It’s ridiculous to think Ares campers would refuse to join battle just because a little argument! They know very well what would happen if the Titans win and yet they decided to sit it out initially until the most crucial point in the battle? Same thing with the centaurs but the reason was much more convincing because gathering these party animals from around the country does need time!
Now let’s get back to what I like! I like the fact that the main protagonist isn’t the one that finish off the antagonist! that’s really a surprising development even if we know there’s something going on between the conscious of the host body of the antagonist. And for the sea god to abandon his own war front and join the fight above the water, that’s something I haven’t considered. Then there’s another very New York moment – plan 23 of Deadalus activated with the result of the numerous statues in the Big Apple joins the fight! It’s great to see the lions of NYPL and all the many other famous statues we passes by everyday comes alive!
The biggest surprise for me was another prophecy at the end of the book that signals there will be another big adventure for the half-bloods, we dunno when. It might not be involves with main characters, but all I know is that Riordan really want you to know that he will keep writing, even if this is the end of this series.
I saw the teaser of the Percy Jackson movie right before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince last night, it was definitely a teaser without giving away much. Comparison with Harry Potter is inevitable given it is placed right before a Harry Potter movie, with the same director that directed the first Harry Potter movie and a premise that has a hint of resemblance. But I hope people would notice the richness of Greek Mythology and how it is impose onto the modern day world is what set it apart – unlike Harry Potter where Rowling made up her own mythology and largely separated from the mortal world. I am completely excited about the movie but also very worried given that the chance that it will be good is pretty much stack against it – no movies based on YA literature make it big except HP, the hands off approach Riordan took with regards to the movie, but it’s too early to judge since the only thing we have right now is this teaser, anyway, take a look at it below yourself~
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