By Parker Sublette
Staff Writer
Mortality sucks but at least Rick Riordan’s writing doesn’t.
Rick Riordan’s new book Trials of Apollo, spiritual successor to the popular Percy Jackson/ Heroes of Olympus book series, gives fans of his writing an exciting and page-turning experience. Despite the simplicity of the book it still manages to provide an encapsulating story that anyone, whether they be new to the series or die-hard fans, are sure to enjoy.
The basis for the story is that following the events of the last Percy Jackson book The Blood of Olympus, the Greek god Apollo was made mortal by his father Zeus as punishment for causing said events. The book follows Apollo’s the beginning of the now mortal Apollo’s attempts to prove himself worthy of his deity status.
Apoll is placed in the service of a 12 year old demigod and eventually arrives at Camp Half-Blood, the home for the children of gods throughout the previous books. In the camp, Apollo runs into familiar faces also from the Percy Jackson prequel series.
While it would be easy for Riordan to fall back on his already established series for characters and conflicts, he does an extremely exceptional job of creating new and unique stories in an already very developed world. Riordan manages to utilize the previously established series for just enough nostalgia like running jokes, which makes the novel engaging for both those knowledgeable of the series and those new to it.
However the Trials of Apollo does fall prey to the same stereotypes other young adult novels do, such as its simplistic writing style and the somewhat over-explanatory style of plot elements. These elements can at times be enjoyable because they require little thought on the part of the reader, but oftentimes it seems as though one’s intelligence is being insulted.
Luckily, the book is not ruined by its young stereotypicality, as Riordan makes up for the simplicity with the interesting plots and concepts in the book. The concept of Trials of Apollo is an extraordinarily interesting one. Greek mythology on its own is an intriguing subject but when mixed in with modern times and a God struggling with mortality, one gets a highly enjoyable reading experience.
Trials of Apollo also manages to intrigue readers with well-developed and relatable characters. Riordan’s characters in Trials of Apollo all have a more developed sense of character around them. The fact that both the protagonists and antagonists are more than just the obvious on the surface good guys and bad guys makes the story more interesting and this character depth makes up for some of the novel’s simplicity.
The novel itself runs relatively short in terms of length being only around 400 pages total. Despite its upsides, the book’s simplicity can be tedious and the short nature of the book makes it so the plot doesn’t feel dragged out and is instead just the right length to leave the reader excited for whatever might come next.
Trials of Apollo is available in stores and online for $14.99.
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