This is book four of the Percy Jackson series, with only one more installment to come. Readers from around ten years old will be thrilled by the adventures of the teenaged hero who just happens to be the son of Poseidon, God of the Sea, and all his friends, most of whom are the children of the Olympians from Greek Mythology.

In my opinion, it would be better if you read the series in order, and the three previous books are:

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2)
The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3)

In "The Battle of the Labyrinth", Percy and three friends set off on a quest through the treacherous labyrinth, in search of the inventor Daedalus, hoping that he will help them to defeat the army being assembled by Luke, son of Hermes. The thing is - Luke is just the messenger, and the evil he's about to unleash can bring down Olympus itself.

Although still clueless about girls and relationships, Percy starts developing and unleashing his powers, and surprises even himself when he attempts to repeat Hercules' great stable cleansing project. Other demi-gods also come into their own in book four, and a mortal girl proves to be just the ticket, and in the nick of time too. In a related sub-story, the search for Pan reaches an exhilarating climax.

Packed with monsters of all persuasions, gods and demi-gods, rescues, battles and side trips to Alcatraz and Mount St. Helens, this is by far the most exciting book of the series so far.

Amazingly imaginative, thrilling and funny, this series by Rick Riordan continues to be a front runner in children's fiction, and I recommend it without reservation.

Amanda Richards, May 25, 2008

Setting: 4/5

Establishing a setting is something I think Aimee Carter does rather well. It's never been difficult for me to clearly see where the story is taking place even down to the intricate details. That's not to say that Carter spells everything out for you. Enough detail is provided that your mind can't help but fill in the rest. I could picture all of the scenes and I think that was my favorite aspect of this particular book.

Characters: 2/5

This is ultimately the aspect of the novel that I had the most trouble with. In the previous novels our main character, Kate, does spend a decent amount of time sniveling in the corner, but I not once felt that she was unjustified. Her husband was cold and no one ever seemed to be on her side. That's rough for anyone. In this novel Kate suddenly became about as ridiculous as my least favorite female character that I have stumbled across thus far, Bella Swan. "Woe is me." She goes from sniveling in the corner to freaking out on everything and everyone. If that is what happens right after pregnancy I want no part of it. That's not all though. She also becomes a huge drama queen with daddy issues. Perhaps that ties in to too many story lines.

Henry didn't annoy me quite as much as he normally does. His love for Kate is starting to shine through he stone exterior. His dialogue was a completely different story. An issue I have had since The Goddess Test is the fact that Henry never uses contractions. . .ever. Therefore I have found a lot of his dialogue frustrating to say the least. I don't know if this was an attempt to make him sound like he has been around forever or if it was an attempt to make him sound proper, but it annoyed me to no end. Especially since none of the other Gods seemed to speak that way....

The incestuous things James continues to say despite knowing about certain things grossed me out hardcore. I don't care if you are a God incest is gross. Although, he did make me laugh more when I pictured him as Nolan from Revenge.

Plot: 3/5

I think the biggest issue I have with this final book is that there are so many different plots going on that just seem to flop instead of being actually resolved. There is a huge war that just kind of sizzles out because someone, *gasp*, dies. During the war there was a brief scene with all the other girls Henry had courted prior to Kate that could have evolved into something so amazing. They are recruited to help fight and instead of showing the reader the part they play they just storm the castle and are never heard from again. We also run into Kate's paternal crises. The Gods are also trying to do sneaky things within the war that seemed to just flop for me. If it wasn't one thing then it was another. I spent my time reading The Goddess Inheritance stressed out and angry.

Writing:3/5

As mentioned before I think Carter's strong spot is setting. She does a great job throughout the novel establishing setting. What needs work are complete ideas. There are some ideas throughout the book that have so much potential but fizzle out rather quickly. I would have enjoyed more build up with a clear resolution. I'm excited that the ending is left open for additional books. To be honest at this point I think James is the strongest character and if he were to narrate future stories I would read them.

I fully agree with Mr Forsythe from London (Ontario). If like Mr Maitlin, you judge this movie with the special effects of the 1999, the movie is hokey. But the character, dedication and courage of Ulysse has never been so well portrayed as by Kirk Douglas. Sylvana Mangano doesn't do much, but she portrayed only too well why a man will fight 20 years to return to her and their son. Anthony Quinn gives a fine performance as the suitor. The recent version with Armand Assante, while proficient in special effects, doesn't exploit the richness of characters showned in the multi-european film. I have seen this movie in the 1960 and again this year. It is the same emotion and commitment. This is Homer's Odyssey. If you have not seen this movie, get your hand on the vidéo. This is a film I would gladly buy in VideoLaser disc or the new DVD. It is worth the money.

Cornwall, New York Sixth Grader 3/7/07

I am a sixth grader. I think The Sea of Monsters is a great book. Percy Jackson returns in this story with new monsters, new surprises and a new camp director?! This exciting sequel to the Lightning Thief is with a plot and flow equivalent to that of the first. Who knew what could happen when a normal game of dodge ball turns into a struggle to survive? Percy is soon warned that Camp Half Blood is no longer safe for demigods. A crushing and devastating blow for Percy, who himself is a half blood. Someone has poisoned Thalia's tree and Chiron is the prime suspect. A quest must be taken up to retrieve the Golden Fleece!

Much to Percy's dismay he is not given the quest! Although he and Annabeth are forbidden to go this quest, they still go out into the mortal world to find the Fleece. Percy has been contacted in his dreams also by a person who is important to him. According to this person the Fleece is in the Sea of Monster. Unfortunately, that person is in the peril of death. He must now bring back the Fleece and save that person. Challenges await them though, so incredibly evil and ruthless...

Rick Riordan does a great job with this book. I like how the flow of the story fits in with the action theme. Riordan also pleases me with a splash of humor in this book. He also creates such great details on his characters that they come to life for me. Also, the spunk of Percy and his friends adds spark to the story. The creativity of the mixing of the Greek religion and modern day society produces an interesting blend. Whoever thought that Greeks were boring obviously never read this book. His creativity really makes this book shine. A two thumbs up book for any reader.... I especially recommend this book for bookworms and fantasy readers, this book will really satisfy you.

Can Percy save the Golden Fleece and his friend? Will peace be restored to Camp Half Blood? Will Chiron be proved innocent?

EG

I held off buying THE LIGHTNING THIEF for a couple years. The market seems glutted with YA fantasy at the moment, and I read quite a bit of it with my 9-year-old. We've discovered several good series, but THE LIGHTNING THIEF seemed too long to hold his attention when it first came out.

This year we noticed it in the book fair at school, then saw that it was an Accelerated Reader book. So I picked it up and read a couple chapters to try it out. I was 50 pages into it when I realized I needed to be reading this to my son.

I did read it to him. We FLEW through the book (375 pages!) in 6 days because he kept pestering me to read it to him. We finished it up in a 5-hour marathon yesterday, hanging onto every page as Percy and his friends tried to save the world and put things to rights in their own lives.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF is a great book for adults and kids. I've already recommended it to a couple of adult friends who experienced the same kind of can't-put-it-down pull that I did.

Percy Jackson, the hero of the book, comes across as every kid you'd ever meet or ever would. He's no brainiac (he has dyslexia and ADHD) but he has friends who are. But he is courageous and clever, stubborn and loyal. He is the best he can be, and he's getting even better.

Riordan works in many of the Greek myths in the novel. There was a time when knowing Greek mythology was a pre-requisite for having a "classical" education. Many morals and philosophies are presented in the tales.

From the very beginning of the novel, we find out Percy is different when he ends up fighting a harpy in the museum while on a school trip.... He's been kicked out of 6 schools in 6 years, lives with his mom and step-dad, Smelly Gabe, an evil guy who deliberately makes Percy's life hard.

Then, when he's on a well-deserved vacation with his mom, he finds out he's a Half-Blood, the son of one of the Greek gods. But his mom doesn't know who his dad was and that's just one of the mysteries Percy ends up solving.

The cool part of the book is peeling away all the mysteries of Percy's life and who really took Zeus's magic thunderbolt. Along the way he gains powers that set my son's head to spinning with hope and delight. Percy's a superhero without the costume, and there are plenty of villains in his world.

Riordan is a teacher who obviously loves kids as well as the subject matter. The Greek gods were a cantankerous lot, and Riordan delivers them well. Not only does he give his readers the stories, but he also brings the gods on stage and gives them personalities.

The series is supposed to run for 5 books. I think it will go on longer. I hope so. I've already ordered books 2 and 3, and my son and I are looking forward to them. The books take a while to read outloud to younger readers, but the effort is well rewarded. The story is rich and deep, and will keep your child's attention. In addition, you'd be surprised how much you can talk about even when you're not reading. And your child may just want to wander around the internet learning more interesting facts about Greek mythology.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF is well worth reading and is probably in most public and school libraries.

Setting: 4/5

Establishing a setting is something I think Aimee Carter does rather well. It's never been difficult for me to clearly see where the story is taking place even down to the intricate details. That's not to say that Carter spells everything out for you. Enough detail is provided that your mind can't help but fill in the rest. I could picture all of the scenes and I think that was my favorite aspect of this particular book.

Characters: 2/5

This is ultimately the aspect of the novel that I had the most trouble with. In the previous novels our main character, Kate, does spend a decent amount of time sniveling in the corner, but I not once felt that she was unjustified. Her husband was cold and no one ever seemed to be on her side. That's rough for anyone. In this novel Kate suddenly became about as ridiculous as my least favorite female character that I have stumbled across thus far, Bella Swan. "Woe is me." She goes from sniveling in the corner to freaking out on everything and everyone. If that is what happens right after pregnancy I want no part of it. That's not all though. She also becomes a huge drama queen with daddy issues. Perhaps that ties in to too many story lines.

Henry didn't annoy me quite as much as he normally does. His love for Kate is starting to shine through he stone exterior. His dialogue was a completely different story. An issue I have had since The Goddess Test is the fact that Henry never uses contractions. . .ever. Therefore I have found a lot of his dialogue frustrating to say the least. I don't know if this was an attempt to make him sound like he has been around forever or if it was an attempt to make him sound proper, but it annoyed me to no end. Especially since none of the other Gods seemed to speak that way....

The incestuous things James continues to say despite knowing about certain things grossed me out hardcore. I don't care if you are a God incest is gross. Although, he did make me laugh more when I pictured him as Nolan from Revenge.

Plot: 3/5

I think the biggest issue I have with this final book is that there are so many different plots going on that just seem to flop instead of being actually resolved. There is a huge war that just kind of sizzles out because someone, *gasp*, dies. During the war there was a brief scene with all the other girls Henry had courted prior to Kate that could have evolved into something so amazing. They are recruited to help fight and instead of showing the reader the part they play they just storm the castle and are never heard from again. We also run into Kate's paternal crises. The Gods are also trying to do sneaky things within the war that seemed to just flop for me. If it wasn't one thing then it was another. I spent my time reading The Goddess Inheritance stressed out and angry.

Writing:3/5

As mentioned before I think Carter's strong spot is setting. She does a great job throughout the novel establishing setting. What needs work are complete ideas. There are some ideas throughout the book that have so much potential but fizzle out rather quickly. I would have enjoyed more build up with a clear resolution. I'm excited that the ending is left open for additional books. To be honest at this point I think James is the strongest character and if he were to narrate future stories I would read them.

I held off buying THE LIGHTNING THIEF for a couple years. The market seems glutted with YA fantasy at the moment, and I read quite a bit of it with my 9-year-old. We've discovered several good series, but THE LIGHTNING THIEF seemed too long to hold his attention when it first came out.

This year we noticed it in the book fair at school, then saw that it was an Accelerated Reader book. So I picked it up and read a couple chapters to try it out. I was 50 pages into it when I realized I needed to be reading this to my son.

I did read it to him. We FLEW through the book (375 pages!) in 6 days because he kept pestering me to read it to him. We finished it up in a 5-hour marathon yesterday, hanging onto every page as Percy and his friends tried to save the world and put things to rights in their own lives.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF is a great book for adults and kids. I've already recommended it to a couple of adult friends who experienced the same kind of can't-put-it-down pull that I did.

Percy Jackson, the hero of the book, comes across as every kid you'd ever meet or ever would. He's no brainiac (he has dyslexia and ADHD) but he has friends who are. But he is courageous and clever, stubborn and loyal. He is the best he can be, and he's getting even better.

Riordan works in many of the Greek myths in the novel. There was a time when knowing Greek mythology was a pre-requisite for having a "classical" education. Many morals and philosophies are presented in the tales.

From the very beginning of the novel, we find out Percy is different when he ends up fighting a harpy in the museum while on a school trip.... He's been kicked out of 6 schools in 6 years, lives with his mom and step-dad, Smelly Gabe, an evil guy who deliberately makes Percy's life hard.

Then, when he's on a well-deserved vacation with his mom, he finds out he's a Half-Blood, the son of one of the Greek gods. But his mom doesn't know who his dad was and that's just one of the mysteries Percy ends up solving.

The cool part of the book is peeling away all the mysteries of Percy's life and who really took Zeus's magic thunderbolt. Along the way he gains powers that set my son's head to spinning with hope and delight. Percy's a superhero without the costume, and there are plenty of villains in his world.

Riordan is a teacher who obviously loves kids as well as the subject matter. The Greek gods were a cantankerous lot, and Riordan delivers them well. Not only does he give his readers the stories, but he also brings the gods on stage and gives them personalities.

The series is supposed to run for 5 books. I think it will go on longer. I hope so. I've already ordered books 2 and 3, and my son and I are looking forward to them. The books take a while to read outloud to younger readers, but the effort is well rewarded. The story is rich and deep, and will keep your child's attention. In addition, you'd be surprised how much you can talk about even when you're not reading. And your child may just want to wander around the internet learning more interesting facts about Greek mythology.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF is well worth reading and is probably in most public and school libraries.

Helen has always tried to hide her differences and knows that her face holds a beauty like no other, yet instead of this being a asset in her eyes, she finds it be a major flaw as it draws attention to herself. She is painfully shy, to the point where she experiences horrendous pains whenever any attention is drawn to her. When she starts having nightmares that come to life as well as startling visions of three screaming women who cry tears of blood she knows that she won't be able to hide her true self much longer. To make matters worse those three women go into an absolute fury driving Helen with the need to kill whenever she runs into one of the Delos teens, especially Lucas. What Helen doesn't know is that the fates have ensured that these two will replay the roles of one of the greatest tragedies of all time, destined to be star crossed lovers with the highest stakes imaginable.

I've always loved anything to do with Greek mythology, especially books that turn the myth into reality in a modern setting. Starcrossed does exactly this. However, what is different is that it paints the gods as petulant beings that no longer have a role in human's lives. Well, as long as the demigods keep their end of the bargain that is. This was a really interesting twist on the typical mythology story, and made Starcrossed really stand out from the crowd. The idea of fated roles is really intriguing, especially since there is still the possibility that the characters could potentially find a way around that destiny and choose their own paths.

This may seem to be a little funny, but I couldn't help but be a little frustrated at the major roadblocks standing in the way between Lucas and Helen, especially considering the title.... I knew before I even started reading that things would be rough between them, perhaps their love being forbidden but not by insurmountable odds. Of course that thought got quickly put out of my mind once things started to be revealed. Considering how sweet things were between the two of them and how much their heartache sucked me in, I really hope that they find some way to overcome those obstacles so they can be together. As Lucas points out, never say never, as the gods like to torment those who use absolutes.

The best thing about Starcrossed is that while you are kept in plenty of suspense to keep you sucked in, you are also given just the right amount of information to ensure that you never get overwhelmed or frustrated from a lack of information. This can be a hard balance to find, but Starcrossed does it perfectly. I'm really eager to see what happens next as there was a twist at the ends that can only spell trouble for the future. All in all Starcrossed was a really great read, that may have been a little slow to build at first, but it never once lost my attention. Prepared to be sucked in from almost the start and make sure to give yourself plenty of time to read this one as you won't be able to put it down. Definitely a fantastic debut that you won't want to miss if you are a fan of mythology in the YA genre.

I held off buying THE LIGHTNING THIEF for a couple years. The market seems glutted with YA fantasy at the moment, and I read quite a bit of it with my 9-year-old. We've discovered several good series, but THE LIGHTNING THIEF seemed too long to hold his attention when it first came out.

This year we noticed it in the book fair at school, then saw that it was an Accelerated Reader book. So I picked it up and read a couple chapters to try it out. I was 50 pages into it when I realized I needed to be reading this to my son.

I did read it to him. We FLEW through the book (375 pages!) in 6 days because he kept pestering me to read it to him. We finished it up in a 5-hour marathon yesterday, hanging onto every page as Percy and his friends tried to save the world and put things to rights in their own lives.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF is a great book for adults and kids. I've already recommended it to a couple of adult friends who experienced the same kind of can't-put-it-down pull that I did.

Percy Jackson, the hero of the book, comes across as every kid you'd ever meet or ever would. He's no brainiac (he has dyslexia and ADHD) but he has friends who are. But he is courageous and clever, stubborn and loyal. He is the best he can be, and he's getting even better.

Riordan works in many of the Greek myths in the novel. There was a time when knowing Greek mythology was a pre-requisite for having a "classical" education. Many morals and philosophies are presented in the tales.

From the very beginning of the novel, we find out Percy is different when he ends up fighting a harpy in the museum while on a school trip.... He's been kicked out of 6 schools in 6 years, lives with his mom and step-dad, Smelly Gabe, an evil guy who deliberately makes Percy's life hard.

Then, when he's on a well-deserved vacation with his mom, he finds out he's a Half-Blood, the son of one of the Greek gods. But his mom doesn't know who his dad was and that's just one of the mysteries Percy ends up solving.

The cool part of the book is peeling away all the mysteries of Percy's life and who really took Zeus's magic thunderbolt. Along the way he gains powers that set my son's head to spinning with hope and delight. Percy's a superhero without the costume, and there are plenty of villains in his world.

Riordan is a teacher who obviously loves kids as well as the subject matter. The Greek gods were a cantankerous lot, and Riordan delivers them well. Not only does he give his readers the stories, but he also brings the gods on stage and gives them personalities.

The series is supposed to run for 5 books. I think it will go on longer. I hope so. I've already ordered books 2 and 3, and my son and I are looking forward to them. The books take a while to read outloud to younger readers, but the effort is well rewarded. The story is rich and deep, and will keep your child's attention. In addition, you'd be surprised how much you can talk about even when you're not reading. And your child may just want to wander around the internet learning more interesting facts about Greek mythology.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF is well worth reading and is probably in most public and school libraries.

Cornwall, New York Sixth Grader 3/7/07

I am a sixth grader. I think The Sea of Monsters is a great book. Percy Jackson returns in this story with new monsters, new surprises and a new camp director?! This exciting sequel to the Lightning Thief is with a plot and flow equivalent to that of the first. Who knew what could happen when a normal game of dodge ball turns into a struggle to survive? Percy is soon warned that Camp Half Blood is no longer safe for demigods. A crushing and devastating blow for Percy, who himself is a half blood. Someone has poisoned Thalia's tree and Chiron is the prime suspect. A quest must be taken up to retrieve the Golden Fleece!

Much to Percy's dismay he is not given the quest! Although he and Annabeth are forbidden to go this quest, they still go out into the mortal world to find the Fleece. Percy has been contacted in his dreams also by a person who is important to him. According to this person the Fleece is in the Sea of Monster. Unfortunately, that person is in the peril of death. He must now bring back the Fleece and save that person. Challenges await them though, so incredibly evil and ruthless...

Rick Riordan does a great job with this book. I like how the flow of the story fits in with the action theme. Riordan also pleases me with a splash of humor in this book. He also creates such great details on his characters that they come to life for me. Also, the spunk of Percy and his friends adds spark to the story. The creativity of the mixing of the Greek religion and modern day society produces an interesting blend. Whoever thought that Greeks were boring obviously never read this book. His creativity really makes this book shine. A two thumbs up book for any reader.... I especially recommend this book for bookworms and fantasy readers, this book will really satisfy you.

Can Percy save the Golden Fleece and his friend? Will peace be restored to Camp Half Blood? Will Chiron be proved innocent?

EG

I fully agree with Mr Forsythe from London (Ontario). If like Mr Maitlin, you judge this movie with the special effects of the 1999, the movie is hokey. But the character, dedication and courage of Ulysse has never been so well portrayed as by Kirk Douglas. Sylvana Mangano doesn't do much, but she portrayed only too well why a man will fight 20 years to return to her and their son. Anthony Quinn gives a fine performance as the suitor. The recent version with Armand Assante, while proficient in special effects, doesn't exploit the richness of characters showned in the multi-european film. I have seen this movie in the 1960 and again this year. It is the same emotion and commitment. This is Homer's Odyssey. If you have not seen this movie, get your hand on the vidéo. This is a film I would gladly buy in VideoLaser disc or the new DVD. It is worth the money.

Addison Fox has taken a new twist on paranormal romance with her debut book WARRIOR ASCENDED, the first in the SONS OF THE ZODIAC series. This is Fox's first book, but in it she does an excellent job setting up the premise of the series in which Themis, the divine goddess of law and order, exacts a bargain with Zeus to allow her so many warriors to protect the human world from Enyo the goddess of war.

Brody Talbot has been a Leo Warrior for Themis for thousands of years, but his latest battle with Enyo involves Ava Harrison, a mortal who may be the controller of the dark powers of the Egyptian Summoning Stones and the woman to fill his lonely heart.

Fox takes us into her world of imortal warriors to see not only their battle over evil, but the battle to claim what their hearts need most. The guys are hunky, alpha males who aren't afraid to get in each other's space if the situation calls for it. This is going to be the first of many GREAT reads by this brand new author.

I really enjoy this serial and am onto Installment #7. There is always a twist or turn and it will always take you by surprise.

I really enjoy this serial and am onto Installment #7. There is always a twist or turn and it will always take you by surprise.

The series is getting more and more interesting, it is always a shock when it ends because it always (and I mean always) leaves you wanting more. CR Myers has become one of my favorite writers.

You know, it still strikes me as odd when I run across a kid who hasn't read a Percy Jackson book yet. Take, for example, the homeschooler bookgroup I run. These kids aren't exactly sheltered, but at the same time they don't feel unnaturally compelled to follow the latest trend due to peer pressure. They hadn't even heard of Rick Riordan when I proposed to them that we read, The Lightning Thief the other day. Obediently they took the book home and in a week some of them were back, basically begging me for Book #2. Now they've found out that I've a copy of #3, "The Titan's Curse," hidden about my person and if I don't give it to them soon there will be blood shed. My blood. So while I usually take a long time to process a book before finally getting around to reviewing it, in Mr. Riordan's case I'm gonna make an exception. The third in the series, in "Titan's Curse," Riordan raises the stakes, adds in a couple new gods and monsters, and basically ratchets up the tension while cutting down on the easygoing moments. It's bound to make the fans happy.

Percy's on a rescue mission. Nothing new there. The fact that he's getting a ride to the rescue mission with his mom and two of his camp mates is definitely a unique occurrence, though. Percy, Annabeth, and the now re-humanized Thalia (daughter of Zeus) are traveling to a private school where their friend and satyr Grover has made an important discovery. There are two new half-bloods there, a brother and a sister, and it's up to our heroes to get them to Camp Half-Blood before the resident monster spirits them away.... Unfortunately the rescue mission is botched, Annabeth disappears with the enemy, and Percy finds himself facing a whole new bad guy. He's called The General, and under his command he's captured the goddess Artemis and is hellbent on destroying the Gods for his master, the Titan Kronos. Now it's up to Percy and company to rescue the goddess, find Annabeth, and stop The General's plans before it's too late. Which, I might add, it might already be.

Riordan's a much cleverer author than anyone gives him credit for. He's smart enough to know that many of his readers have probably read up on their Greek myths all thanks to his books. Therefore, when someone like Apollo says, "I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees," you may or may not know what he's referring to, depending on how well you know your myths. And in retrospect when I look back at the series, it was a really good idea for Riordan not to make Percy the son of Zeus or something like that. It would've been the easiest thing in the world to make Mr. Jackson a latter-day Hercules and let the story write itself from there. Far more interesting to give him a lesser god as a pop. Still powerful, mind you, but not heir to the big bad father of them all. Extra kudos for his treatment of Artemis and her Hunters in this book. In the story, the girls that join Artemis to hunt with her have, for one reason or another, eschewed the company of men. Annabeth, it soon turns out, was contemplating joining them. This easily could have been played up as an evil choice or one that no right-minded woman should go with. Instead, Riordan prefers to be nuanced. The choice, we learn, may not be for everyone, but for some people it's a legitimate lifestyle. It would have been too easy to demonize an all-woman group of this sort. He could have made them into nasty man-haters. Instead, they don't particularly like men but they also don't act cruelly towards them.

Riordan's also a big fan of casting mysterious phrases the reader's way. This is nothing new, of course. He's always loved to bring up an important sentence, then delay its explanation via a fight or some other distraction. Normally he knows how to keep this instinct under control. In "The Titan's Curse," however, he's gone a little overboard. There are more times in this title where the book will say, "It was a long time ago. Never mind," or, "I decided not to ask what she meant," or something to that effect than he can really justify as an author. He also isn't afraid to throw in a convenient plot twist when the fancy strikes. Like, for example, finding an abandoned truck with a full tank of gas when you really need to drive as fast as you can across America. Or someone just happening to fashion bullets out of celestial bronze and then placing them in a helicopter not long before the moment when evil monsters are nigh. That sort of thing. Even Percy's dreams are never explained, even though they act as perfect little narrative devices. It's a pity.

Which is not to say that the situation in this book isn't direst it's ever been. The pace and plotting of this book work together very well here. Possibly better than they've ever worked before. Riordan juggles humor and action together fairly well, always taking time to introduce new, interesting characters. I also have a weakness for Riordan's chapter headings. Titles like "I Learn How To Grow Zombies," or, "The Gods Vote How To Kill Us," just reel the child reader in. As for his hero, you always root for Percy. Unlike his magician equivalent, Percy never really stays on top of things. If something bad can happen to this guy, it will. He's a hero but he's also kind of a screw-up, so he tends to be interesting to watch since you never know who'll be putting him down next.

Some series books have a clear cut sense of when they're going to end. Take Harry Potter as your example here. Harry attends seven years of school (in theory) so therefore he has seven books in his series. A Series of Unfortunate Events follows a tragic and unlucky set of characters, therefore their books are the unarguably unlucky number thirteen. The "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," series, however, isn't so clear cut. We do learn in this book that Percy may have to fulfill a prophecy of some sort around his sixteenth birthday. So at the very least that may mean two more books, always assuming Riordan makes each title exactly one year. However he chooses to wrap the series up, it really doesn't matter. For the time being, "The Titan's Curse," will satisfy its die-hard fans. I don't know how Riordan managed to find the right child-reader sweet spot, but he definitely managed it. A fine supplement to a fun, fast-paced series.