Olympian story for young adults Ruel S. De Vera Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 16, 2009
MANILA, Philippines--Cast a mortal eye on that book cover: it’s the silhouette of a young man holding a sword while riding a winged horse. Depending on your age group, you will think of either Perseus from 1981’s “Clash of the Titans” or the animated title character from Disney’s “Hercules.” That stands as testament to the iconic power of the image on the cover of Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book Five: The Last Olympian” (Disney Hyperion Books, New York, 2009, 381 pages), except that the structure rising behind the airborne hero is New York’s Empire State Building.
That juxtaposition is the prize at the end of the “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” maze: Riordan’s fresh reinvention of Greek mythology. The series is built around the titular character, a troubled teenager who discovers he is a demigod (the son of a human and Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea) when he meets other demigods at Camp Half-Blood. But everything starts to go down the River Styx when Percy finds out about a prophecy foretelling the destruction of the Greek gods when a demigod—most likely the 12-year-old Percy—turns 16. Uh-oh.
The first four books (“The Lightning Thief,” “The Sea of Monsters,” “The Titan’s Curse” and “The Battle of the Labyrinth”) in the series each chronicle one year in Percy’s life and the smart, contemporary incarnations of the various Greek creatures and beings made for funny, filling reading. Ostensibly a young adult series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians proved transcendent, gaining readers from all pantheons. That best-seller list performance sparked claims of the series being “the next Harry Potter.” That tag goes beyond sales, as the series’ structure and feel vibrated at a similar frequency. That sensation gets stronger the longer the Percy Jackson series flies on.
Percy, joined by the satyr Grover Underwood and braniac Annabeth Chase, finds himself in a race all over the magical world to counter the machinations of the resurrected Titan Kronos, who is gathering an army to take Olympus. At the end of “Labyrinth,” Percy has returned to Manhattan for his 15th birthday. In the course of a day, Poseidon arrives to say that Percy is his favorite son and Percy finds out a risky way to defeat Kronos—but leaves the readers in the dark.
“Olympian” is the Pandora’s Book that gathers all the different winged elements that Riordan has unleashed and sees them reunited in a densely action-packed if crowded conclusion. Percy follows the example of the greatest hero—Achilles—in a risky gambit to save the day. Meanwhile, Kronos makes his big move, the gods gather to stop him and the real threat reveals itself. Percy and Hermione, er, Annabeth make a last, desperate stand in New York even as a spy among their ranks attempts to throw an amphora into the works. And Percy turns 16.
With all the mysteries Riordan has hinted at in the previous books, there’s no way “Olympian” is going to be a streamlined narrative. True to expectation, it’s a smorgasbord, with one twist coming after another up to the breathless ending. Some of the answers are satisfying (the spy’s identity) while others are trickier (the prophecy’s meaning). There is just so much happening that the series’ best quality—its updating of the old legends—is severely limited. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Riordan takes the most epic of Greek material as inspiration for the book’s climactic scene, and does it well if a bit hurriedly.
What it means is that “Olympian” ironically is the most exciting of the five Percy Jackson novels but also the weakest; the intrigue-filled “Labyrinth” remains the best. But it sufficiently fulfills the prophecies—and the promise—of the series, making it the best young adult series since Harry Potter. Riordan accomplishes this Herculean task with wit and energy. For readers who will miss this particular universe, fret not: Hyperion is set to give birth to more new heroes in this hip Greek drama. Chris Columbus is directing the motion picture adaptation, hatching in early 2010. But “The Last Olympian” is a worthy opportunity to bid a hero’s farewell to Percy and perhaps lead readers to ponder whom the next Percy Jackson will be.
