Audio Review of The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Title: The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus #2)
Author: Rick Riordan
Narrator: Joshua Swanson
Published by: Listening Library
Length: 11 sound discs (ca. 74 min. each)
Source: Library
Format: Audio
Rating: 3 stars

Summary from Goodreads:  Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth.

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem—when the Voice took over her mother and commanded Hazel to use her "gift" for an evil purpose, Hazel couldn't say no.

Franz is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes, but his bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially in front of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely—enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart.

Yea Percy is back!  I always get a bit sad when a series ends so the fact that Rick Riordan brought back one of my favorite characters in his spin off series makes me so happy. 

The Son of Neptune follows Percy, Hazel and Frank on their quest to free death.  These characters are fun and easy to enjoy.  They are not perfect or completely courageous which makes them real and so much more relateable.  I love the fact that even though they are demi-gods they still seem down to earth and go through some of the same doubts we do.  While I enjoyed these characters I didn't feel as connected to them as I was hoping.  I like them and wanted them to succeed, but they didn't steal my heart like Rick Riordan's characters usually do. 

Percy, Hazel and Frank have some tough legacies to live up to and at times the pressure can get to them, but by banding together they can fight through anything and fight they must.  This novel is jam-packed with action and fight scenes.  It's an exciting adventure and with twists, turns, and new discoveries on every page. 

It has been a while since I read The Lost Hero so I was super confused at the beginning of this book.  From what I remembered of the first book, The Son of Neptune didn't really seem to continue the story.  I'm not sure if this is an artifact from the time gap between reading these novels or if they are just two different stories that eventually merge into one.  After a good way through the audio it was evident that the latter was the case as more talk of the "Prophecy of the Seven" emerged. 

Overall, I enjoyed this audio version of the book and the narrator was great (as he always is), but something was lacking for me compared to Rick Riordan's other books.  Hopefully everything will come together more in the next novel in the series, The Mark of Athena.