Audio Review of The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Title: The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus, #3)
Author: Rick Riordan
Narrator: Joshua Swanson
Published by: Listening Library
Length: ~ 15 hours
Source: Library
Format: Audio
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close—the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

The Mark of Athena was an intriguing mix of Greek and Roman mythology sure to command your time and attention. 

How I love Percy Jackson!  I wasn't too sure about the first two books in this spin off series of the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians but The Mark of Athena shined and made me appreciate the Heroes of Olympus just as much. 

The seven demi-gods of the quest finally meet up and start their adventure.  Each of these characters have such distinct and unique personalities that even though there are many main characters there are is no trouble keeping them apart or seeing one as the weak link.  I love that Rick Riordan gave each of them a special talent and something completely their own.  I think people can really relate to this by each of us having our own talents and gifts that we can contribute to a whole and make it that much stronger.  And here you thought that a middle grade fantasy book would teach you nothing about life's important lessons...leave it to Mr. Riordan to prove you and I wrong. 

Not only did The Mark of Athena have great characters, there was always some sort of action to keep you on your toes.  Of course there were some epic battle scenes, but also there were puzzles and mind games that the characters had to work their way through.  Sometimes the battles they were fighting were not even external, but instead some weakness or insecurity in themselves.  The plot was very well rounded and the story definitely could stand on it's own instead of just being a place holder in a series. 

Joshua Swanson has read all of the Heroes of Olympus novles and does a wonderful job.  His different inflections for each characters voice really brings them to life and gives us more insight into who the character is.  I really love his voice for Leo.  It's a bit rough and gravelly and adds so much to his character.  I hope he continues on with the series as now I am so used to his voice it would be a shock for me to hear another. 

I definitely enjoyed The Mark of Athena best out of all the books in the Heroes of Olympus series and after the gaps-inducing ending of this book, I can't wait to see what happens next. 

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.