The Last Olympian Review: Percy

Book: The Last Olympian

Author: Rick Riordan

Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Standing: Book 5 (final)

POV: 1st person by Percy, past tense

Setting: Manhattan

Genre: Children's fantasy, mythology

Source: Physical copy

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Pages: 381

Release: May 12th, 2009

All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of a victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time. In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy’s sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.  (Goodreads)

                         ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭

Oh, my heart. I don't even know what to do with it. 

The epic conclusion to a much beloved series! I still can't believe it's been 6 years since this book came out. I remember waiting eagerly the night before its release, scared and excited out of my mind...

Everything Percy and his friends have done has boiled down to this moment: it's live or die. All the plans they have foiled in the past, all the setbacks, everything comes down to this. An inevitable war looms between the Titan Kronos and the Olympians, and it's up to the demigods of Camp Half-Blood to stop Kronos from destroying Olympus and the gods completely.

This book was definitely a lot more grimmer than the rest. Right from the beginning, there's an overall sense of dread looming upon our characters. Everyone is tense, everyone is nervous. Though there still was humour, it wasn't as spontaneous, and more dry. It's kind of hard to be funny in an optimistic way when you're in either anticipating or in the dead middle of a war, after all.

We finally get to hear the full prophecy involving Percy, the prophecy that has been mentioned throughout the past books, the one dictating Percy's role in the success or failure of the battle against Kronos. Is it easy to take? No. Absolutely not. But Percy remains to be strong, not just for himself, but also for the rest of the campers. He's the leader, and even if he's has a fate that could very well get him killed, he's not going to back down. He's going to fight to the last minute, and rally up as much morale for his comrades.

Kronos' tactics were brilliant, which made the plot all the more frightening. Attacking the gods on different fronts, awakening a giant, spies everywhere--I'd be a little nervous facing off against someone so tactically brilliant like him. But as we find out, Percy has really become wise, and is able to diffuse numerous situations and battles with some really nasty monsters.

We finally get to see and understand Luke's story in this book. In the beginning, it was quite easy to understand why Luke's reasoning for resenting his absent father, but in this book, we can finally identity with Luke, even sympathize with him. What he went through would terrify any child. I also feel bad for his mother, and for his father, both who knew his fate but could do nothing about it.

NICO. I absolutely love him (my love for him grows even more in the Heroes of Olympus series). We get to see him defying all the original labels of being a son of Hades: he's heroic, he's brave, and he's able to do the impossible: get his father to fight. He's one of the driving forces of good in this book, and without him, the war arguably could have gone south. I absolutely love how far he's come from his very first appearance, when he was but a young and naive child, to a strong-willed, deadly hero. I'd seriously want him on my side!

The series ended off fantastically. I was completely satisfied with the ending. The plot was equal parts devastating and exciting, and I couldn't put it down. All the nasty surprises Kronos had in store for Percy was dealt with brilliantly and swiftly. If you guys are looking a fantastic series that just warms you up and makes you believe in a little magic and heroism, Percy Jackson is definitely the series to read! After all, Percy has proved once and for all that he is a true hero, heart and soul.