The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

I have always loved mythology. One of my favorite papers that I wrote in college was comparing different gods and goddesses of different cultures to the classic Greek and Roman gods and goddesses that almost everyone is aware of. Needless to say, all of Riordan's mythology tales, whether Greek, Roman, or Egyptian. I don't know whether to hope for a new series about a new culture (Norse is just ripe for the picking) or if I want a new series incorporating all the cultures that have been written about so far.

In this novel, the Greek & Roman heroes - Annabeth, Percy, Jason, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Nico, and Reyna - are trying to get the Athena Parthenos statue back to the Greek Camp Half-Blood in order to stop both a Roman/Greek smackdown and the earth goddess Gaea from rising and destroying all creation. Of course all will end well, but it also seems incomplete. This is supposedly the last book in the series, but it came as a surprise to me. Perhaps it's a lead-in to another series (please!). However it simply does not have the satisfactory feel of other series I've read.

Having said that, this book does not fail to keep and hold the reader's interest. The back story is filled in well enough throughout the story that if you can't remember what happened in previous books, you can catch up pretty well. Some of the puns a pretty lame, but then this isn't written for the people with the most sophisticated of wits. It's not thought-provoking, it's not deeply philosophical. It's just plain fun. And you might just learn something along the way.