The last Percy Jackson book? Who knows.

This is what I wrote upon finishing the book last month:

“My emotions have been played like a cheap fiddle at a hoedown AND I LOVED EVERY MINUTE. I like, am alllllmost tempted to give this five stars, but I’m gonna sit on that impulse for now (see cheap fiddle hoedown comment above.) So for now, 4.5 stars. Also shut up, YOU’RE CRYING.”

I’ve cooled off since then, and I’d probably need to re-read before I can form definite opinions about specific details (mostly because I don’t remember the specific details anymore), but I stand by the opinion that it was a good ending to the series. Overall, I still prefer the original Percy Jackson series. The mythology-is-real concept was still fresh back then, and I loved Percy’s first person voice. It was so personable. And with the exception of Leo, I never really warmed to any of the new characters the way I did to the characters in the original series. Sure, I liked them, but if they weren’t there, I wouldn’t have missed them.

With that said, knowing this was a children’s book, and knowing Riordan’s tendency to slip into certain patterns, I thought the ending was as surprising and filling as it could be in those circumstances. I particularly appreciate what he did by having Nico and Reyna as POV characters (Nico chapters, finally!). I’m sure a lot of people were disappointed that Percy and Annabeth weren’t featured as heavily in this one, but really, 1) They had their turn last book, and it was really excellent, and 2) They also had a whole other series detailing their exploits. This book belonged to to the new guys, and the older characters like Nico who never had voices in the original stories.

So, while it was a tad predictable, it was an enjoyable predictable, and I was more than satisfied with the way things ended for all the characters. If we never hear from anyone in this universe again, I will be happy. (But don’t count on that. Riordan’s new milk the mythology concept series is out next year, and with Annabeth’s throwaway comment in this book about her relatives in Boston, and the fact that the new series is about Norse Gods and a kid called Magnus Chase, who lives in Boston . . . well. My money’s on crossover there.)