Review: The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus #3) by Rick Riordan

Title: The Mark of Athena
Author: Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 Amazing, please-give-me-more hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pub. date: October 2nd 2012
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Book
Synopsis: 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.

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare.... (synopsis from Goodreads)

My thoughts: Amazing mythology, characters I love, and an interesting plot. What more could I ask for? The Mark of Athena was action-packed, but it also had a lot of slower moments with character interaction and character development, which I loved. Especially the Percabeth.

The characters are amazing!

   In The Mark of Athena, we get to follow Percy’s, Annabeth’s, Leo’s and Piper’s thoughts. I loved finally getting to follow Annabeth’s thoughts, since she was my favorite character from PJO and is my favorite character in Heroes of Olympus. She is a perfect example of how a heroine should be: totally badass, independent, and simply awesome. But Annabeth isn’t just a good fighter – although she can certainly hold her own – but she also has brains. I mean, her mother is Athena. In The Mark of Athena, we get to know her better, and I loved it.

   I love the other characters, as well, Annabeth is just my favorite. I still love following Percy’s thoughts. I ship Percabeth so much! I shipped them so much in PJO, but now they're all grown up, and can I just say how much I've loved watching them growing up? It's crazy how I've shipped them since they were twelve, and now they're seventeen! This is making me so emotional!

 

A perfect mix of action and drama!

   How about the plot? The plot was great. Finally, all seven demigods are together, but it is not completely without other problems. Leo looks just like Sammy from Hazel’s past, so it’s pretty tense between Hazel, Leo and Frank. And they all have their own issues to deal with, whether it be relationship drama (and there’s plenty of that) or feeling like the third wheel. And then there’s their task of saving the world, too. And as if that wasn't enough, Gaea is messing with them too, making life difficult for them in various ways. Drama is not something that is lacking in this book, that’s for certain. And I loved it! The Mark of Athena is a perfect mix of drama and action. Action from start to finish (not exaggerating, the action starts, like, 20 pages in, and continues throughout the whole book.) For you out there who love an action-packed fantasy read, this is something for you.

   The writing is still amazing. I love how Riordan mixes the serious moments with humor. The writing just feels so… alive, somehow. The writing is honestly one of my favorite things about Riordan’s books (except Annabeth, of course).

A horrible ending!

   It was a cliffhanger – literally – and I hated it. Here I thought the usual cliffhangers were bad. After this ending, I’m never complaining about cliffhangers again (okay, I probably will, but you get my point). It was a good endig of the book, it made sense, but I hated it. Thankfully, I already have the next book, so I can start it right away (though, admittedly, I am a bit scared to do so).

   An amazing book with good characters, an awesome plot, and great writing. If you haven’t started reading Heroes of Olympus yet, you really should, because you’re seriously missing out!