The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
Over the holidays I read a book called The Mark of Athena. It is written by Rick Rioirdan and is the 3rd book in the Heros of Olympus Series. The series is based on the prophecy of 7. 7 demigods (Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel and Frank), who must form a team in order to defeat the giants and the awakening evil earth goddess Gaia.
This book follows the 7 as they enter Rome in order to defeat the twin giants Otis and Ephialtes, and stop them from destroying Rome. But this is also a rescue mission. Nico di’Angelo, Hazel’s half bother, is trapped by the twin giants. They must rescue him in time or he will surely die. But Annabeth has been given a secret mission from her mother, Athena – Follow the mark, avenge me. So Annabeth endeavours on a solo quest to find the Athena Parenthos, guided only by the Mark of Athena – a glowing owl. She must face her greatest fear of all, with a broken leg, her problem solving skills, and a dagger as her only weapon.
This was my favourite book in the series so far. I liked how it followed Annabeth in her quest, but also the others in theirs. I liked the problems, and the solutions to problems that Rick Riordan used, and how he incorporated each of the seven’s skills into the solution. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. Not that is wasn’t good, I want to know what happens! It was a real cliffhanger. Now I, and any fellow reader of the series, has to wait a whole YEAR until the next book, The House of Hades, comes out. I suppose there is other series out there.
I recommend this book, series, and the original Percy Jackson series to anyone who likes adventure books. There is certainly a lot of action and fighting scenes, but a lot of real Greek mythology in it too. Also the second series involves Romans, and their side as well as Greek. I rate it ***** starts out of 5, mainly for how it is an entertaining read, and how I couldn’t put it down!
