Friday, July 17, 2020

The Tyrant's Tomb by Rick Riordan


This is the fourth book of the series Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan. Apollo has restored the first three oracles with the help of Meg McCaffery, a demigod ally, and must now restore another in his quest to become a god again, but without his powers, he is just another human being named Lester. Apollo must now head to Camp Jupiter, where the Roman demigods will be preparing for a final stand against the evil trio of Roman emperors, Apollo’s old friends will need his help in order to survive. But right now all odds are against them as they will have to first journey to a forgotten tomb that belonged to an emperor more powerful than he has ever faced.

The thing that makes this book so interesting is that Apollo and Meg must go somewhere unknown and forgotten, and this builds suspense. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes thrill and suspense, making you want to keep reading. This book uses a lot of imagery (creating pictures in your head) to hook the reader into it. Apollo is a dynamic character, meaning he develops through each story. But he wasn't always like that. He used to have a lot of confidence in himself; he used to think that just because he is a god, he can do anything he wants, that he is better. But once Zeus punishes him, he begins to seek help and becomes friends with Meg. What makes it interesting is that Apollo is this amazing god and has all his powers, but in this series, he learns to survive without them and it gives him a different point of view. This makes the book very interesting.


Reviewed by Aryan S., Grade 8

Monday, July 13, 2020

The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan


This is the third book in the series The Trials of Apollo. Apollo, or Lester, has survived his first two trials, one of which was at Camp Halfblood and the other at Indianapolis, where Meg received the Dark Prophecy. The words that she said while she was seated on the Throne of Memory revealed that an evil trio of Roman emperors plan to attack Camp Jupiter. While Leo, a Greek demigod ally, flies ahead on Festus to warn the Roman camp, Lester and Meg must go through the Labyrinth to find the third emperor and an Oracle who speaks in word puzzles, somewhere in the American Southwest. There is still one spark of hope in the sorrowful prophecy. Can Lester and Meg restore the third Oracle?

The thing about this series that will hook the reader into it is the plot and the character development. Riordan uses a lot of different techniques to make the stories interesting and gets a lot of people hooked into the book. I would recommend this book to almost anyone because of how the plot is built and the genre does not even matter, anyone can read this book. This book would make you feel as if you are one of the characters because of the effective use of imagery which plays an important role in the development of the story. I believe that once you read one of the books you will be wanting to know what happens in the next.

Reviewed by Aryan S., Grade 8