Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Tower of Nero

I loved this ending for the series.

Nero is basically Trump, everyone is a little gay and there is no character, who doesn’t need therapy!

Highly recommend!

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createandchaos's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The development that has been sown throughout The Trials of Apollo has finally come to its head in the final installment, The Tower of Nero.

The book itself is heart wrenching, the narrative displaying how Apollo has changed from where he started back in The Hidden Oracle and how he's putting all he's learned to use. Combined with the rest of the series, it's an ending that is heart wrenching and makes you want to cry with what all the characters have been through. It's a story of redemption, grief, trying to be better, and ultimately? At the core of it all, there was a story of escaping and beginning to heal from abuse.

The way Rick Riordan wrote Apollo and Meg finally break free from their abusers hold on them was heartbreaking, with it all beginning with Apollo recognizing the abuse Nero was inflicting on Meg back in The Hidden Oracle with what he dealt with under the hands of Zeus, a realization that has festered and expanded until it culminates into two powerful paragraphs/sentences in the last book.

"The Beast is dead." Meg tapped the side of her head. "I killed it..."

"As soon as I thought this, I realized how foolish it was. Zeus didn't work that way. He would not save me any more than Nero had saved Meg. I had to let go of that fantasy. I had to save myself."

The moments when they fight back against and/or came to the realization about their abuser is heartbreaking but it is also gratifying. They're free, they can heal, or in Apollo's case, with the newfound realizations about himself and how toxic and abusive the environment is among the Olympians, he's chosen to distance himself and to spend time with those who actually care about and love him.

He's spent more time and bonded with his children than he ever did before his trials and he's not going to let all that time go. He's moved on from his past, taking off his laurel wreath and contemplating the creation of the hyacinths, stating that he'd been responsible for Daphne transforming just to escape him and wondering if he created the hyacinths to commemorate Hyacinthus or to wallow in his grief and guilt. Hell, Apollo even misses the scars he gained over his journey because to they've become symbols of his humanity, they started to represent the hope that maybe he won't forget what it's like to be human. Apollo regained his own immortality and godhood for the purpose of keeping his promises, to come back, to remember being human, and to be better.

The Trials of Apollo has been a hell of a ride, but it was a ride worth taking.

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albon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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softgalaxy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have mixed feelings about this series, but it was an interesting overall story arc of understanding what it means to be human.

I enjoyed seeing different characters in each book. I know this isn’t the last CHB book as we have The Sun and The Star coming in 2023 as well as a new Percy, Annabeth, and Grover book.

Was this series entirely necessary? I’m not so sure. It had very high stakes, but it all seemed to be solved much more quickly than the other series’ plots.

Regardless, I love this wee CHB world and all the characters. Uncle Rick, thank you once more.

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embla_v's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad

4.75

Oerhört bra serie av Rick Riordan!!! Den är rolig, underhållande och väldigt spännande. Detta är sista boken i serien om Apollon.

Boken handlar om Apollon som blivit skickad till jorden av sin pappa Zeus. Zeus förvandlade även Apollon till en tonårspojke vid namn Lester. Nu måste Lester ta sig an ett antal utmaningar, tillsammans med hans härskare (och vän) Meg, för att kunna återta sin ställning som olympisk gud.

Rekommenderar till alla som gillar Rick Riordan böcker, är intresserade av grekisk (och romersk) mytologi eller bara vill ha en bra fantasy bok att läsa. Jag rekommenderar att vara 10+ år. Oerhört bra bok och definitivt läsvärd!!!

(Jag skulle dock rekommenderar att läsa Percy Jackson- serien först och efter den läsa Olympens hjältar- serien, innan man läser Apollon-serien men det är inte ett måste)

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