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A review by ghulsona
The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
As Percy Jackson's biggest fan, 2023 has really been my year. This was a fun read that I breezed through. Something that I really liked was the focus on the more grounded and simpler moments in Percy's everyday life!!! I just adored the little scenes he had with Sally, Annabeth and Grover, they were so sweet and touching. I thought that the chapter where his family and Annabeth help him write his rec letter especially was so cute <3 I also like how many scenes there were between Percy and Grover that highlighted how strong their friendship was, some of them genuinely made me tear up. Percy and Annabeth are so sickeningly in love, they will always be the blueprint of romance to me <3 The humor was a lot more on point than it was in the Nico novel that came out this year, I was laughing constantly. There's no doubt that Riordan's writing is at its best when he's in Percy's head and working with the original trio.
My main gripe with this book is how it seems like Riordan barely brushed up on any previous canon. It's obvious he looked through 'The Lightning Thief' before writing this, because there were a lot of references to it (some being a bit too in your face about it), and even then, I only think he did that because of his involvement the upcoming show. However, it doesn't seem like he looked through any of his other books, because the amount of info in this book that conflicts with previous worldbuilding/characterization is a bit staggering.One of the biggest contradictions was Percy talking about how as demigods got older, monsters are more likely to leave them alone, which was so?!?!? I clearly remember that somewhere in the original series, it's mentioned that the older demigods who leave camp rarely survive past a couple of years. In 'The Son of Neptune, one of the things that strikes Percy the most about New Rome is the amount of older demigods he sees milling about because the thought of living past your teenagehood is so foreign to him as a Greek demigod. In fact, one of the main reasons why Percy wanted to go to NRU is because he doesn't want to be constantly fighting for his life as he gets older!!! Riordan adding this little tidbit of info not only goes back on his previous worldbuilding, but also invalidates why Percy wanted to leave CHB in the first place. If he's safer from monster attacks the older he gets, what's the point of Percy going through so much trouble to get into NRU, a place where he'll undoubtedly get more entrapped in the mythological world, when he so clearly just wants a normal life for a bit?
Another thing I did not like was how Riordan's gut instict was to play a scene for laughs when it could've worked as a vehicle for some character/relationship introspection and development. I think there were so many lost opportunities because of this. Okay, rant incoming about this specifically.
Percy's beneath-the-surface anger and loss of control over his powers comes up a couple times in this book. During one chapter, Percy gets so angry when a minor river god thrashes him around that he blacks out for a bit and explodes an entire river out of rage. When he comes back to himself, he's scared for a moment that he's accidentally harmed Annabeth, and Annabeth is comforting the now trembling river god by saying "He can get scary when he gets worked up".
When I was reading this, I got really excited. In 'House of Hades', Annabeth is horrified when Percy uses his powers to torture a goddess out of rage and misery, to the point where she's backed away from him and sobbing. In 'Blood of Olympus', Annabeth states how that memory was the scariest thing she witnessed in Tartarus and how she can't get that image out of her head. However, the two of them never talk about this, and the series ends with them never resolving this huge point of tension in their relationship, which was really upsetting for me at that time because that was supposedly the last time we as readers would ever get their PoVs.
So, when I read Annabeth's line about Percy being scary in this chapter, it made me think Riordan was finally going to address this. Percy even gets bothered by the fact that she's implying she's kind of scared of him! Instead, all tension is broken by completely glossing over the implications of this scene when Riordan immediately goes back to a lighthearted and joking tone. What?!?!? This would have been the perfect scene to finally lead up to a conversation between Percy and Annabeth about the things they've witnessed in Tartarus and the trauma they're obviously harboring! And Riordan just let it pass!!! Why?!?!
There's also another part where Percy learns about his mother's pregnancy during dinner. Everybody's a bit tense when Sally breaks the news because they think Percy's going to blow up the plumbing or react very strongly somehow. This reminded me of a scene in 'The Blood of Olympus', where Percy blows up the ship's plumbing without even thinking because of how upset he is at the idea that Annabeth is going somewhere without him there to protect her. I thought this scene at the dinner table was in the same vein as the scene from 'The Blood of Olympus' - Percy's become so powerful where even the slightest hint of a negative emotion causes him to unthinkingly release an extreme burst of power. And now it's come to the point where his loved ones are genuinely a bit scared of setting him off . . . and this is never, ever addressed. This scene ends with Percy being happy about the news, and everyone is happy and relieved. Again, why?!? It's so depressing to think that his loved ones are just expectant of his anger now, and the extreme anger and anxiety Percy that has been feeling and that has been detrimentally affecting him will never be addressed, by the author or anyone close to him.
All in all, I did enjoy reading this. Percy Jackson is one of my favorite characters of all time, and it was nice getting him back after so long. And I genuinely think that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are one of the best main trios of all time <333 But also, there were too many missed opportunities that I really wish the book had taken, and there was an obvious decline in quality from the original series. Sometimes, I feel silly for taking this middle-grade book series so seriously, but I have to remember that children's literature deserves the same care and thoughtfulness that goes into every other well-made media. I want to tell Riordan that just because it's a book for kids, it shouldn't be an excuse to let the quality of his work slip. It's been announced there will be 2 more books set after this, and I'm hoping those fulfill some of my hopes and expectations I had for this series - but I'm not holding my breath on that.
My main gripe with this book is how it seems like Riordan barely brushed up on any previous canon. It's obvious he looked through 'The Lightning Thief' before writing this, because there were a lot of references to it (some being a bit too in your face about it), and even then, I only think he did that because of his involvement the upcoming show. However, it doesn't seem like he looked through any of his other books, because the amount of info in this book that conflicts with previous worldbuilding/characterization is a bit staggering.
Another thing I did not like was how Riordan's gut instict was to play a scene for laughs when it could've worked as a vehicle for some character/relationship introspection and development. I think there were so many lost opportunities because of this. Okay, rant incoming about this specifically.
When I was reading this, I got really excited. In 'House of Hades', Annabeth is horrified when Percy uses his powers to torture a goddess out of rage and misery, to the point where she's backed away from him and sobbing. In 'Blood of Olympus', Annabeth states how that memory was the scariest thing she witnessed in Tartarus and how she can't get that image out of her head. However, the two of them never talk about this, and the series ends with them never resolving this huge point of tension in their relationship, which was really upsetting for me at that time because that was supposedly the last time we as readers would ever get their PoVs.
So, when I read Annabeth's line about Percy being scary in this chapter, it made me think Riordan was finally going to address this. Percy even gets bothered by the fact that she's implying she's kind of scared of him! Instead, all tension is broken by completely glossing over the implications of this scene when Riordan immediately goes back to a lighthearted and joking tone. What?!?!? This would have been the perfect scene to finally lead up to a conversation between Percy and Annabeth about the things they've witnessed in Tartarus and the trauma they're obviously harboring! And Riordan just let it pass!!! Why?!?!
There's also another part where Percy learns about his mother's pregnancy during dinner. Everybody's a bit tense when Sally breaks the news because they think Percy's going to blow up the plumbing or react very strongly somehow. This reminded me of a scene in 'The Blood of Olympus', where Percy blows up the ship's plumbing without even thinking because of how upset he is at the idea that Annabeth is going somewhere without him there to protect her. I thought this scene at the dinner table was in the same vein as the scene from 'The Blood of Olympus' - Percy's become so powerful where even the slightest hint of a negative emotion causes him to unthinkingly release an extreme burst of power. And now it's come to the point where his loved ones are genuinely a bit scared of setting him off . . . and this is never, ever addressed. This scene ends with Percy being happy about the news, and everyone is happy and relieved. Again, why?!? It's so depressing to think that his loved ones are just expectant of his anger now, and the extreme anger and anxiety Percy that has been feeling and that has been detrimentally affecting him will never be addressed, by the author or anyone close to him.
All in all, I did enjoy reading this. Percy Jackson is one of my favorite characters of all time, and it was nice getting him back after so long. And I genuinely think that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are one of the best main trios of all time <333 But also, there were too many missed opportunities that I really wish the book had taken, and there was an obvious decline in quality from the original series. Sometimes, I feel silly for taking this middle-grade book series so seriously, but I have to remember that children's literature deserves the same care and thoughtfulness that goes into every other well-made media. I want to tell Riordan that just because it's a book for kids, it shouldn't be an excuse to let the quality of his work slip. It's been announced there will be 2 more books set after this, and I'm hoping those fulfill some of my hopes and expectations I had for this series - but I'm not holding my breath on that.
Content Warnings
Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Kidnapping