A review by dottiewankenobi
The Battle of the Labyrinth, by Rick Riordan
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Let me say first and foremost that I am a big Percabeth shipper. In that regard, this book frustrated me but also made me happy? My feelings are multifaceted.
In this book, tensions are rising and the severity of the situation starts to set in. Shit, if you will, starts to get real.
There are funny moments, sad moments, the ups and downs you can expect from any book. They aren't as high or low as in The Titan's Curse but they're still vital to the story.
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OKAY SO. I reread, and now I remember why I loved this book so much. I went into this fearing confusion, and knowing I wouldn't get the percabeth I wanted. Which I did not but there were some good moments THAT KISS THO that will tide me over until The Last Olympian.
I wasn't confused though! No matter how unclear the Labyrinth is, it's explained in a straightforward manner. The descriptions of it, specifically the slimy, uneven one that leads the crew to Grover and Tyson and eventually Pan, made it a lot easier to visualize it, though I cannot imagine being stuck underground like that without wanting to die.
Speaking of, I love Grover with my whole being. The boy can do no wrong. I AM SO PROUD OF HIM FOR DEALING WITH EVERYTHING IN THIS BOOK. The deadline, Tyson, Pan dying, the panic, staying strong and firm against the council and then organizing the satyrs at the end. He's amazing. Same goes for Tyson. To a lesser degree, the same can be said about Percy, Nico, Dionysus, and Poseidon. AND ANNABETH OH MY GOD. My poor sweet girl. On one side she has Luke, a guy who she had a relationship with that was never well defined, and on the other, she has Percy THAT FRICKIN KISS THO!!!!who's so clueless he doesn't even realize he got girls on girls on girls. Will someone PLEASE tell him Annabeth is into him!!! Please!
The last line of the prophecy.... Oh man, it makes me so sad for her. And lose a love to worse than death. Now I know this is about Luke but damn, when Percy was "dead", you know she was thinking it could be about him. I imagine her thought process as being either losing Percy and the worse than death part being the possibilities and what-ifs, or losing Percy to Calypso or Rachel or whoever. And then it turns out to be Luke. Poor girl.
About the gods in this book - Hera can fuckin die for all I care. Knowing what she does to these kids later on just makes my blood boil. As much as I don't like Dionysus in general, I did enjoy him in this book (and the last one). He's mellowing out, becoming nicer, helping more (but don't tell him that). I feel so bad that he got to spend all that time with his children and then he lost Castor. My god. I can't image how much it has to hurt. Also I love Poseidon!!! Percy is his FAVORITE SON. He CAME for his BIRTHDAY. (And his interaction with Paul made me laugh.)
When Pan died, I almost cried. I read that part on the bus so I couldn't, but even just thinking about it now makes me want to cry. We really are ruining the planet. Pan really is dead.
Relatedly, Rachel Elizabeth Dare is a queen and her father has absolutely no bearing on who or what she is and that's facts.
But do you see? Rick Riordan makes me care about characters I didn't care about before. I'm still wondering what happened to Ethan Nakamura though I imagine he was crushed to death. I usually don't like Nico, but I cared about him so much in this book! I was always wondering where he was, if he was okay, etc etc etc. He's so small, and Percy is right, he does need to train though I understand why Nico doesn't want to stay.
Percy was so strong in this book and I absolutely love it. In comparison to Nico, Percy doesn't know his own strength at all, so seeing him learn what he can do is awesome. The Mount St. Helen's thing is seriously one of my favorite moments in the series, not only because the kiss but because it shows how POWERFUL Percy is! It's insane!
Last note - the battle makes me so sad, too. So many kids died and will die in TLO and it just makes me so upset. I don't think one demigod made it out of there without some sort of PTSD. Percy even says he's frightened of the woods now when he never was before. I just want to hug all of them and make it better. Ugh.
In this book, tensions are rising and the severity of the situation starts to set in. Shit, if you will, starts to get real.
There are funny moments, sad moments, the ups and downs you can expect from any book. They aren't as high or low as in The Titan's Curse but they're still vital to the story.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
OKAY SO. I reread, and now I remember why I loved this book so much. I went into this fearing confusion, and knowing I wouldn't get the percabeth I wanted. Which I did not but there were some good moments THAT KISS THO that will tide me over until The Last Olympian.
I wasn't confused though! No matter how unclear the Labyrinth is, it's explained in a straightforward manner. The descriptions of it, specifically the slimy, uneven one that leads the crew to Grover and Tyson and eventually Pan, made it a lot easier to visualize it, though I cannot imagine being stuck underground like that without wanting to die.
Speaking of, I love Grover with my whole being. The boy can do no wrong. I AM SO PROUD OF HIM FOR DEALING WITH EVERYTHING IN THIS BOOK. The deadline, Tyson, Pan dying, the panic, staying strong and firm against the council and then organizing the satyrs at the end. He's amazing. Same goes for Tyson. To a lesser degree, the same can be said about Percy, Nico, Dionysus, and Poseidon. AND ANNABETH OH MY GOD. My poor sweet girl. On one side she has Luke, a guy who she had a relationship with that was never well defined, and on the other, she has Percy THAT FRICKIN KISS THO!!!!who's so clueless he doesn't even realize he got girls on girls on girls. Will someone PLEASE tell him Annabeth is into him!!! Please!
The last line of the prophecy.... Oh man, it makes me so sad for her. And lose a love to worse than death. Now I know this is about Luke but damn, when Percy was "dead", you know she was thinking it could be about him. I imagine her thought process as being either losing Percy and the worse than death part being the possibilities and what-ifs, or losing Percy to Calypso or Rachel or whoever. And then it turns out to be Luke. Poor girl.
About the gods in this book - Hera can fuckin die for all I care. Knowing what she does to these kids later on just makes my blood boil. As much as I don't like Dionysus in general, I did enjoy him in this book (and the last one). He's mellowing out, becoming nicer, helping more (but don't tell him that). I feel so bad that he got to spend all that time with his children and then he lost Castor. My god. I can't image how much it has to hurt. Also I love Poseidon!!! Percy is his FAVORITE SON. He CAME for his BIRTHDAY. (And his interaction with Paul made me laugh.)
When Pan died, I almost cried. I read that part on the bus so I couldn't, but even just thinking about it now makes me want to cry. We really are ruining the planet. Pan really is dead.
Relatedly, Rachel Elizabeth Dare is a queen and her father has absolutely no bearing on who or what she is and that's facts.
But do you see? Rick Riordan makes me care about characters I didn't care about before. I'm still wondering what happened to Ethan Nakamura though I imagine he was crushed to death. I usually don't like Nico, but I cared about him so much in this book! I was always wondering where he was, if he was okay, etc etc etc. He's so small, and Percy is right, he does need to train though I understand why Nico doesn't want to stay.
Percy was so strong in this book and I absolutely love it. In comparison to Nico, Percy doesn't know his own strength at all, so seeing him learn what he can do is awesome. The Mount St. Helen's thing is seriously one of my favorite moments in the series, not only because the kiss but because it shows how POWERFUL Percy is! It's insane!
Last note - the battle makes me so sad, too. So many kids died and will die in TLO and it just makes me so upset. I don't think one demigod made it out of there without some sort of PTSD. Percy even says he's frightened of the woods now when he never was before. I just want to hug all of them and make it better. Ugh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Child death and Death