Sunday, December 1, 2024

Book Review: Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #7)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Percy and co, lots of laughs
Cons: A little low stakes and slow start
The Bottom Line:
Task two?  Pet sitting
Great characters and humor
But too much set up




Pet Sitting at Halloween

Percy Jackson is back to collect another college recommendation.  Of course, being a demigod, that means something much more difficult than it does for us mere mortals.   But we do get the fun of reading about it in Wrath of the Triple Goddess.

If you haven’t met Percy Jackson, you probably won’t want to jump in here since there are references to past adventures.  Of course, it’s been so long since I read those earlier books that I have forgotten much of the details, so maybe you’d be okay jumping in here after all.  What you need to know is that Percy is a demigod, the son of the Greek god Poseidon.  After several years spent saving the world, he’s now a senior in high school and hoping to get into New Rome University so he and his girlfriend can stay together.  But, since his grades are so poor, he needs to get three recommendations from gods.  And, in order to get those, he has to do favors for them.  And favors for gods are never easy.

This book opens in October, and things are been quiet for a few weeks now.  While Percy has enjoyed the down time, he is worried about needing to get two more recommendation letters to get into college.  So he has mixed emotions when he is contacted by Hecate.  She is planning to travel to enjoy all the Halloween festivities around the world and needs someone to pet sit.  Of course, when those pets are a polecat and a hellhound, both of whom used to be human, things aren’t as easy as they appear.  Especially when they escape.  Can Percy and his friends track them down before Hecate returns?  And what about repairing her mansion?

If you are looking for the world on the line stakes we had in the earlier books featuring Percy, you’ll be disappointed.  Don’t get me wrong, Percy faces death several times, but these are less dangerous books overall.  To be honest, I miss a bit of that life and death stakes.  I also found the set up took a bit longer than it truly needed to.

Now, this isn’t to say I didn’t find the book fun.  I honestly was wondering just how Percy was going to overcome the dangers he was facing here, and that kept me turning the pages.

I also really enjoy the characters.  Those familiar with the series will be happy to hear that the trio of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are once again the focus.  We also get some updates on a few other characters from the franchise.  But it is always great to spend time with these three.  I also really enjoyed learning about the new characters in this book.  I really appreciated where Percy left them.

But I can’t leave out the humor.  Whether it’s the situations that Percy finds himself in or his narration, there are plenty of laughs the entire way through the book.

Given the premise for the recent releases, I’m assuming we have at least one more book coming.  I’ll definitely be back for it.  Fans will be happy they picked up Wrath of the Triple Goddess.

Check out the rest of Percy Jackson’s adventures.

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