The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
Might contain spoilers.
Another cracking good book. This time it’s Annabeth’s turn to shine, and the way she tricks Arachne is both brilliant and hilarious. Percy is still so awesome, though: the moment when he saves her from Octavian in the bay is excellent, from how Annabeth gets his attention to how he casually sweeps Octavian and the others into the water before returning her weapon. His refusal to abandon her in the end warmed my heart. Jason and he make an impressive pair, too. It’s both unfortunate and unfair that their quest puts Reyna in such a difficult position.
Whether he’s called Bacchus or Dionysus, he’s really always the same god. His opponents, Ephialtes and Otus, are two of the most interesting villains yet. That was a very enjoyable battle.
Achelous’s plight is deeply sad. It feels so cruel to treat him as they do, and yet Herakles leaves them no choice. Fortunately, the Narcissus episode is funny enough to serve as a counterweight.
The covers continue to be atrocious. Quite apart from how nondescript this one is, it even forgets that Jason is blond. I’m not usually a stickler for details, but it’s not as if that were a creative choice. Oh and yes, one faction of demigods did fight alongside the slavers in the American Civil War, justifying it by saying Rome was built by slaves… New Rome has its good qualities, but I don’t like the Romans much.