The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo #2)

I wanted to love this book. I\’ve been reading all of Riordan\’s mythology series\’ since the beginning with Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief but this one fell flat to me. Riordan for whatever reason is officially in a slump of epic proportions, arguably dating back to the first Trials of Apollo book. The heart and humor which defined Percy Jackson, the Kane Chronicles, Heroes of Olympus, and at least the first tome of Magnus Chase. There was a little bit of humor, but it was not the humor we typically get from Riordan. The jokes were simple and lacked the cleverness that defines Riordan\’s typical work. I will try to pick out some strengths, then address the most glaring weaknesses and end with a few more strengths. First, I really enjoyed Apollo\’s growth. He started out as the spoiled god of the sun which defined his character in the first of these books. The fact that he did not grow is my biggest annoyance about the first book in the series, The Hidden Oracle. Finally, Apollo began to show some growth and began to recognize the value of humanity beyond just amusements for gods. It takes some very tragic occurrences for him to get there, but Apollo finally grows. The downside of that is that his growth takes basically until the end of the third act, so we get very little of the new and improved Apollo. Hopefully this growth will stick and salvage the final book in this trilogy. Another good part is the introduction of new mythologies, such as the Crete and Minoan gods who predated the Greek societies. I wish Riordan would have spent a little bit more time on these. He even introduced some African mythology in a potential hint for a new series, but that is also a negative so more on \”Jimmy\” a little later. Further, I love the villains in this series. Unlike previous series that Riordan has written, the antagonist is not a typical god, but former Roman Emperors. As a history buff I love seeing this new take on the series. Now we get to the negatives, which are unfortunately prevalent. My first negative is that the story was very static. By that I mean that we did not have the typical quest that is so common in Riordan\’s works. We spend the entire book in and around Indianapolis. There was no goal that we could travel with our heroes. This particular format proved to be flat, static and boring. I think one of the biggest minuses for this book was the overemphasis of gay/lesbian characters.Now, I loved when Nico DiAngelo came out as gay in The House of Hades. It proved to be a major positive for his character and the series. I am also gay, so I have no qualms with a gay character but Apollo\’s commentary on cute attractive males in complete overkill. It borders on being offensive. We don\’t need every time Apollo sees an attractive male for him to comment on their attractiveness. There are more subtle ways to do the same thing without making it seem like Apollo is attracted to every male he sees. Further, every significant new character in this book was either bisexual or homosexual. That\’s not necessary and again overkill. Emmie and Jo are lesbian parents to a crucial character. The same role could have been sisters with one having a daughter and the other a niece. I don\’t necessarily mind that they are a lesbian couple, but combined with Apollo\’s constant references to past boyfriends and cute boys it adds to the overkill. Worst of all, a new character was introduced who at first seemed to only be an object for Apollo to fascinate over, even earning the offensive title of loincloth Jimmy. The character, whose real name is Olujiame, is revealed to have a potential connection to other gods, from African mythology perhaps. I fear this is an introduction to the successor series to Magnus Chase. Don\’t get me wrong, I would love for Riordan to tackle African myths in about five years. But right now, I think he needs to take a break. His writing in this book just reads like he is bored and phoning it in. It is understandable since he has been putting out a book a year since 2005! I want to close with a positive. The last fifth of the book is good. Best of all, Apollo and the reader understand an important message of kindness, understanding, empathy and compassion. If you can make it through the first 24 chapters or so there are some strong redeeming qualities that make up for some of the major problems that prevent this book from being among the greats of Riordan\’s career. I choose to believe that the books ending provides some hope for the future of this series and the Magnus Chase series.

Rick Riordan is now 12 books in his giant series that started with The Lightning Thief and he is not slowing down. The Dark Prophecy picks up 6 weeks after the conclusion of The Hidden Oracle and we start off with action right from the get go. The one thing I love about Rick Riordan\’s books is that you are never bored. If there isn\’t any action going on your laughing your head off, if your not laughing your reading some gripping action sequences. It is one entertaining book from start to finish. I am enjoying Apollo so much as the MC, do I miss Percy (of course) but Apollo just has this freshness about him even though he is 1000+ years old. It was great to see Leo and Calypso again after the ending of The Blood of Olympus. Heck it was even more great to see Thalia again (I loved Thalia!!). The Riordan is keeping the story fresh but finding ways to bring all his other well loved characters back into the flow is just simply amazing and I for one cannot wait to continue on this journey and see how it all comes to an end!!

The person I bought the book for did not want to continue reading the book because of the alternative lifestyle choice of the characters.

Once again Riordan does a wonderful job of blending the old with the new. This story is a superb addition to the line of new mythology he weaves with every book or series. Hopefully he never stops. In the next book let\’s hope we meet old friends again and are introduced to new as the epic continues.

I love Apollo…\’s story (Sorry Apollo, my favourite god has always been Poseidon). Besides Apollo\’s, the other stories will be in the view of demigods, heroes & heroines, which of course we will feel more familiar and easy to get attach to, because it will be in nearly same position as ours… mere mortal who try to fight for something good. But Apollo\’s, it\’s very interesting and refreshing because it\’s from the god himself\’s point of view. It\’s full of arrogance and ignorance that sometimes will make you felt like WHAT?! In this book 2, Apollo started to feel more, and have more emotions while still be the arrogant Apollo, and it\’s very endearing to read. You will also get to understand some more why all the gods (have to) stayed arrogant and ignorant like that. Leo and Cal who\’s assisted Apollo in this book are so lovely. Especially Leo. He\’s kind of like Percy in many ways, with the fact that he can bring out your smile every scene he\’s in. He\’s my second favourite demigods next to Percy. I also hope to meet D,T&H more in future books, he may be a connection to other groups. (really love how Apollo calls him by this. His sense of wording and flirting is wonderful) And while some reader took it as cliffhanger at the end of the book, but I thought it was so perfect for next book\’s expectation. I missed him too. And hopefully, when he\’s there it means some connection to Percy! Oh… May 2018 cannot come fast enough…

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