Introduction
Welcome to this month’s bonus review! We’re wrapping up January with the fifth and final installment of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Last Olympian! This book was first published by Disney Hyperion on May 5th, 2009. This series is always a joy to read, and I hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have writing them. As always, I recommend reading this series and my previous reviews before jumping into this one. My Character and Plot sections will be spoiler free, but I cannot say that for my personal Thoughts section. If you are okay with that, then enjoy!
If you would like to explore more of Rick Riordan’s work and get updates on his present and future projects - such as the Percy Jackson TV show starring Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri - then please visit his website at https://rickriordan.com/ and follow him on his various social media accounts!
Characters
Luke Castellan
Luke, the abandoned son of Olympus, is one of the most complex characters in this series. He seems genuinely helpful to Percy in the first book, and despite all he does throughout this series, it’s clear that a part of him has always cared for Annabeth. He grew up being promised a hero's life, only to be ignored by his father, traumatized by his mother, and feeling wholly alone in the world. Knowing he was not the only one that felt that way, he manipulated many people into joining the wrong side of a war that cost too many lives. So, here’s my question, though he died a hero, did he live as a villain?
Silena Beauregard
This overlooked daughter of an often-mocked goddess is so much more than her appearance. She faces an incredible amount of emotional turbulence in this book, but most of it goes unseen until the very end. It isn’t until then that she becomes a true hero, and she sacrifices everything for her family.
Plot
Percy is only a week away from sixteen and war is upon them. The Great Prophecy is finally being set into motion. Kronos has a spy in camp keeping him well-informed, constantly thwarting the camp’s best efforts to defend New York without the help of the gods - who are off fighting a titan of their own. Before the final battles can begin, Percy needs to do something to give him a fighting chance against a Titan, and with some help from Nico and Annabeth, he finds himself successful. With great sacrifices, the final battle comes to a close on Percy’s sixteenth birthday.
Thoughts
This is my favorite book in the series. As always, there is so much emotion packed into these pages, and every loss is genuinely devastating - which makes for an incredibly heart-wrenching finale given that war is upon the demigods, and no war is without loss. With this being told from Percy’s perspective, everything is ramped up another notch. He wants to do it all; protect everyone, save the world, and he would do it on his own if he could. Every death weighs heavily on him, and therefore on us. The final battle being set primarily in Manhattan was a brilliant move because - for Percy - this is a personal attack. He is more enraged because not only is Kronos threatening Campo Half-Blood, his new family there, and his godly half, Kronos is attacking Percy’s mortal half as well. It is the perfect setting for this book.
After the fourth book, Grover has finally come into his own, and it shows here. He is incredibly independent and has grown to be a true leader, especially with Pan’s blessing and power. Percy and Annabeth are closer than ever, and he has made amends with most of the people in his life. Nico has forgiven him and continues to search for the truth of his past, and Percy and Clarisse have at least stopped trying to kill one another. For the most part, everyone is coming together to defend their home. The Ares campers are stubborn and difficult, but when are they not? And to be completely honest, Clarisse would have had a valid point about the chariot had they not been in the middle of a war. Under normal circumstances, I would have found the chariot plot line to be a cheap way to separate the campers and give Kronos more of an edge than he already had to build suspense but given how he used it later on to reintroduce Silena, I am willing to overlook it.
Everyone in this book shows bravery and defiance beyond measure. However, even with the seriousness of the plot, the characters are still themselves. There are genuinely funny moments that don’t feel cheesy or out of place. And they serve as good reminders that at their core, this demigod army is made up of a bunch of scared teenagers fighting millenia old monsters and deities. I love that even during hardship, they never lose themselves, and they do their best not to lose one another. Unfortunately, loss is unavoidable. Ethan’s death results from a promise made to bring balance, and Luke’s results from a broken promise to protect his family. Silena’s death was to prove that anyone can be a hero. These three are the hardest deaths to read in the book because of the pure sorrow that comes with them, and I love that these deaths come from heroes, villains, and both. The variety adds more depth that only makes it all more tragic.
The themes of family, loyalty, and promise are stronger in this book, and all of them are beautifully tied together in a truly bittersweet ending. The pacing is the best in this one as compared to the others as well with the battle beginning early and going on for a reasonable length of time with enough new content to keep it interesting. The moments between battles are utilized very well. The book ends beautifully while still leaving enough strings untied to allow for a sequel series. I am giving this book a 9.8/10 for the emotional depth, plot, pacing, character development, and beautifully tragic yet fitting ending to what was truly an amazing series.
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