an Introduction
I loved the PJO series. The Kane Chronicles were the first books I read by Rick. Of course I grew up and learned more about the world and the problems presented by the portrayals. But I liked them, then read the Lost Hero and stopped.
And wondered, why did I find Heroes of Olympus so lacking in comparison?
I decided to reread the first book, and write what I thought about it, chapter by chapter.
I will try to write what I think could be improved.
I have read the Lost Hero once before, and stopped. I read it all in one go, so this time, I plan to stop and reflect on it, and my feelings.
It does include roasting, not because I dislike Rick on a personal level, but some days I'm just straight up in a mood to be picky, and this is a good way to do so in peace.
I do like Rick Riordian's writing. If I didn't feel the energy to care, I wouldn't be doing this. Yes, it's probably going to involve roasting, AU imagine spots, and comparisons to other characters. The story was not created in a vacuum, and is in fact a sequel. I have expectations, based on his previous works, and one of the things that drew me into it was humor and ADHD.
In the end, remember that this is a blog personal reflection, and you don't have to share the same opinion, and are welcome to block or unfollow if it makes your blogging experiences uncozy.
Fair warning, this blog will update on random whims, it is very unscheduled.
So that said, what do I remember of the characters? Let's see.
JASON.
Who is Jason? Jason is amnesiac , for plot reasons, and a Roman Demigod, as well as Thalia Grace's little brother. Hopefully, there will be some nice moments between them down the road, despite their different alliances. We could have seen such a relationship between a sibling in camp, and a sister with the hunters, if the new hunter didn't die in the book she was introduced in. There were some interesting things that could have been done with her character if she were alive, such as exploring why she left Nico in camp to join a girl hunting party, practically the minute she could. Had she been thinking about her orientations, and left the minute she found seemingly like minded people? Was she desperate not to be responsible for him anymore? It just seems like it all happened, to hurt Nico, because she is not explored for very long, or in any particular detail, and it feels like she was killed for the sake of Nico’s character arc.
But I've gone off topic. Jason does not remember, except when he stands up for the Romans who fought out of the blue, and his relationship with Piper that didn't happen. He's pretty out of his depth, and it shows throughout the book.
PIPER.
Oh boy. This is a long one. Piper is the second female protagonist Rick has written from the perspective of, and I liked Sadie, a lot better. Piper feels kind of like "I'm not like other girls". One thing I found in the other books, that I didn't find in these protagonists, was a sense of humor, that frankly I didn't feel from the protagonists in this book. Maybe it will show up later. I hope so.
Back to Piper. A daughter of Aphrodisiac and a native American Celebrity, Piper often feels lonely and wants more attention from her father. To this end, she uses her lvl 50 persuade… er charmspeak, to talk people into letting her do stuff, and gets into trouble, when it wears off, and they realise “wait wtf”. Like all children of Aphrodisiac, she radiates beauty. On one hand, that's pretty cool, the most beautiful POV character thus far, is of mixed native descent. However, I have to wonder if it will be properly explored.
*Aphrodisiac is a spelling mistake by spellcheck. I left it because it amused me
Do you remember why Carter always dresses his best, In the first book? His dad insists on it, yes, but they are black men, and he doesn't want to give the cops any more reasons to give them trouble, trouble they will have more than enough of with the colour of their skin. At the end of the first book, Carter moves to dressing more casual, a move that is supported by both Sadie and his parents.
How does Piper deal with discrimination and stereotypes? She's a girl, which means it might show up in different ways, and be aimed at her sex out loud? Does she, too, get set off by the term half blood, like Carter? Does it bypass her somewhat, by being a celebrity's daughter? Are people more likely to project spoiled rich kids expectations onto her?
*Do I want to touch her kleptomania here? Hard no. That is a bomb I will avoid going into in introductions.
Piper, like Carter, has thoughts on clothing. Carter wanted to wear normal clothes, and wondered what his life would be like if he grew up a normal kid. Piper has an unrepentant tomboy style, and is someone who doesn't care how she looks, yet is gorgeous anyways. She seems to look down on girls who dress girly, and act like it, and intentionally does things differently. To me, this is a character flaw, in that she is being judgemental about people with different attitudes from her, and I think in doing so she is being just as snobby as the people she is looking down on. I wonder if part of her future character growth will be realising that, and changing her attitude towards them, maybe even learning some of the things they can teach her. Even if it's not her thing, that doesn't mean she shouldn't respect people who do like makeup and whatnot.
While I'm talking about beauty, I wonder if there will be any part in the books that explore the pitfalls of being beautiful. Particularly as a woman. Women have a long history of objectification, and while things seem more equal among the demigods, children of Aphrodisiac seem to be something of an exception. Apparently, those campers have never been on a quest, and aren't shown to be learning any particular skill at camp. It seems they are stuck in being the stereotype of “the chick.” And are there any sons of Aphrodisiac? Does she just clone herself using males DNA to pad a difference? Or are there two separate cabins for them, and we have not seen them yet? Because off what I remember, the beauty standards seem to be patricary catered.
Ah, I've gotten a bit off point. The pitfalls of being female, particularly a beautiful one. A big one is guys. You're trying to shop, or just walking, or watching a play, whatever, doing your own business, when a wolf whistle pierces the air. Or a guy asks you out. Or keeps following you, trying to get you to give him your number. Or winks at you out of the blue, groped you as you were passing him on the bus, sends you sexual harassment on a text, or shouts it at you. Or is a “nice guy” who drops you when you won't date him, after trying to pressure you. It's not just strangers. The world judges you on beauty. It makes you likelier to be hired, gives people a more favorable impression of you, and often takes a lot of maintaining. Beauty and brains is considered an exception, guys don't want to date people smarter than them, and can come to resent it in a partner.
Do we see Piper, having struggles being a beautiful woman? A beautiful Native woman, (many of whom have problems with over sexualization?)Do guys bother her in public? Has she been friends with “nice guys” in the past? Does she have trouble trusting Leo at first because of experiences like that? Does she get frustrated at this treatment, and tell guys off, only to get slapped with the label “crazy bitch?” Does she have trouble getting people to take her ideas seriously, because she's a woman? Scratch the last one, charmspeak possibly overrides those objections.
Sadie Kane, was a bit boy Crazy. She had two guys into her, one a god, a conflict which was resolved by having the mortal boy she liked, host the god she liked. Is it a bit wish fulfillment? I won't disagree. But I didn't feel It got overtly annoying, and it was reciprocated, and they managed to make it work for them. I do wish there hadn't been a time skip, and we could have seen them develop more, but established friendships are given pretty good attention, such as Percy and Grover. His friendship with Rachel, was pretty well done, as was Annabeth. Rick knows how to build a relationship up, and Percybeth was well built, so what is he doing here with Piper and Jason? It was built on a lie, subbed in for Jason current relationship with another girl.
From what I remember, Piper is upset that it was a lie, but also seems possessive about something that wasn't hers. Let's take a shot of water every time Piper thinks about Jason. Take 2 Shots every time she does something romantic coded with Jason, instead of building a friendship with the boy she is fixated on. Drink some juice ,every time she and Leo act like friends. Yah know,cause they were friends before Jason, I'm told. Rick wrote it fine with Percy and Grover. So why can I not recall it here?
I also remember thinking some things about Piper smacked of Mary sue. Now, I know that is unfair, women too should be allowed power fantasy, and sues are good learning experiences, but Sadie never felt that way to me, despite getting magic easily, from the goddess in her head, to the point leather boots didn't impede her. Or how her love subplot ended with essentially getting both boys. Rick knows how to write relatable women, so what's happening here?
Yah, I have a lot of thoughts on Piper. Maybe more will come later. Idk.
LEO.
I didn't actually remember much of Leo beyond Dead mom, mechanic, super Mechanic, angsting, and fire. All have shiney rare powers. He and Piper are supposedly besties. I would like to see it. Still, I've heard hes interesting, so I'll try to keep a sharper eye out.
