ToA: The Burning Maze Opinion (4/4)
Honestly idk what to say about this book,I'm having trouble formulating an opinion of it. It was better than the last one,that's for sure. For now,I think that this is the strongest book of the whole serie so far,I have to read the last two to see if they are on the same wave or maybe better (hopefully).
There is a lot more action in this than TDP,the characters move around a lot instead of going back and forth between 3 places in all the books,which I appreciated because the last book was slow and a bit boring for my liking. Plot armor also wasn't present in this so no Apollo shining or super strength at any ideal moment,to fight off the bad guy,just pure pain and hard work. Suffering builds character (and traumatizes the others-). I liked the interactions between this set of characters better than the last set. Idk,maybe it's because Apollo already had history and tension with the other characters when he didn't have any of that here,but the dynamics were 100% better in this book.
Grover was a nice throw back,he stayed so much on the sidelines in HoO that it's nice having him back in the game as the main supportive character. We got to see a bit of his life outside of PJO too,which is nice. His relationship with Apollo and Meg reminded me a bit of Annabeth and Percy,especially at the start. Grover also having his own group to lead is something I appreciated because I thought Riordan was going to forget his mission. Grover is also the Head of the Council of Cloven Elder though,so who is replacing him and is temporarily in charge of it? Fortunately he is coming back to it.
Apollo and Meg are getting there for the found family trope. Apollo is slowly getting more and more protective with each information he learns about Meg,and Meg is finally accepting the reality in front of her and that Nero is a horrible person and not someone that loves her. It's a slow building that's mainly in the background most of the time but it's there,and it's growing. I know that by the time Apollo will return to Olympus I will cry because they'll need to say goodbye to each other. I hope that Meg will have a good support system or someone that cares about her by the time this happens–which this book already established in a way.
Piper and Jason are the undisputed stars of this book,the majority of what happened is connected to them and they were there for 2/3 of the events. Their relationship with Apollo and Meg were fine,but I hoped we could have a bit more of Jason and Apollo one-to-one since they are brothers,and Jason was the only one to stand up to their father for him. But nope,death was too fast.
Now,I do like how Riordan wrote them as exes. Instead of being bitter towards each other they are still close friends and I like that because yes,you can be friends with your ex if both of you are on the same page and broke up amicably. Not every ex hates each other. With that said,Piper and Jason shouldn't have broken up in the first place. I do not approve of this storyline because it's so obvious that Riordan wanted to get rid of everything that made Jason Jason (which already wasn't a lot thanks to HoO) and let him die. Piper could still have her whole identity problems and confusion about her sexuality,and later on dating Shell,after his death. The break up was totally useless in this situation,he could have pulled it off without the involvement of this subplot. Also could you'all imagine the emotional impact of Jason's death if he and Piper were still together? I do.
Jason dying was also extremely unnecessary. Before reading this book,I saw a lot of people talking about how Jason's death truly affected Apollo and his growth and.....no it didn't? Apollo is feeling guilty about it,and he think of Jason when he's trying to do the right thing because he sees Jason as a sort of role model,a true hero,but he still acts the same as before. There isn't much that changed. Or maybe it did but the development is shown in the other books? I'll read it for myself and see it (hoping that there is because otherwise idk what to tell you'all). Apollo didn't even mourn his loss properly,but it's probably because he couldn't given the time,or he didn't let himself do so.
Anyway,the narration of it was lacking. One second he was alive the next he was on the floor. No build up,no tension,no climax,no nothing. I had to reread it twice because I was like "That's it? That's how he dies? You serious?" for how underwhelming it was. Another day,another "Let me see how I can make Jason's situation worse" by Riordan,lol. He is wasting himself on this. Piper's reaction is what hit hard in the whole situation and what put the emotional weight behind it. Even Apollo's thoughts on it were a bit flat. That's fair though,he didn't know Jason enough to have a desperate reaction out of it.
Between the emperors,Caligula is interesting as an antagonist because he wasn't there. Both Nero and Commodus appeared in the last part of the previous books and caused a lot of chaos,Commodus more than Nero in a way (Nero did a lot of psychological damage tho-),but Caligula? Caligula chilled in his boats until the very end. He was only present during their confrontation on the yacht and then went on his way to do his own things,he wasn't even there in the Labyrinth for the final conflict of this book. And,right now,he is the one that is trying to cause more damage as well,while Nero is still mostly in the shadows plotting and Commodus is....somewhere. He also doesn't have a lot of connection to Apollo compared to the other two,he just wants to be the new Sun God so he is doing everything else for the fun of the game,that's it.
Apollo is getting better in his memory problem (ironic since he is losing more of it in this book). Luckily there weren't any types of "Omg I can't remember anything until someone asks me something that I know without a problem even if 5 minutes ago I didn't" scenes like in the other books. It was toned down and I appreciate that. He is also getting better as a character overall,his development is slow but there,I can't wait to see how he will be at the end.
Medea and Incitatus were secondary villains that I enjoyed,the first more than the second especially because of her beef with Piper. The secondary and background supporting characters were lovely. I don't have much to say about them (also poor Crest,you will be remembered). The oracle of this book was enjoyable and a lot less dangerous than the others,she also didn't have much screentime. But maybe it's because I love crossword-
Aeithales was an interesting addition to the role and world building and a good way to delve into Meg's past and her father. She came full circle in this book. I'm still trying to figure out how she was able to share the memory of her past but I'm sure the books have an explanation.....right? Meg is such an interesting character right now and I really want to see how she will go forward from now on,especially once she will face Nero again.
The Labyrinth is a whole contradiction. In THO the campers were trying to navigate it because it was safe,and now there are flames in it. And by what Grover tells us on the problems he is having,Helios has been in the Labyrinth for a while. This is not a new addition that Medea made at the last moment. It's also strange that neither Grover,Piper or Jason tried to warm CHB or CJ (that's closer to Piper's house) of it. I know the means of communication aren't working but a good old trip would be enough for this. Again,the demigods had no business with that race and this book didn't help it at all. I loved the Labyrinth though,it's still dangerous as always even in the places without the Helios's flames.
So,in conclusion,I liked this book more and the last ones and right now this might be my favorite book of this serie but it's still mid (better than the last 2 at least),so I had trouble formulating an opinion. I do hope the last 2 books of the serie will keep this up.
