The blood of Olympus

With only days left to defeat Gaea's giants before the Earth Goddess unleashes her destructive powers upon the world, teen demigods Jason, Piper, Annabeth, Percy, Frank, Leo, Hazel, Nico, and Reyna must deal with troubles on multiple fronts. Some focus on Athens, where Gaea will rise from her sleep to destroy the world, while others protect the Athena Parthenos statue and head back to Camp Half-Blood. There, the contentious Roman and Greek demigods must unite if they hope to defeat their common enemies. Readers looking forward to the battle scenes will find plenty here, but the young heroes also rely on their wits as they dupe, charm, and negotiate their way through a series of encounters with gods, goddesses, and mythological creatures. On the last page, Riordan announces that The Sword of Summer (scheduled for a fall 2015 release) will be the first book in his upcoming Norse mythology series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. Meanwhile, fans will revel in the adventures, wit, and memorable characters found in this thundering conclusion to The Heroes of Olympus series.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2014 Booklist

With just 12 days to go until Gaea awakens fully on Aug. 1 and brings an end to the world as we know it, two groups of demigods struggle to stop her.Aboard the Argo II, Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Leo race to Athens for the final showdown. Meanwhile, three formerly supporting characters struggle to haul the ancient and massive Athena Parthenos statue from Europe to Camp Half-Blood: son of Hades Nico di Angelo, daughter of Bellona Reyna Ramrez-Arellano (and former praetor at New Rome) and satyr Coach Hedge. Coach Hedge is there mostly for comic relief, but his anxiety for the welfare of his very pregnant wood-nymph wife at Camp Half-Blood, where rogue New Rome augur Octavian has massed his armies to attack on Aug. 1, is touchingly genuine. The story of the demigods headed to Athens focuses on Jason, Piper and Leo and offers what Riordan does best: comedic, action-packed encounters with deities most readersand sometimes charactershave never heard of. Goddess of victory Nike is particularly funny as she rails against "namby-pamby ideas of friendship and everybody wins participation awards." The story's emotional heft mostly comes from Nico's and Reyna's arduous and heartfelt journeys to self-acceptance. Readers who haven't made a point of revisiting The House of Hades (2013) before starting this may find themselves wondering just why each group's mission is so important, but there's no questioning that the characters think they're vital. And ultimately, any prophecy-driven adventure is at bottom arbitrary anyway. The story's occasional ventures into romance are stilted and awkward, but fortunately they are brief. The satisfyingly cataclysmic showdowns yield to peaceful resolution at last; here's hoping it holds this time. (Fantasy. 10-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.