The last Olympian

IN Rick Riordan's universe, Greek mythology is alive and well - in Central Park, the alleys of Los Angeles, the peak of Mount Tamalpais in California, the strawberry fields of Long Island. Heroes are typically dyslexic (their brains are meant for classical Greek), have A.D.H.D. (the better for one-on-one combat) and know only one parent (gods still have affairs with mortals). Prophecies bemuse, prompt and mislead. Monsters may be destroyed, but they do not die; it is the task of the hero to defeat them for his time. We first met Percy in "The Lightning Thief" at age 12, when he learned that he was a son of Poseidon. Now he concludes his adventures in "The Last Olympian." As is often the case in middle-grade fantasy series, the stakes couldn't be higher: here the fate of Western civilization hangs in the balance. The Titan Kronos, the overthrown father of Zeus, is slowly regaining power, with the intention of destroying the gods and everything built upon them, i.e., the West. While the unimaginably large monster Typhon rages cross-country from Mount St. Helens to New York City, beating back the Olympian gods and goddesses, Kronos and his minions battle the not quite 16-year-old Percy and his coterie of half-bloods, or demigods. The clash of modern and classical worlds is both exciting and entertaining (as when Percy meets his former math teacher: "A shadow appeared overhead - something dark, cold and stinking of death. It swooped down and landed in the top of a poplar tree. . . . 'Mrs. Dodds,' I said"). The action, never leisurely in any of the five books in the series, runs at a frantic pace here - monsters pop out with a rapidity that becomes almost predictable, except that they are so enjoyably hair-raising, and that Riordan has such clever ways of dispatching them. The tempo distracts from a few jarring plot points. (The war god's daughter opts out of one of the biggest battles since Troy because her cabin at Camp Half-Blood didn't win a certain prize - how's that again?) In general, however, Riordan - an award-winning author of mysteries for adults has been carefully laying the foundation for the outcome all along. An ominous "Great Prophecy" hinted at from the beginning of the series comes true, and its fulfillment has a sphinx-like complexity. Like the stories in which they're rooted, Riordan's Percy Jackson novels speak to more than one audience, and in more than one key. Here is Demeter "harrumphing" at Persephone: "You could've married the god of doctors or the god of lawyers, but nooo. You had to eat the pomegranate." For all the jokes and the monster mayhem, there is also room for grandeur and big questions, like the meaning of family, home and hearth; the place for Hope, which resurfaces in a sealed jar retrieved from Pandora; the distance between knowledge, or foreknowledge, and love; and the traditional indifference of the gods. In a distinctly nonclassical, crowd-pleasing moment near the end, the gods are made humane. Fortunately, Riordan is almost certain to restore them quickly to their proper scale: as the book closes, the Delphic oracle issues a new prophecy, letting readers know that a new series cannot be far away. Elizabeth Devereaux is the former children's book review editor of Publishers Weekly.

Gr 5-8-Percy Jackson is back in another adventure and so is Jesse Bernstein, who masterfully voices all the characters. He captures their individual inflections and perfectly conveys their annoyance, arrogance, innocence, and even humor. In the final book (Hyperion/Disney, 2009) in Rick Riordan's series, Percy is pitted against his old nemesis Luke who has been transformed into Kronos, the Lord of Time. An attack on New York City is planned so that Kronos can destroy Mount Olympus. Percy ultimately gets all of the cabins from Camp Half-Blood to participate in the battle which is intense and deadly for both sides. There are a number of prophecies resolved in this tale (including what will happen when Percy turns 16) and new ones to ponder as the story closes. Romance is in Percy's life, with his relationships with Annabeth and Rachel, and much is disclosed about Luke's early life and his relationship with Annabeth. This is a more emotional journey than some of the earlier books, and Bernstein lingers over some of the moments of loss and grief, but picks up the pace during the many ferocious battle scenes. An exciting addition for Jackson fans.-Edie Ching, Washington Latin Public Charter School, DC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.