Reading wednesday (aka send help)
Jul. 9th, 2014 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dhampyresaWhat did you finish reading
The Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan: You know, I hadn't realised how much I like and how much I'd miss Percy until this book. HE IS SUCH A DORK Also, the return of Nico di Angelo! He's like a fluffy ball of anger, sulking and sister issues. (Kidding. ILU Nico)
Although I have to say I was less than impressed by Percy when he used "But it was their duty. [...] Jupiter ordered them to." to defend the harpies' actions. "THEY WERE ONLY FOLLOWING ORDERS" IS NOT A VALID DEFENSE , OKAY? (To be fair, maybe the harpies can't go against Jupiter's orders?) But then he redeemed himself with "She's a person. [...] She isn't for sale." because damn right she is and damn right she ain't.
Favourite new characters:Hannibak the elephant and Scipio the pegasus REYNA! Reyna is very excellent as a praetor and I love that she ties in with Percy's past without being defined by it. She is so confident and competent and doesn't take shit from anyone, especially not Octavian (boo Octavian). HAZEL! OMG HAZEL She likes drawing, she's a fish out of temporal waters and she sacrificed herself to save the world (No, Hazel thought. I'm Hazel Levesque. You can't have me.), what's not to love? Also, she is adorable and determined and awesome ("I don't do service."). ELLA! I have this thing for characters who love books, alright? FRANK! Frank is awesome, as is his grandma. Hell, I even like his dad. I'm not entirely sure how to feel about the fact that his shapeshifting power comes from Greek blood. I thought up until that reveal that it was because he was descended from Chinese demigods, but apparently not. I did like the inclusion of the Roman Legion in China story, because it's even probable historical fact, which is super cool. (Fave Frank quote: "If I'm going to burn, it might as well be bright.")
I really really liked the way this book dealt with Rome, both good sides (with the architecture and military discipline and stuff)
Not too happy with the depiction of Amazon(s), but at least Hylla was super cool. ALSO SUPER COOL: If demigod + god = dead giant and demigods (Hazel and Frank) + Canada = dead giant, then Canada = god, right? As was Frank pointing out that "Most Americans don't [know Canada has troops in Afghanistan]".
In conclusion, Romans.
The Mark of Athena, by Rick Riordan: ANNABETH♥! Just, Annabeth. She is my favourite character (now that Luke's dead) and I have missed her so so so much. I just love it when people are smart, you know? But she's also compassionate and determined and she has complicated Luke feelings and gets so lost in projects she forgets to listen to her boyfriend and she is so brave and aaaaaaaaaaah Annabeth, I love her so much. SHE FOUND THE ATHENA PARTHENOS YOU GUYS HOW AWESOME IS THAT
Annabeth and Leo are totally engineering bros, just saying.
(Sidenote: I notice that unlike previous references to the Hunters and similar, where being in love = being in love with a boy, here "if [the Vestal Virgins] broke their vows and fell in love with anyone" (emphasis mine). Are we making actual progress on the LGBT representation front? Baby steps, but still.)
Also, and forgive me while I go on yet another tangent, but
I liked all the little callbacks to previous books (Luke! Ethan! The dam hole!), as well as the whole Echo/Team Leo scene. I liked Echo and how hilarious was Leo, honestly?
This book gave me all the Athena feels, seriously.
I loved loved Achelous as a book snob, because he is THAT guy. He is so THAT guy who insists that ebooks aren't real books and that you're not ~really reading and even if you were it would be an ~inferior experience because
Fuck but how much do I love the characterisation/descriptions of Rome in this book? A LOT. And they visited the tomb of the Scipios! And Percy was such an US tourist, wow. (There is a particular brand of US tourists that are, shall we say, very distinctive and Percy embodied it perfectly, which made sense, because he's sixteen and clueless. I feel like the Heroes of Olympus books are a lot more self-aware that the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books. This is good.)
Also, send help I am giving myself the weirdest headcanons/fic ideas for this series. Case in point, with a quote and the exact note I took on it while reading
What are you reading now
The House of Hades, by Rick Riordan: I am loving this book so far. (Btw, can I just say that there is no feeling quite like putting something in a fic and then having that same thing happen/show up in canon? It's a mix of "hahaha called it" and reassurance that you really get these characters/this setting.) ((Possibly, this isn't the lesson I should be taking out of "Rachel uses her hairbrush as a talisman" like I wrote in my Luke+Annabeth+Rachel AU fic. The lesson should probably be not to write fic for open canons, but heh. It's a really good feeling.))
What are you reading next
After House of Hades? I have no fucking idea.and I need to get one soon, because at the rate this is going I will have finished House of HAdes tomorrow.
The Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan: You know, I hadn't realised how much I like and how much I'd miss Percy until this book. HE IS SUCH A DORK Also, the return of Nico di Angelo! He's like a fluffy ball of anger, sulking and sister issues. (Kidding. ILU Nico)
Although I have to say I was less than impressed by Percy when he used "But it was their duty. [...] Jupiter ordered them to." to defend the harpies' actions. "THEY WERE ONLY FOLLOWING ORDERS" IS NOT A VALID DEFENSE , OKAY? (To be fair, maybe the harpies can't go against Jupiter's orders?) But then he redeemed himself with "She's a person. [...] She isn't for sale." because damn right she is and damn right she ain't.
Favourite new characters:
I really really liked the way this book dealt with Rome, both good sides (with the architecture and military discipline and stuff)
As much as those shades wanted to keep Thanatos chained, they Roman spirits; Their mins were fuzzy at best, like the ghists Frank had seen in Asphodel, but they remembered one thing clearly: they were supposed to protect their eagle.and bad sides
"Rome was built on slavery. Don't get all high and mighty with me."and just Romans
Two hundred Romans, and no one's got a pen?
Not too happy with the depiction of Amazon(s), but at least Hylla was super cool. ALSO SUPER COOL: If demigod + god = dead giant and demigods (Hazel and Frank) + Canada = dead giant, then Canada = god, right? As was Frank pointing out that "Most Americans don't [know Canada has troops in Afghanistan]".
In conclusion, Romans.
The Mark of Athena, by Rick Riordan: ANNABETH♥! Just, Annabeth. She is my favourite character (now that Luke's dead) and I have missed her so so so much. I just love it when people are smart, you know? But she's also compassionate and determined and she has complicated Luke feelings and gets so lost in projects she forgets to listen to her boyfriend and she is so brave and aaaaaaaaaaah Annabeth, I love her so much. SHE FOUND THE ATHENA PARTHENOS YOU GUYS HOW AWESOME IS THAT
Annabeth and Leo are totally engineering bros, just saying.
(Sidenote: I notice that unlike previous references to the Hunters and similar, where being in love = being in love with a boy, here "if [the Vestal Virgins] broke their vows and fell in love with anyone" (emphasis mine). Are we making actual progress on the LGBT representation front? Baby steps, but still.)
Also, and forgive me while I go on yet another tangent, but
"You're talking about the beginning of the bloodiest war in US history. Over six hundred thousand people died -- more Americans than in World War One and World War Two combined."THAT IS A RIDICULOUSLY LOW NUMBER OF CASUALTIES I'M SORRY BUT CRY ME A FUCKING RIVER The Battle of Verdun alone cost between 300 and 550 000 lives on the French side alone. Even at the most conservative estimate, the number of casualties for both sides is 596 000 (at the highest estimate, it's 976 000). Hell, a total of over 6 million French people died in WW1 (ie, 73%, SEVENTY THREE FUCKING PERCENTS of the people sent out to the war). Clearly, I Have Feelings About This, but seriously, seeing that figure laid out like that was really shocking to me. It's just so fucking low. On the other hand, I suddenly understand a lot better why most people from the US I've met have no notion of how destructive WW1 and WW2 were for Europe.
I liked all the little callbacks to previous books (Luke! Ethan! The dam hole!), as well as the whole Echo/Team Leo scene. I liked Echo and how hilarious was Leo, honestly?
This book gave me all the Athena feels, seriously.
"Something is wrong with you. What's happened?"Another thing I love about these books is that you can actually try to figure out what's going on if you know your history and mythology: I called the Athena Parthenos thing and the Arachne thing, for example. I love it when books do that.
"Rome happened!" the goddess said bitterly. "See what they have done, making a Roman of me. They wish me to be their goddess? Then let them taste their own evil. Kill them, child."
I loved loved Achelous as a book snob, because he is THAT guy. He is so THAT guy who insists that ebooks aren't real books and that you're not ~really reading and even if you were it would be an ~inferior experience because
"Oh, the smell of sheepskin! The elegant feel of the scroll unrolling beneath my hooves. You simply can't duplicate it in something like that."You know, THAT guy?
Fuck but how much do I love the characterisation/descriptions of Rome in this book? A LOT. And they visited the tomb of the Scipios! And Percy was such an US tourist, wow. (There is a particular brand of US tourists that are, shall we say, very distinctive and Percy embodied it perfectly, which made sense, because he's sixteen and clueless. I feel like the Heroes of Olympus books are a lot more self-aware that the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books. This is good.)
Also, send help I am giving myself the weirdest headcanons/fic ideas for this series. Case in point, with a quote and the exact note I took on it while reading
Without meaning to, Percy heard the voice of Luke Castellan, his first sword-fighting mentor at Camp Half-Blood, trowing out suggestions.Yeah. Yeah.OMG OMG LUKE
You know with the increase(?) in references to Luke I wonder if he's slated for a climatic appearance. OR MAYBE THIS IS LUKE'S ACTUAL VOICE BECAUSE GHOST!LUKE AND GHOST!BIANCA ARE HANGING AROUND TO HELP THESE DORKS SAVE NICO
What are you reading now
The House of Hades, by Rick Riordan: I am loving this book so far. (Btw, can I just say that there is no feeling quite like putting something in a fic and then having that same thing happen/show up in canon? It's a mix of "hahaha called it" and reassurance that you really get these characters/this setting.) ((Possibly, this isn't the lesson I should be taking out of "Rachel uses her hairbrush as a talisman" like I wrote in my Luke+Annabeth+Rachel AU fic. The lesson should probably be not to write fic for open canons, but heh. It's a really good feeling.))
What are you reading next
After House of Hades? I have no fucking idea.and I need to get one soon, because at the rate this is going I will have finished House of HAdes tomorrow.
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(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-10 07:21 pm (UTC)Yes on the Rome thing being well done. And also the wars! Sure, America had a civil war, but nowhere near the devastation Europe saw multiple times. And a lot of their big wars were fought abroad, which is again completely different.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-10 09:44 pm (UTC)It was super well done, this sense of history merging into the new that old European cities in general and, you know, Roma Eterna, in particular, have that US cities don't. I KNOW RIGHT? It's easy to see war as a good thing when it's not your cities getting bombed and your people being killed (I focused on WW1 here because I wanted to contrast military deaths).
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-10 07:08 am (UTC)I love Frank and Hazel so much, they're probably my favorite characters in the series. Part of that might have to do with the fact that they were/are super underrated in fandom, which made me want to love them even more.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-10 09:08 pm (UTC)I've connected a bit better with Jason now that he remembers that he has a personality. (Still think he's a giant comics nerd, because I like it when people like things, okay?)
They are people who don't like Hazel and Frank? Who are these people? THEY ARE SO SO WRONG Hazel and Frank are the best. I have a hard time saying who my favourite of the new/Heroes of Olympus-only characters I like best, because Hazela and Reyna and Frank and Leo and they are all great, you know?
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-12 08:00 pm (UTC)House of Hades made me like Jason a lot more because we actually got to see things from his pov once he actually remembered more things about himself. He's still not the most exciting or interesting character to me, but I've become a lot more fond of him.
I think a lot more people started to like Frank and Hazel after House of Hades, but they're still generally less popular than any of the other main characters. :/
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-13 08:53 pm (UTC)Frank and Hazel were awesome from the start. Or the very least adorable. It's sad they're unpopular.