Talkie Tuesday: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

 

"The War has started. A Great Stirring is underway."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to the next installment in our Greek mythology adaptation saga which began a few years back with Disney acquiring rights to adapt these books in the first place.

 

Now, I'm not here to talk about what's good or bad or whatever, although I'll definitely touch on some of those things, but I'm mostly just here to give you a rundown of how the second season unfolded, what you can watch happen during it, and what to expect going forward.

 

But to do that, we actually have to dive INTO the story.

 

You can't really do a review without talking about exactly what you've been alluding to now, can you??

 

So without further ado.

 

Sharpen those weapons, demigods, and wake up, because it's time to pick a side. Will you fight for order or for chaos? And no, this isn't Assassin's Creed.

 

This is the second season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

 

Talkie Tuesday: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

 

"Earthshaker. Stormbringer. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

 

Hello everyone!

Something a little different tonight after the movie madness I've fallen into - but we definitely aren't straying far from the Mouse in any event.

What can I say, I'm a Disney kid, alright?

 

Growing up on these movies, you're hard-pressed to just NOT watch something once they release it, you know. I mean, you obviously CAN choose not to but, why if it's entertainment in some way, shape or form, right?

 

Right!

 

So on with the show. Or in this case, the show that's a second attempt at an adaptation after some arguably bad movies years ago.

 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians swing in like the hammer of the gods but, do they succeed? Read on and find out!

 

Tome Thursday: God of War II

 

Hello everyone!

 

Did you by any chance miss your regular dose of decapitating, family-murdering, and other blood-related sports for a bit?

 

Have you been wondering just what to do with your time without all of the above?

 

Not to worry, I'm back with more of it!

 

And if you think I'm kidding you really should pay attention when someone name-drops Kratos, because man, the dude's entire philosophy on how to deal with the world is to literally kill whoever's in his way. With the formal announcement (trailer PLUS gameplay!) for Ragnarok at the Playstation showcase, the hype really is on to see our Spartan again.

 

Especially as he seems to have mellowed out a bit in his old age.

 

But not in this one! In this one he's still very much at the peak of his existence, one would say (though you could also always argue about it), and he hasn't really got time for all your diplomatic and peacekeeping nonsense.

 

God of War II picks up practically a sneeze after God of War and, well, it's got some style, lemme tell you.

 

Saturday Snippet: What Percy Jackson is ALL about

 

 

Basically ... yeah, that's it.

 

xx

*image not mine

Tome Thursday: Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes

 

Hello everyone!

 

So I'm once again in a Rick Riordan kind of mood, which should be no surprise at this point.

 

Actually I'm in this kind of mood a lot, I guess.

 

Riordan writes the types of books I enjoy reading to turn my brain off and just enjoy the story, the characters and the humour, and I have to admit that it's nice to revisit them every once in a while.

 

I've been making my way through the Olympians series a little while ago and then let the rest of the books just sit there, but then last week I was like, you know what? Why the heck not.

 

Which was why I ended up picking up the Heroes of Olympus one more time.

 

Despite the fact I have mixed feelings about the sequel series, I still enjoy the story as a whole.

 

And then of course, if you're reading the main stories, you have to read the companion books as well, which brings me to this week's subject.

 

I suppose I've waited long enough to get this going, so here we are: Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes are up next!

 

Tome Thursday: The Gatekeeper of Pericael

 

Hello everyone!

 

This week's book blog is an absolute gem.

 

Because every once in a while in your life, you get extremely lucky.

 

I'm fortunate enough that, about a year ago last year, I was contacted through Goodreads by the lovely, lovely Hayley Reese Chow asking if I'd like to read the ARC for her upcoming fantasy book.

 

I said yes.

 

DUH.

 

And towards the end of 2020, she reached out once again, with another fantasy book, except this one is geared more towards middle graders, but keep in mind that I don't really know these rankings all that well because I'm not American.

 

I do know that when the protagonist is 12 though, that it's PROBABLY meant for a fairly specific audience haha.

 

But don't worry! It's an absolute blast to read even if you're an adult. So let's open the door and check out The Gatekeeper of Pericael.

 

Tome Thursday: The Trials of Apollo

 

Hello everyone!

 

Aside from the very random Booktober post that I made about Percy Jackson's books, I haven't actually done a Rick Riordan blog post in ... quite some time, judging by the look of my blog.

 

Now THAT is a bit of a shame.

 

As you may remember, I'm a huge Riordan fan and have been since I first laid my hands on Percy Jackson and the Olympians, after which I proceeded to devour just about anything and everything that he had written at some point in his life.

 

Then that kind of stopped when his latest series started being published.

 

For some reason, maybe because unlike with the others I had to wait with the rest of the world for the books to get published, I sort of stopped after book three and never got to book four whatsoever.

 

Then this year marked the occasion for the final one's release, and I decided I had to have another go at it all.

 

Then I binge-read the lot of them. Now I spout Shakespearean verse.

 

Without further ado, tonight, it's all about The Trials of Apollo!

 

Percy Jackson & the Olympians (Booktober)

 

"A half-blood of the eldest gods shall reach sixteen against all odds,

And see the world in endless sleep; the hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap.

A single choice shall end his days - Olympus to preserve or raze ..."

 

 

Who could be more iconic than the boy who's half-god, half-mortal, but all hero? Coincidentally, Rick Riordan just wrapped up his Greeco-Roman series of books this month after fifteen years, but this still remains a quintessential - and funny! - read. Join Percy Jackson as he learns about his divine parentage, battles monsters and faces impossible odds, all to save the people he loves. Oh and he might die before his sixteenth birthday. No pressure!

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea, and that time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it's up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.

(from Goodreads)

xx

*image not mine

The Chronicles of Narnia (Booktober)

Atlantis (Booktober)

Origin (Booktober)

Quo Vadis (Booktober)

Death on the Nile (Booktober)

The Little White Horse (Booktober)

The Sign of Four (Booktober)

Harry Potter #2 (Booktober)

Troublemaker (Booktober)

The Lord of the Rings (Booktober)

Tome Thursday: The Helm of Darkness

Hello everyone!

It's back to Greek Gods again in this blog post, and I mean, is it surprising at all anymore?

I have a deep affinity to Greek mythology to begin with, so every once in a while I'll absolutely pick something up that's connected to it, literature-wise.

Some are good, some are bad, and some are definitely in the grey in-between, but all in all I'm usually entertained enough, if nothing else, that I want to either keep reading if it's a series, or I read the book again if it's a standalone.

Case in point with today's blog post, although I will admit I had this one sitting there for a short while after grabbing it from BookSirens as an ARC.

I'd read the companion novella before picking this up, and enjoyed it, and because Percy Jackson is one of my all-time favourite series (here's hoping Disney does it justice with the TV show!) I was definitely intrigued to read more about demigods and the mortals they run across.

Of course there are fundamental differences between the books, but bottom line: the Greeks just don't want to go quietly into the night!

Which they could if they used The Helm of Darkness.

Tome Thursday: The Shield of Nike

Hello everyone!

I'm coming to you live from a VERY snowy country, because our Alps decided they can't keep out everything that Austria's been getting in the recent days, ergo it's a very good thing I haven't taken my winter tires off to exchange them for regular ones.

At least now I'm generally safe!

The roads aren't snowed in, but they ARE slick and freezing, which means driving is a nuisance if you have to go somewhere (like the grocery story or a pharmacy).

Thankfully, I have more than enough books to keep me occupied during this time, and if I ever ran out, I know all I have to do is turn to BookSirens and they'll have something new waiting for me, fresh and interesting.

This is what happened when I randomly stumbled over tonight's blog post topic. I hadn't been looking for the book, but I certainly wasn't going to turn it down once I saw it.

A. P. Mobley isn't an author I'm familiar with, but the topic she covered in the novella I picked up from her certainly is. Greek mythology just so happens to be my absolute favourite, after all!

So let's take a look at The Shield of Nike, shall we?

Tome Thursday: The Crown of Ptolemy

Hello everyone!

Ohmygosh, I know.

It's taken me absolutely forever to finish this trilogy, and the things are only short e-novellas.

I'm terrible at keeping track of what still needs to be done when it comes to books, because I get too easily distracted by the whole lot of unread tomes out there.

I have a list as long as my arm of things I have yet to read, not to mention a couple of books that are begging to be reviewed, but right now I figured, might as well do something useful and actually stop pissing off a group of demigods.

And magicians. Never forget the magicians.

When Greek and Egyptian magic collide, you're bound to have some really great stories, and among them, Rick Riordan is probably the ultimate storyteller, at least so far as I've seen.

He did give us Percy Jackson, after all.

So let's check out The Crown of Ptolemy, and see what kind of trouble our favourite demigod gets himself into.

Tome Thursday: The Son of Sobek

Hello everyone!

So every once in a while, as you know, I'll return to oldie but goldie books that I've either already read but never reviewed, or that I really, really enjoy and just HAVE to read again.

There are some authors that just have a grip on me like that.

And while I'm slowly packing and preparing for my vacation, I'm also gathering up books that I think I'll enjoy reading down on the beach, which is always an exciting prospect!

But for tonight's blog post, I decided on a short novella-ish type of book that was initially released as an audio recording and features some fan favourites from two different series that everyone has been DYING to see cross over.

Rick Riordan is kind of good at listening like that.

The Son of Sobek is the first in a short trilogy which features some characters that we know and love and mentions others, and of course there's always room for more where these guys are running around.

It's mythology, after all.

Tome Thursday: Camp Half-Blood Confidential

Hello everyone!

Well, I'm still not 100% alright. It feels as though I'm walking on a knife's edge and have been all week - so long as I take my meds faithfully mid-morning, then I'm alright, but if I forget ... well, I think there may be hell to pay.

That being said, however, the wind outside at the moment is absolutely TERRIBLE.

Like, seriously, did some sort of random tornado have a child and sent it on a temper tantrum over here? If so, someone please sort this out, give the kid some chocolate or a new chew toy, and send it off to destroy other places.

Why am I talking as if there's someone behind this?

I've been reading on my Greek Gods again, and since I usually have a few favourites along the way, I picked up another Rick Riordan book - written, of course, by the Half-Blood campers themselves - Camp Half-Blood Confidential: Your (REAL) Guide to the Demigod Training Camp.

Which is basically another round of laughs for everyone, so why don't we jump right in?

Tome Thursday: Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

Hello everyone!

Boy, what a week!

First off, that cross-over event - Crisis on Earth-X was absolutely spectacularly AMAZING over Monday and Tuesday (or, in my case, with a bit of a delay, on Tuesday and Wednesday). My reveiw of this will be coming on Saturday since I bumped the Talkie Tuesday for just this purpose. After the fun with the Dominators last year (which I was reminded of, very kindly, by my Facebook memories) this year was off-the-charts insane, in all good ways!

But back to books.

I've seriously been reading like some sort of machine on this end, moving through reading slumps like a pro by picking up oldies-goldies, and then of course there was the massive autumn Book Depository order I placed not too long ago.

Once it arrived, can we say happy camper?

Among those books I ordered was the one I'm reviewing tonight: Percy Jackson's Greek Gods.

Tome Thursday: Daughter of the Earth and Sky

Hello everyone!

Back with another book review tonight, and once again I've fallen down the rabbit hole of Greek mythology. This happens to me every once in a while - if I'm not traipsing around Middle Earth then I'm going to be running from Cyclopses and giants with Percy Jackson.

Or, in this case, I will be learning a whole new deal about Greek gods in modern world from Kaitlin Bevis.

A while ago, I reviewed the first in her Daughters of Zeus book series, Persephone, and I do have to admit that the first one was a little so-so in my opinion. As it turns out, the second didn't exactly make it to my favourite books list, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the story at all. It just means I'm working my way through this and am going to, eventually, see light at the end of the tunnel.

Still, considering it IS about Greek gods, you know I'm going to be reading to the very end. There's just nothing that can stop me on that account, after all.

So without further ado, let's check in with our book review of the week, shall we? Daughter of the Earth and Sky, by Kaitlin Bevis.

Tome Thursday: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

Hello everyone!

After a long while I'm back with another Rick Riordan appreciation, er, blog post. The last one I posted was roughly in summer last year when I reviewed the first of his Trials of Apollo series (which reminds me that I should probably review his second one in that trilogy soon), but then I kind of fell off the Riordan map, even though I continued reading his books.

Namely, I was taken in by this Norse mythology series the author launched.

It's title is, as you can see on top of this blog post: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.

Sounds familiar?

You're right. There's another Chase running around Riordan's books, and her name is Annabeth, aka Wise Girl, aka Percy Jackson's girlfriend.

Magnus and Annabeth are cousins, and that DOES come into play in the books. Mostly though it just adds to the hilarity of all the situations these kids find themselves in, including but not limited to saving the world, often twice. Who's counting?

So below, you'll find a record-sharp recap of the entire trilogy. And all this while I'm reading Dan Brown's new novel, Origin!

Tome Thursday: The Hidden Oracle

Hello everyone!

Book time again. And I have to say, this has to be one of those books that you can read through in one sitting if you have a couple of hours to spare.

And to be honest, for me, if I didn't have them? I'd wait to read until I did. Because I'm not sure how I could have paused at any given point in the book without wondering what, precisely, was going to happen next.

I'm talking about Rick Riordan's newest book, The Hidden Oracle. This is the first in his series The Trials of Apollo, which returns to the modern-day Greek gods world of Percy Jackson and his cohort, but this one takes place after the previous two series.

Can you tell though that I was super excited to learn there would be a new book altogether?

I love Riordan's books. Like, I really do. He's one of those authors I could read again and again, no matter which book it was. So this one was no exception whatsoever, despite the fact that I would have been very happy with some better appearances by our favourites!

However, you can't have it all.

Tome Thursday: Mercenary

Hello everyone!

Time for another book blog post, and I was so thrilled when I got the email from Lizzy Ford's camp with the attached ARC of the novellete I'll be talking about tonight. I've been waiting for that for what felt like ages, even though in realizy I know it wasn't haha! 

I'm just super excited to learn more about these awesome characters.

Not to mention, it's all about being Greek, even when these particular Greeks are in our modern world right now, their gods are still around, and the whole world has basically gone to Hell in a handbasket since the last time we checked - and no, I don't think Hades would actually be happy about that. He always complains about too much traffic in the Underworld!

I will admit, I got that last line from Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books, because let's be honest and say that they are one of the main reasons why Greek Mythology is as interesting as it is right now.

Back to the topic at hand, however, I'll stop babbling and actually start this review of Mercenary which, if you haven't figured it out yet, is about Niko.

Tome Thursday: Silent Queen

Hello everyone!

I am SO excited for this blog post, you have no idea!

So a while ago, I sort of accidentally stumbled over Lizzy Ford's book 'Omega', because I think it popped up in my suggestions list on Goodreads. I may be wrong, but I think that was the case. In any event, however, I initially got it because it had an intriguing premise (Greek Gods in the modern world? An Oracle? Sign me up!), and I'd just been coming off a Percy Jackson high.

Yeah, you can probably see some resemblance there.

So I got the book and I put it aside for a bit since I was reading a lot of different things at the time, but then after I finished Percy Jackson for who knows what number of times, I was still itching for more Greek.

That was when I picked up the book, and I have to say, I haven't looked back since; I'm pretty much devouring any Lizzy Ford book I can get my hands on!

Tome Thursday: The Heroes of Olympus

Hello everyone!

I'm back with a book series blog post this week again! To be honest, I'm reading so many books it's getting difficult to pick one that I want to talk about ... which is definitely a sign that I should probably focus on one book at a time, huh? Maybe I'll even listen to my own advice this time haha.

Anyway, this week, I'm going to talk about the other Rick Riordan series which follows his first as a direct sequel, (the first being Percy Jackson and the Olympians, of course), picking up pretty much right after we left our characters the first time around, plus a couple of months in.: The Heroes of Olympus.

First off, let me say that while I might not have enjoyed these particular books as much as the first five, I still liked the general idea for the whole plot, and the fact that we got to revisit with some old favourites from Olympians. Some of the new characters were also very nice additions to the cast (whereas some, I could have done without). But enough dawdling!