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!

 

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 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 Staff of Serapis

Hello everyone!

Time to continue on with what we started last week, although I only just realized that the finishing sequence of this trilogy will have to wait for JUST a little.

But before I get into that, let's head back into the world of mythos, shall we?

We're dealing with the Greeks and the Egyptians here, and if this sounds like something Blood & Treasure might have cooked up, or even straight out of history with the way Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and made it his personal province, well, you'd be right.

A lot of things you read in books have already happened throughout history, and NOTHING is weirder than actual history, let me tell you.

... There's actually nothing weirder than having huge gods run around with crocodile heads, but if people believed that and it kept them happy, I suppose we can't really argue against it, can we?

Last week, the boys got their adventure in the books.

This week it's girl time, since The Staff of Serapis is all about girl power.

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: Hotel Valhalla Guide to the Norse Worlds

Hello everyone!

It's time to defy Ragnarok again!

Okay well, maybe not quite, but MAYBE this gives you an idea about what I'll be talking about tonight.

I've sort of been behind on my reading for a little bit and I need to catch up during the weekend, so I pulled out an old favourite to check through since I've already done some other guide books by the same author.

Rick Riordan has this thing where he writes about deities from any and all cultures, more or less.

Most famously, of course, he breathed life to the one and only Percy Jackson, but another fan favourite was Magnus Chase, or he quickly became one, especially because Magnus is cousin to our Annabeth!

And well ... he's kind of dead.

More on that later.

For now, let's just say that the Hotel Valhalla guide is probably a must-read!

Tome Thursday: 9 From the Nine Worlds

Hello everyone!

I'm back with another Rick Riordan book review, because, well, I really enjoy reading his books.

Some people argue that he's beginning to repeat himself and that Percy Jackson was the best book series he pushed out, but I disagree.

I think the humour remains just the same, you just have to be willing to absorb and accept it!

And of course, you really need to be prepared for just about anything. So far as that goes, we've seen freak griffins, talking rivers, ships built out of fingernails, and of course there are the gods that keep popping up all over the place.

You'd think they'd have something better to do than bothering us mortals, but nope.

Especially if it means getting us into all sorts of trouble and mischief. Including waging war against other gods or, you know, accusing us of stealing some of their priceless artifacts.

9 From the Nine Worlds delivers just what you want, if you're open to receiving it.

Tome Thursday: Brooklyn House Magician's Manual

Hello everyone!

It's back to basics this week with books, and with that I mean that I want to review one of the so-called guide books you sometimes get with a book series or a single book (if it warrants it).

Of course it's also just because I'm a big Rick Riordan fan.

Every once in a while, I'll sit down and make sure I read through some of his books, and while I was busy reviewing his Kane Chronicles about a month ago, I almost completely forgot about a new publication he was releasing into the world!

Since every magician needs a trusty sidekick and a guide to ensure that they don't accidentally set themselves on fire, or turn their helpful baboon into a statue, I thought we might take a look at this.

And I mean, I love how every series is getting a manual of how-tos.

Percy Jackson and Magnus Chase having done their job, it's now time for the Kanes to take centre stage.

Let's take a look at the Brooklyn House Magician's Manual, shall we?

Tome Thursday: The Kane Chronicles

Hello everyone!

As we cheerfully start our way into October and the first week of it is drawing to a close, I figured I could probably dust off some oldie-goldies when it came to books.

Let's face it, there are some that you pick up and read again and again.

If they include hilarious teenage-god encounters, that happens even more often!

The only thing better now would be to have Lucifer on speed-dial for the sarcastic remarks, but I suppose if you can't get him then any old god will do.

In this post, I continue my trek through Rick Riordan's books, as I tend to do every once in a while when I'm feeling especially down about something, because inevitably it'll be one of his deity representations that makes me giggle like a lunatic and feel better.

Tonight, that honour falls to Horus & Co.

Please turn your pages to The Kane Chronicles.

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: 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: Aaru

Hello everyone!

Before I say anything else, allow me to write something first.

WARNING: there are triggers in this book. Namely for sensitive content, religious content, sexual image of teenagers, stalking, and a general warning against pedophiles.

I usually don't have to put this in front of any of my blog posts, but I felt the need to stamp it front and centre first, because I failed to see any of these in the book itself and, while I'm not squeamish and generally speaking I'm fine with most of what I read, some readers aren't, and so I believe that this should be added right before you start reading the book Aaru.

Secondly, I'd like to say I was sent this book in exchange for an honest review, for which I'm very thankful to the author, Mr. David Meredith.

Opportunities like these don't come along very often, and despite the warning posted on top, I'll do my very best to give a review that will reflect good both on me and the author.

Now, to the book, Aaru!

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.