I'm back! I'm so sorry to have disappeared for so long, but I'll be back more regularly now. I moved, had a virtual book tour (for my novel Aureole, if you hadn't already heard), and then had a minor procedure on my knee. But I'm back, and we're returning with another Percy Jackson book. Did I mention that I love them?
Book 6:
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth, by
Rick Riordan
Summary:
Per usual, Percy Jackson is just trying his best to attend
orientation for a new school when he fights with monsters and destroys part of
his new school. Kid can’t seem to catch a break! But, of course, it was just
the beginning of his adventures. After escaping the school, Percy heads to Camp
Half-Blood, where everyone is in the midst of preparation for the struggles
that lay before them. Percy meets a new member of the staff, Quintus, the new
sword master. Then, during a battle drill, Percy and Annabeth accidentally
discover an entrance into the Labryinth. The Labryinth is the one created by
Daedalus to hold the Minotaur, but over the years has kept growing and now
stretches across large parts of the world. It turns out that Luke is planning
to lead an army through the entrance discovered by Percy and Annabeth to attack
the camp.
They realize that they have to use the Labryinth to find
Daedalus to ensure that Luke doesn’t find Ariadne’s string, which would help
him navigate the extremely confusing maze and make it to the camp. Annabeth
receives a prophecy, and they set off with Grover and Tyson, too. Over the
course of their adventures, they interact with Nico, the teenage son of Hades
who still blames Percy for the death of his sister. Percy and Annabeth also end
up splitting up with Grover and Tyson, who go off to search for the god Pan. Percy
and Annabeth go to Mount St. Helens, where they find the telekhines – “sea
demons – who attack them. Before Percy causes Mt. St. Helens to erupt, he and
Annabeth have an argument, leading her to kiss him before fleeing. The eruption
pushes him out of the volcano, but also drains his energy.
When he wakes up, he is on the magical island maintained by
Calypso. She treats his wounds, but he decides to leave and return to the world
that needs him. Then he once again meets up with Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the
mortal girl who can see through the Mist and therefore can help him make it
through the Labryinth. The meet up with Grover, who has found Pan, but Pan is
dying, and he asks them to spread the word that he has died. Once he does, his
spirit passes into all present, especially Grover. They finally find Daedalus,
who actually is Quintus, and they also learn that Kronos has gained enough
strength by Luke. Unfortuatnely, Luke has already found Daedalus and gotten
Ariadne’s string, and he sends an army to destroy Camp Half-Blood.
The camp fights a losing battle, and most of them are either
injured or killed. But then Daedalus and Briares – Tyson’s hero who they met
from their Labryinth journey – arrive. Finally, what turns the battle around is
Grover scaring away the enemy using Pan’s power Panic. But even though their
enemies have left, there is still the threat of the Labryinth, and Daidalus
sacrifices himself to close it, as it is tied to his life.
