Children of Gods: Take Four

The Battle of the Labyrinth

Written by: Rick Riordan

Released: May 6, 2008 by Hyperion Books for Children


Summary: As an incoming freshman, Percy isn't expecting his high school orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse.
In this fourth instalment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos’s army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop them, Percy and his demigod friends will set out on a quest through the Labyrinth-a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn. Full of humour and heart-pounding action, this fourth book promises to be their most thrilling adventure yet.






I do believe that I have a new favourite book in this series and I know that I stayed up way too early in morning reading it; at 5am I should be sleeping not engrossed in the climax of a book. I absolutely love how these books incorporate American history (as well as Greek theology) into their details as well; having the labyrinth as a part of the Underground Railroad? That was genius.

What else t say about this book. It was cute to see that Grover had a girlfriend named Jumper and I laughed so hard when, at the end of the novel, she was brandishing a stick to whip monsters with. I couldn’t help but get a mental picture of a nun with her ruler only she was dressed all in fairy clothing. And Annabeth and Percy kissed and it was so sweet!

Character-wise, I loved the return of Tyson and how he aided so much with everything in the book. You can tell that he’s growing as a character not only older but wiser as well. I was also surprised by the return of Nico and how all events containing him turned out; I was never sure how he was going to react and what side he was going to take. His sudden arrival at the very end of the book at Percy’s birthday party almost made me scream at the book for being finished; I want to know what happens in the last book and I’m on a waiting list at the library for it. I’m also curious to see what happens with Rachel – whether she becomes an even larger part of the overall arc or if she just fades into the background, her part over with – and I think that she’s a strange and curious character with a bit of mystery around her. Plus, her added to the plot makes Annabeth so jealous it’s really funny to read.

Overall, the character growth in this book was phenomenal and so much happened with them that it’s hard to comprehend that it all was contained in one book.

The plot was great too, though I can see how it was simply building for the great climax of the entire series with the next book. I can’t wait to see what happens to everyone and whether or not Kronos is destroyed… or I guess I should wonder how he’s going to be destroyed since you know that he is bound to be so that things end rather happily. This is a children’s series after all.

With everything said and done, I’m giving this book a 9/10 and I cannot stomach waiting too long to read the final book. I just hope that whoever has it before me on the list doesn’t take too long to read it.