The Blood of Olympus Review and Overview of Predictions

I have thought hard and long how I was going to do this review of Rick Riordan’s The Blood of Olympus. I knew it would be different.  I made a blog about my predictions about this book. I wanted to go through my prediction, however, I did not want to put spoilers of this book. However, with great reflection, I have discovered that there is no possible way for my to not put spoilers in this blog. I must warn you…THERE WILL BE SPOILERS! If you haven’t read this book, the first two paragraphs will be the review/ rating then I will go to my in depth review comparing my predictions to what actually happened in the book.

First of all, I gave this book five out of five star. I loved this book. I loved the characters and how much they grew up throughout the book. The settings and the plots were amazing. He intertwined the plots together, through different places around the world.  He also layered the places through time, giving a place a much more in depth experience. I also enjoyed the different perspectives of the events that were happening. Like some of the other readers, I did agree that I wished he put in all of the characters perspectives, but I also understand how he wanted to give everyone an equal amount of that shining moment. I also wished that Riordan went further at the end of the book. He did end the book at a good place, but I felt as though there needed to be more and I do hope that there will be a book that further expands the end of the book. The ending was very open ended.

With this five out of five star rating, I do recommend this series to everyone! You do not need to read the predecessor series in order to understand what is happening. There are references to those book, but only in the perspective of Percy and Annabeth. There are not essential, but having read those book did help gain a better pleasure from these books that I might not have had if I did not read those books. I know that everyone will love our characters, they are easy to love and care. The adventure is exciting and awe-inspiring, you cannot help it but want to go to these places and experience the history.

Now… Onto the reflection from my predictions. The colors orange and purple are to represent the camp colors. Orange is for Camp Half Blood as Purple is for Camp Jupiter. I was also using the colors as a means to show you what I wrote for the previous blog as well as this blog. I am sorry to state that the only time that the colors do not match the before and after is at the questions in which I just answered the questions in the camp colors. Here is a link to that blog.

Also, any additional spoilers that I was not able to give in the previous paragraphs above. Remember: BEYOND THIS POINT THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!!!

1. Clues that were given – I found that it was very interesting that all but Frank’s clue was in the beginning of the book. If I had to say anything, I would say all but three of the clues were at least in the first quarter of the book. I am also glad to point out that Jason clue was in the book, it was the first clue, and it was just a recap that happened in the story.

1. Octavian – This is one of the characters that everyone hate, including me. When I first read about Octavian, all I could think of was that he was the roman equivalent to Luke. He was angry and war happy. Part of the reason why I thought he was working with Gaea is the fact that he knew about the Greek camp and was trying to convince some of the other Romans to believe that the Greeks exists and that the Greek camp needs to be destroyed. How else would he know about the possibility of a Greek Camp without Gaea? In the second book of the series, you can see that only Reyna, Jason, Percy and Nico knew about both camps. Jason and Percy found out about the other camps due to Hera, and Nico found out through his father Hades, However Reyna was the only person in the series to personally know about both camps through experiences and seeing different quests. Nobody else in the Roman camp truly believed in a Greek camp. Also, by destroying the Greek camp, Octavian is helping Gaea by proving both camps a distraction from Gaea and her forces from destroying the world.

When I found out that Octavian was working for Gaea, I was so happy. Not happy that the characters had to clean up his mess, along with his father getting punish, but I was happy that I was right and that I called it. The characters, including the gods all had their theory as to how Octavian was working for Gaea. Some believe he intentionally did it, while others believed that he was manipulated and was consumed with greed for power and glory. I still believed that he intentionally helped Gaea, however, his death was interesting in which he was trying to kill Gaea. I am still claiming that he was intentionally doing it because he had way too much information and knew how everything was going to be affected.  I do not think he planned on losing his powers of prophecy, but I do believe that he was so greedy with power and glory that he lost sight of what was best for everyone and decided to make his own path at the expense of others. The ending where he was trying to kill Gaea, was all meant to show his allegiance with the Romans in hopes of still being accepted back, after realizing his mistake and what it will cost him.

1. List of people who I believe will die
   1. Reyna – I don’t want Reyna to die, I really like Reyna and her leadership skills. She is a marvelous leader, and I believe that she is under appreciated. She is the example of what a leader is by thinking about her people and the world before herself. Because of her leadership skills, I do believe that she will get the statue back to Greek camp and will have to fight with Octavian to stop the battle. I cannot decide if she will be killed by Octavian or be killed due to the complication of her injuries.

I am loving to write that she gets to live and still gets to be Preator. She does succeed in bringing the statue back to the Greek Camp, and has been bestowed honors for her commitment to both camps and her decision making skills. However, she does not get to fight off Octavian. I am a little disappointed. I feel that out of all the characters, she does deserve to get her vengeance (I guess we will say, it not closure, but more along her say) on what Octavian had done to her over the past two years. Though looking at Reyna a bit more, I realize that her great leadership skills she would never kill Octavian physically, but show him the kindness and respect that he deserves, but strip him of his political powers.

1. Octavian – Other than the fact that I would probably be okay if he died, I do believe that he will die due to the fact that he is a pawn, whether he is Gaea’s pawn or not. I see that there will be a battle between him and Reyna because Reyna always had to shove him aside and get him away from the most powerful positions of the camp. This battle that him and Reyna will have will determine his power over the camp as well as the major fight with the Greeks.

Sadly, this battle did not happen. Reyna successfully brought the statue back to the Greek right before the battle was to begin, and as a result the Romans left Octavian and went to Reyna to fight off the monsters that Octavian called upon for battle. However, he does get to die at the end of the book. Not the death that I was expecting, either. It was quite a twist, and if I go into any more I will be giving the whole ending away.

1. Nico – I really do not want Nico to die. He is one of my favorite characters from the Percy Jackson series. However, it make sense that he will die because he is not very social with the living and is much more comfortable with the dead. Also, his clue suggest that he might just sacrifice himself for the quest. In addition, he also does not belong in this time period. He was born in the 1930’s and had escaped death due to his father.
2. Hazel – Another character I do not want to see dead. However, the book suggest that Hazel might go because her time is short. She does not belong. She has already died and has come back to life. Hence, the short time span of getting to live life.

I am very happy to report that both Nico and Hazel get to live!

1. Epic battle scenes
   1. Camp Half Blood – I know I have made it known that Octavian and Reyna will fight with each other, but I also believe that a battle will take place. As much as I would love for it to just not go beyond Reyna and Octavian, I have a feeling that everyone at both camps will fight with each other and blood will be drawn. I am also curious to see if those Demigods that have fallen, if there blood will be used to help wake up Gaea.

Alright, I was wrong about the whole Reyna and Octavian battling it off. Instead Reyna come in and saves the day and both the Romans and the Greeks work together to battle the monsters working for Gaea. So I guess I was partially true that the Greeks and the Romans will not battle it off before the major battle with Gaea.

1. Greece – Obviously, we know that there will be a big epic battle scene. I am hoping that no one will die. I am not entirely sure what will go down or what will happen, but I am sure that our seven heroes will succeed and defeat Gaea.

I am partially glad that I did not really made a prediction here other than success. I would never have guess the gods being able to help at the last minute to defeat the Giants and the Titans. I also would not have guess that Annabeth and Percy’s blood would have been used to wake Gaea, or some of the plans that the seven had to help fight against the giants.

1. What will happen to Camp Jupiter as well as Camp Half Blood – As I have mentioned, I do believe that both camps will battle and that Reyna and Octavian will battle with each other as a means to see what will happen to the fate of the two camps. I do believe that Reyna will win and that both camps will somehow unite. However, I do see that there will have to be some demigods that will end up having to be a liaison to help unite both camps.  The best people for the job would be Percy, Jason, and Nico since all of them know how both camps work and have experienced both camps.

I know that I have already stated this, but I was wrong about the whole epic battle between Reyna and Octavian. Though I was right that the two camp will unite as one. In addition, they did stay united after the big battle with Gaea and have worked together in a way to combine both camps so that they will train both Greek and Roman. Though, it looks like there is no Liaison beyond the leaders of the two camps. However, Jason does get to go between both camps to make sure that all the gods are noted, respected, and honored.

1. Hopeful/ wishful thinking about life after this quest for our characters – I really hope that no one, for the exception of Octavian (I know that this is bad) will die. Okay, maybe Octavian can live, as long as he gets punished for his crimes. I do want everyone to live and be happy. I do hope that both camps will connect with each other and that Jason would not have to choose between the two camps and that both Percy and Jason can improve both with their experiences. I also want Nico to feel wanted and welcome. Nico is such an important hero that I do feel as though both Percy and Jason will make sure that Nico is accepted into both camps. Of course I do want Annabeth and Percy to be together happily as well as Jason and Piper.  For Hazel and Frank, I do hope that they can both be Preators, but they will also be able to stay with each other. For Leo, I do hope that he will get back to that island and help Clypso escape and that the gods would apologize to her(though I don’t expect the apology).   Finally, I do hope that Reyna will be able to retire from being Preator and just enjoy life. She deserves it.

Generally, I was accurate here. Everyone does get a happy ending for the exception of Octavian due to the fact that he died. Though there are a few exceptions. Nico was given the honor to be at both camps by both Will and Reyna not Percy and Jason, though they do support this. However, Nico chose to stay at Camp Half Blood. Jason chose his camp but was given the honors of returning to Camp Jupiter. Hazel does not get to become a Pretor. Instead she is given the task to run the fifth cohort. Finally, Reyna does not retire from her position, but is given full welcome to stay at Camp Half Blood as a means to relax and get away from the stress of her daily life.

1. Questions
   1. Will there be a Roman equivalent to Luke?

I would say yes… His name was Octavian. However, he is not a true equivalent. Luke truly redeemed himself at the end of the series, while Octavian was allowed to die in the name of saving the world.

1. Is there still a Roman and Greek camps in Italy and Greece? If so, who trains those Demigods? How are the similar and different to Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter?

This question was not answered. Throughout the book, we did not see any other demigods, whether it was from Greek and Roman to a different theology. The reason why I questioned this is because these gods claim to be at multiple places at the same time, and I thought they would be all over the world not just North America.  I know that Riordan created a crossover between the Greek and Egyptian mythologies, however I would like to see if there are Greek and Roman camps in Greece and Rome.

Other things I would like to know, that the book did not answer is…

1. Why are the ancient lands forbidden to Roman demigods? Why is the Roman camp in California?
2. I would like to know what happened to Leo after he found Calypso. Let’s be real. He is a demigod. Battling monsters is part of the package.
3. I would like to know what happened to Tartarus. When we left The House of Hades, he had risen and was attacking Bob and his brother (Whose name I cannot spell, let alone pronounce). Will there be a quest to vanquish him?
4. I would also like to know what truly happened to the Oracle and if there will be a quest to save her.
5. We also never saw the punishments that Zeus/ Jupiter were going to give. I am curious as to those punishments.
6. Even though the prophecy of seven was given to both Greek and Roman demigods, I am curious as to why Apollo was being blamed for the oracle giving out the prophecy of seven and making it happen?

That is it!

I am really sorry for the long blog and for it being late. I do hope that you enjoy this review and going over my predictions. Enjoy your weekend and I hope that it is filled with many adventures within the pages of your book. Happy Reading!