| The Last Olympian | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Rick Riordan |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy, Greek mythology, Young adult |
| Publisher | Disney • Hyperion Books |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback), Audiobook |
| Pages | 382 |
| ISBN | 9781423101475 |
| OCLC Number | 299578184 |
| Preceded by | The Battle of the Labyrinth |
| Followed by | The Lost Hero |
The Last Olympian is a fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology by Rick Riordan, published on May 5, 2009.[1] It is the fifth and final novel in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and serves as the direct sequel to The Battle of the Labyrinth.[1] The Last Olympian revolves around the demigod Perseus Jackson as he leads his friends in a last stand to protect Mount Olympus. The book received many positive reviews. The title refers to Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, who refers to herself as such in a conversation with Percy on Mount Olympus.
Contents |
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."[2]
In order to try to head off Kronos's approach by sea, Percy and Beckendorf go to blow up his ship, the Princess Andromeda. However, Kronos is not caught off guard, and Beckendorf sacrifices his life to destroy the ship, while Percy dives overboard and is knocked out by the arrow that pierced his thigh on the ship. Percy is awakened by his brother, Tyson (a cyclops). He finds that he is in his father Poseidon's underwater palace, which is under siege by the forces of the Titan Oceanus. Percy wants to stay and help fight with his father, but Poseidon sends Percy back to Camp Half-Blood. At Camp Half Blood, they learn about the mission and Silena, Beckendorf's girlfriend, is in tears. At a meeting Percy hears the Great Prophecy for the first time. The Ares cabin is furious that they get no respect, so they wish not to fight in the war. Then Percy mentions that they have a spy, someone who has been informing the Titans for years, but they put it aside for now. Soon after arriving, Percy leaves again with Nico, son of Hades, to find out how he might stand a chance against Kronos when the time comes. After visiting Luke's mother and talking with Hestia (who is the Last Olympian), goddess of the hearth and home, Percy and Nico's aunt. Percy procures a blessing from his mother, descends into the Underworld for the second time. Here, Nico betrays Percy for information on his past, but he helps Percy with the original plan and bathes in the River Styx like Achilles and Luke before him.
Percy organizes the demigod campers (minus the Ares cabin), and prepares for an urban battle. They go to Olympus to prepare and meet Hermes, who is furious with Annabeth, who could have stopped the war by helping Luke before he was possessed. Before the battle starts, New York City is silenced by way of a powerful sleeping spell from Morpheus, god of dreams. Despite being joined by the Hunters of Artemis; satyrs; naiads; dryads and other tree nymphs; Chiron's centaur cousins the Party Ponies, automatons fashioned by the late Daedalus; and the hellhound Mrs. O'Leary; Percy's forces are consistently forced back by sheer numbers. Kronos is not without losses, as Percy buffets the Titan Lord's brother, Hyperion, into submission, from where Grover's nature powers encase the Titan of the East in a massive maple tree. Annabeth is injured by saving Percy from a sword that would have hit his Achilles Point. The person was Ethan. He asks Annabeth, who has a poisoned shoulder, how she knew, but she doesn't know. He trusts her enough and tells her his Achilles Point. Percy has dreams of Kronos' and Kronos questions Ethan on where Percy's Achilles' Spot was, but Ethan does not know.
Rachel, a mortal who can see through the Mist, flies from a family vacation to NYC (and strangely does not fall asleep), to tell Percy that he is not the hero of the Great Prophecy, and that it will influence his choice when he turns 16. More than that, she doesn't know. She also informs Percy that the Titans have a monster that only a child of Ares could destroy, and they instantly know that the spy is still informing the Titans because the Ares cabin is still at camp.
They learn that the monster was a drakon, a monster similar but more destructive then a dragon. The Ares cabin comes when it looks like they would lose. "Clarisse" trys to kill it but she is killed. Then another girl comes on a flying chariot and kills the drakon by herself. They find out that the first Clarisse was Silena, and the other girl was actually Clarisse. Silena admits she is the spy, who had a crush on Beckendorf and because Luke promised Bekendorf would be fine. When she wanted to quit he threatened to expose her. She dies a hero, and not a betrayer.
Driven back to the blocks surrounding the Empire State building, Percy and his friends fight in a last stand to protect Mount Olympus from the massive army Kronos has amassed. Even when Hades arrives with his army, Kronos still manages to break through and enter Olympus.
Percy and Kronos as Luke battle in the throne room of Olympus, without either side gaining a significant advantage. Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis, who is the one who revived Kronos in the previous book, rebels against him at the last minute when Percy helps him see what Kronos would really do if he ruled the world. He trys to kill Kronos but his sword ricochets back into his stomach. With his dying breath, he tells Percy that minor gods deserve better before falling into a fissure created by Kronos. Luke is shocked back into his nonevil self when Annabeth helps him remember his promise of family to Annabeth, as he brutally smashes her across the throne room. The Great Prophecy hinges on Percy's decision to give Luke Annabeth's dagger rather than attempt to kill Luke himself. Luke injures himself at his mortal point (under his left armpit) and uses all his power in one strike on Kronos, making Luke become the hero of the prophecy and ending the war on the dawn of his 16th birthday. Before Luke dies, he tells Percy to promise to make sure that demigods wouldn't live unclaimed.
With Poseidon ambushing Typhon at the Hudson River, the Olympians manage to send him down to Tartarus. Returning to the throne room, they grant Percy, Grover, Annabeth, Thalia, and Tyson rewards at the conclusion of their various quests. Percy, refusing godhood for himself, forces the gods to swear on the River Styx that they will recognize all of their children by the time they turn 13, Luke's dying wish. At camp, new cabins are built for every god, including Hades and all the minor gods because of Luke Castellan's dying wish. Rachel Elizabeth Dare becomes the new Oracle and speaks the next Great Prophecy,Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire, the world must fall. An oath to keep with the final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death Annabeth is promised that she will be the architect of Mount Olympus in the future, and Grover becomes a Lord of the Wild and member of the Council of Cloven Elders. Tyson is awarded as well, becoming general of the cyclops army and being given a "stick." Later on it talks about Tyson and the cyclops making a new cabin for the minor gods and Hades.
At the end of the story, Percy again meets with Hestia, and she gives him a smile and a wink, showing that she was proud of her young nephew. Annabeth kisses Percy. They run into the mortal world with Percy narrating, "For the first time, I didn't look back." [3]
The Last Olympian received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Publishers Weekly wrote "...fans will not be disappointed"[4] and remarked, "As the capstone to this beloved series, this story satisfies."[4] They praised Percy's "brave leadership"[4] and said that "the final clash would keep a Hollywood special effects team busy for years".[4] Booklist's starred review commented that "...Riordan’s imagination soars in the climactic battle scenes"[5] but said that he manages to "bring the whole series to a satisfying close in the down-to-earth conclusion".[5] It also received a starred review from Kirkus.[6] The New York Times gave a very positive review, praising the humor and the action; however, they pointed out that, "the tempo distracts from a few jarring plot points".[7]
The Last Olympian was the #1 USA Today bestseller, the #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller, and #1 Los Angeles Times bestseller. [8]
The unabridged audiobook version of The Last Olympian is read by Jesse Bernstein and was released on May 12, 2009 by Random House/Listening Library.[9] It is 10 hours and 50 minutes long. AudioFile magazine gave a mixed review towards Bernstein, saying, "While his voice is youthful, however, Bernstein lacks the speed and energy to allow listeners to completely suspend disbelief, and his tone lapses into a whining quality that some may find off-putting."[10]
Another Camp Half-Blood series has been released, titled The Heroes of Olympus. The Lost Hero is the first book in this series by Riordan, and was released on October 12, 2010. Though it is not directly related to Percy and friends, there are many references and appearances of these characters and it still serves as a sequel. Its sequel, The Son of Neptune, portrays Percy as one of the main protagonists.
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