Percy Jackson And The Battle Of The Labyrinth

After the last one I thought this series was doomed. I was wrong. This was so much better and was a lot more interesting than the third book. As well as it just being better in general, Grover met Pan, so that made me very happy.

The Labyrinth brought many new mythical creatures into the PJO universe and I really enjoyed learning more about those that would otherwise be considered 'minor' parts of Greek mythology. I felt that the adventures inside the maze were written in a way that made a lot more sense than anything in the last one. As well as this, Rachel, a mortal, being the one to lead the rest of the quest group through the structure created a new dynamic, which although was more intense, I enjoyed thoroughly as the characters seemed to mature a bit and things were a little bit different to the normal steady pace they were moving at in the last 3 books.

There was one thing I didn't like about this book though, and that was Percy's visit to Calypso's island. It seemed a little unnecessary and that Riordan was just trying to show how they have grown up through girl trouble, which is not the only way a character can be seen to mature.

Grover finally met the great God Pan!! Even though this was not the main plot point, I loved that it happened because it was something other than Percy and Annabeth. He had been searching for so long and been put into so much danger, and he actually found what Satyrs had been trying to find for centuries. I also thought that him being the one to find Pan was significant because although Grover has been constantly underestimated in the series, he proved that dedication was all that is needed, and that if you don't give up on something, you'll likely succeed.

I still didn't really understand the big fight scene at the end, but I did like Nico's appearances throughout the story. He is a very complex character, although only 10 at the time, and I am looking forward to reading what he told Percy about his discovery in the next book. He really changed since his small part in the 3rd book, and I like that he decided to embrace his heritage and accept his powers, I still don't quite get his ghost-summoning thing though.

I also enjoyed reading about a quest led by Annabeth, because usually it's Percy taking charge, but he gave someone else a chance here. Her connection with architecture was helpful in this case, and I feel that it made her meeting her idol and realising how corrupt he was a bigger impact on her.

The idol being spoken about, obviously being Daedalus. He was an interesting part of the storyline, but that does not mean I liked him. He was extremely agitating and kept on changing alliances. I do believe that his death towards the end was for the best, but I think he could have made his mind up earlier when he knew what Kronos was doing was wrong, and saved the camp a lot of suffering.

Ultimately, it was a good book. Not as good as the first 2, but much better than the last one. I think this may be because I liked how the atmosphere seemed to darken as the camp actually had an attack by the forces of Kronos for the first time and how it also showed every character growing up, even Chiron. I am now definitely looking forward to reading the next one and seeing what happens to everyone in the end.

★★★★