While Leo flies ahead on Festus to warn the Roman camp, Lester and Meg must go through the Labyrinth to find the third emperor—and an Oracle who speaks in word puzzles—somewhere in the American Southwest (Goodreads).
"Why do I keep reading Rick Riordan's novels?" you might ask. The last two I reviewed were entirely underwhelming, and the franchise seemed to be going nowhere fast. Well, I keep reading them because sometimes Riordan puts out gems such as this. This third installment in Riordan's newest saga is excellently crafted. Solid character development that was extremely lacking in the previous novel turns up in spades in this one. An entertaining plot, well paced, with the addition of new characters and the revival of old favourites is done splendidly. Many elements are included, many of them layered and nuanced, even though the new villain introduced is slightly less developed than might be satisfactory, but this may yet change with following novels. Arguably the darkest novel in Riordan's Half-Blood canon, the novel features some of the most emotional and raw scenes in the entire saga, although at times, the narrator doesn't really know the spot for his humour. Add to this some jokes that fall somewhat flat, while some provoke a chuckle, the comedy portion of the novel is a mixed bag. In the end, though, Riordan redeems himself from some past projects with this excellent novel. 8.1/10
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