ToA 2- The Dark Prophecy

<<”Does your help ever come without a price?”

-The Dark Prophecy, Rick Riordan

⭐4.2/5

Author: Rick Riordan

Pages: 464

Saga: The Trials of Apollo #2

Publishing House: Disney Books

ISBN: 1484780647

Synopsis

Zeus has punished his son Apollo--god of the sun, music, archery, poetry, and more--by casting him down to earth in the form of a gawky, acne-covered sixteen-year-old mortal named Lester.

The only way Apollo can reclaim his rightful place on Mount Olympus is by restoring several Oracles that have gone dark. What is affecting the Oracles, and how can Apollo/Lester do anything about them without his powers? After experiencing a series of dangerous--and frankly, humiliating--trials at Camp Half-Blood, Lester must now leave the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a hair-raising journey across North America.

Somewhere in the American Midwest, he and his companions must find the most dangerous Oracle from ancient times: a haunted cave that may hold answers for Apollo in his quest to become a god again--if it doesn't kill him or drive him insane first.

Opinion

I don't really have much to say about this book.

History

As you know, there is a common factor in the Rick Riordan story, and it is the prophecy that we must discover its meaning through history, but that at the same time guides our heroes. This book is no exception.

And although in previous books, Rick gave us plot twists that confused us but guided us to fulfill the prophecy, this book was not like that. It really felt flat in this regard, everything was fulfilled according to the prophecy and there were no twists in the plot that were so surprising or will change the course of history. It was indeed a predictable story.

<<It's not how long you live that matters. It's what you live for.>>

-The Dark Prophecy, Rick Riordan

Characters.

This book maintains in every sense the personality of Apollo, who of course is our protagonist and tells us the story from his point of view. And of course it maintains the Rick Riordan writing style, as well as the narcissism and sarcasm of Apollo, which keeps you laughing through the pages of this story.

Apollo really shows a more human side in this book than in the previous book (The Hidden Oracle), that shows us how he grew up. However, I do not think that this book has grown as much as in the previous book, although it does show how his narcissism decreased a bit….

We have, of course, back characters from this huge universe: Meg, Leo and Calypso.

This book teaches us more about the interaction between Apollo and Calypso, than Leo and Calypso, which in my opinion is what all fans of this universe wanted to read. However, having two ex-immortals, now mortal, slightly changes the perspective of what Apollo and Calypso really have to face now that they no longer possess powers. And how both have to develop new skills to survive.

Conclusion

This book disappointed me with the fact that the story was very flat, there were no really surprising plot twists and everything happened just like the prophecy. Which just left me with a bitter taste.

However, Rick maintains the essence of the characters, and shows us how Apollo has to develop skills to survive now that he is mortal and does not have any power. Rick also maintains his characteristic sense of humor that he kept laughing between the pages of this book.

-Fer 🌻🌻