Review of The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5)

The Camp Half Blood series comes to an end with this book. Percy Jackson is about to turn 16 and the full words of the great prophecy are revealed to him. Kronos launches his final attack on New York / Mount Olympus. While the gods are occupied fighting the monster Typhon in the mid-west, it's up to Percy Jackson and all his friends at Camp Half Blood to defend Manhattan from Kronos and his minions.

The book brings things to an end without falling into the trap of making things too simple. Rick Riordan might weave his story with battles and adventures but his heart, and consequently the heart of the book, is with themes of home and family. The motivation of all the half-blood heroes, on both sides, ultimately comes down to family as well.

Riordan takes a kitchen sink approach to his continued plundering of Greek mythology in the book. Unlike the previous two books, he doesn't quite have the cohesiveness or novelty here. Instead he pretty much throws in every hero and monster from the rest of the series into this book. I guess it was inevitable at some point, but it it still a wee bit disappointing considering his inventiveness thus far.

All in all, Rick Riordan does a great job over the course of the five books. He keeps things interesting all through. By the third book, he's mastered the art of twisting Greek mythology to the needs of his story. Finally, he closes it out with a sense of purpose in this book.

8/10