User blog comment:SayuriDarling/The Mark of Athena Official Discussion/@comment-3146930-20121005000339

Well, I just finished the book. I guess there is nothing else left to do but...

Characters
Percy Jackson - I thought he was a little too laid back, but still good in general. For example, there were really important parts where everyone was trying to think of plans, yet he was kind of just sitting back and eating pizza. I also felt like he was not played up as well as he could have been. In The Son of Neptune, he got some really good scenes in the book that showed how powerful he was, but in this book he is highly downplayed and doesn't have as many good scenes. However, the ones he did have counted and the driving point of this book wasn't him alone.

Jason Grace - While I said Percy didn't have that many good scenes, Jason really got the short end of the stick. The son of Jupiter spent about as much time asleep as Clovis does. I understand that Rick has to make the team balanced, with no one too strong or too weak, but I just felt Jason wasn't used well. It was like he was being knocked out so he wouldn't be able to do anything. While people are claiming Jason is too perfect, I feel like he is one of those "Perfect on Paper" types, but isn't that good when the situation calls for it. He doesn't seem like a leader to me. The fact that everyone expects him to be a leader is his main problem, which I like because it is realistic and he is able to step down and take orders from others (namely Annabeth).

Frank Zhang - Dude was awesome in this book. While Percy and Jason didn't really seem to have too many big scenes, Frank seemed to be everywhere. If he wasn't scouting ahead, he was turning into a dolphin or getting his pants stolen by a flying table. He had this weird mix of comedy and tragedy, as he was always at the end of one of Leo's jokes or dealing with his relationship with Hazel (I'll get to this later). He didn't get too much attention or too little, so I thought he was good overall.

Leo Valdez - So if anyone had the spotlight in this book (besides Annabeth, getting to her too), it was him. While Leo has always been hard on himself, constantly comparing himself to other character (I'm thinking it is his Fatal Flaw), that doesn't keep him down. He shows that he blames himself for his mistakes, but tries his best to make things right. I like that about him, as he doesn't just submit to failure. Even when Percy and Annabeth vanished, he blamed himself, but got right back up on his feet and inspired everyone to rise up with him.

Piper McLean - I thought Rick improved on her, but that could be because we aren't hearing the relationship form from both Piper and Jason's POV. Without her dad in danger, she is actually pretty good (which I have said since The Lost Hero). However, I feel like she was downplayed as this time her charmspeak didn't seem to work on anyone when she needed it to and seemed to only be effective in calming down the crew of the Argo.

Gleeson Hedge - I wish I had a teacher like this guy. He is awesome how he is and hasn't changed.

Hazel Levesque - I didn't like her as much as The Son of Neptune. With all the characters in this book, I just kind of feel like she was pushed aside. I like that they dealt with the Frank-Hazel-Leo triangle, but I can't really remember any scenes in the book where I was like "Man, Hazel is awesome."

Echo - I have a small crush, what can I say.

Annabeth Chase - Ok, this is probably the best I have seen her since The Battle of the Labyrinth. She says it herself, that she doesn't have any special powers like any of the other 7, but that doesn't stop her. She is able to keep up with all 7 and the fact she has no powers makes it all the more impressive. While Annabeth in both series mostly acted like Mrs. Exposition, in this series she actually got to use her smarts practically, instead of just telling Percy about a monster and hoping he killed it. Overall, I really hope we see more of this in the next 2 books.

Reyna - I feel very bad for her. In the course of about a year, her crush vanished, had to lead the camp by herself while dealing with Octavian, rejected by Percy, found out Jason has a new girlfriend, Percy is reunited with his girlfriend, and her camp is attacked by someone she trusted, leading her to believe everyone she cares about will betray her. And she was only in about 8 chapters of the book, wow. I really hope she gets a happy ending.

Enemies - Not going to lie, the main enemies in this book seemed kind of lame. The twin giants seemed more like gag characters and despite the tough fight, they were just played up too much earlier as a comedy duo. The only person that really felt like a villain was Chrysaor, the pirate. Arachne was good, but she had been killing Athenian demigods for a millenia and she didn't notice that Annabeth was tricking her?

Relationships
Leo/Hazel/Frank - I feel this was handled kind of well. Frank shows some resentment toward Leo which is understandable, as no one really knows the connection between him and Hazel. While there are a few awkward moments between Leo and Hazel, I like how they quickly reveal the connection and everything is a little easier after that. However, I feel like the Leo/Frank thing was handled poorly. I understand that Frank isn't confrontational, but he seemed to be on the receiving end of every prank or joke Leo pulled, and never really pushes back. I mean Leo's table ran off with the guy's pants.

Piper/Jason - I like this relationship better now that we aren't hearing it from three different people. Most of that talk comes from Piper in this book as Leo has his own problems and Jason didn't have his own POV. In this one, Jason seems kind of like a cardboard box again and has very little personality, which means we have to get all the details from Piper and she is very worried when it comes to her feelings about Jason. I honestly can't find this relationship entertaining, mostly because it just seems flat.

Percy/Annabeth - I love this couple (and with Percy dating Annabeth, that leaves Calypso to me). I feel like their relationship was the driving point of this story. I like that they love each other, but we know it isn't a perfect relationship, as Annabeth sometimes gets lost in her work and Percy has problems letting her go off on her own. They balance each other out and are good for each other. That scene in the stables is most likely my favorite in the book, with the scene of them falling into the floor as possibly my second. Just give me those pages and I would be happy, screw the rest of the book (well, maybe toss in the chapters with Reyna and Echo too).

Story
I liked the story overall. So far SoN is my number won, followed by MoA, and lastly TLH. What brings this story down I think are the villains, but the characters are written very well. I feel like Rick missed a few opportunities however. I mean Percy didn't hate Heracles until he learned what he did to Zoe, but that is never mentioned in the book and Percy even seems surprised when he finds out that he is a jerk. He already knew that! Also, with 8 characters aboard the ship, I feel like some characters slipped through the cracks, namely Jason and Hazel. Jason was knocked out for most of the book and Hazel, like I said, was just kind of there. Overall, good. solid 9.0/10.

PS: Do they ever explain how the statue would fix the relationship between Romans and Greeks. I mean everyone says it will, but do they ever explain how?