Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1820614-20141107023406

Heroes of Olympus started out on the premise that the giants were a threat worse than the Titans and at full strength they would be virtually unstoppable. After five books they did not once feel like a serious threat after ''The Lost Hero. ''The Titans were alternate gods with their own mountain, divine forms, magic powers and immense fighting skills. Percy, one of the best swordsmen and most powerful demigods in over a hundred years, needed to be boosted by the Curse of Achilles AND have help to defeat them. The demigods only really held their own because the Titans were not yet at full strength.

The Gigantes were just a really powerful group of monsters like several others the demigods faced. The only thing they had going for them was that a demigod and god were needed to kill them and that was proved easy enough to overcome in the course of the series. The best example is Polybotes, the anti-Poseidon. He was defeated by individual demigods twice including underwater. His poison only mildly annoyed a minor sea goddess. Another minor goddess (Iris) was considered too much trouble for him and his entire army. And this is the guy who was supposed to defeat Poseidon, a god that can grow to hundreds of feet tall, chunk islands, blast things apart from a distance, and control water with ease? How was Polybotes supposed to get close to the guy let alone defeat him? All you need is a demigod on stand by to deliver the final blow.

The other giants have similar problems. Their "counters" to their respective counterparts were rarely effective except for Clytius. Porphyrion? Zeus blasted him with lighting. Alcyoneus? Against Hades' shadow travel and earth control. Enceladus? The smartest among a species where arrogance and stupid is the norm is supposed to defeat Athena? Ephialtes and Otis? How is being more destructive than Dionysus supposed to be useful? Orion? Vulnerable to Apollo's curse and supposed to somehow out archer two different gods? Mimas? Hephaestus roasts him with fire.

Don't get me wrong. Overall, I like the book series. But I think the first series is better since the Titans came across as more cunning and a better counter to both the gods and heroes. The Giants are too stupid and limited to be a threat on the same level. They have formidable fighting skills that make them dangerous to individual demigods, but they cannot match the magic of the more powerful minor or major gods. They relied on "Mother" to do everything for them from rising them from Tartarus to dividing the Roman and Greek camps. I think the final battle reflected this. The Seven were doing pretty well and only started to lose thanks to the Giants healing. Once the the gods got involved it was a one way route because pure fighting skills could not handle both the magic of the gods and the formidable demigods.

Were the giants a disappointment to anyone else? Did anyone else like the Titans better? Have I overlooked something? 