The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune is the second book in The Heroes of Olympus series written by Rick Riordan. It was released on October 4th, 2011, a week earlier than first planned. The story takes place around eight months after the previous book, The Lost Hero.

Development
In an interview by Scholastic with Rick Riordan for The Lost Hero Riordan is questioned about the whereabouts of Percy Jackson. The author hints that the answer would be revealed as Jason's quest progressed. By the end of the book he says that readers would have a good idea where the second book is going. It has led to speculation that the book would explore the events surrounding Percy and his involvement with Camp Jupiter the Roman version of Camp Half-Blood. On May 26, 2011, Riordan released both the cover art and the first chapter of the book confirming such speculation. Another excerpt that was read on a webcast event that aired on May 26, 2011 can be found here.

The cover has Percy Jackson on drift ice with a glacier in the background. Percy is holding a Roman eagle standard, like those that the legions carried. Riordan told of how he had to describe to John Rocco, the book's cover artist, of what the book was about, because the cover had to be done before Rick had finished writing it. After he had finished his description to Rocco, Rocco stayed up all night and created the cover.

According to Rick Riordan's blog, revisions of the third draft were completed on April 2, 2011. Riordan then tweets on May 15, 2011, the manuscript is completely finished, revised and edited. All that was left was formatting and publishing.

On August 8th 2011, Rick Riordan released a video giving more information about the book and it's characters. The said video includes pictures of a black haired boy with a bow and arrow in his hands (Frank), a blonde haired boy holding a teddy bear in one hand and a knife in the other (Octavian), a girl with black hair sitting on a throne surrounded by a gold dog-looking creature with red eyes on her left and a silver dog-looking creature on her right (Reyna), and another girl riding a horse (Hazel). aX-UqubDqFc

Synopsis
Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, god of the Sea, has woken from a very deep sleep and come face to face with two snake-haired ladies who refuse to die.

But they’re the least of his problems because Percy finds himself at a camp for half-bloods, which doesn’t ring any bells for him. There’s just one name he remembers from his past, Annabeth.

Only one thing is certain – Percy’s questing days aren’t over. He and fellow demigods Frank and Hazel must face the most important quest of all: the Prophecy of Seven. If they fail, it’s not just their camp at risk. Percy’s old life, the gods, and the entire world might be destroyed. ..

Alternate Synopsis
Demigod Percy Jackson, still with no memory, and his new friends from Camp Jupiter, Hazel and Frank, go on a quest to free Death, but their bigger task is to unite the Greek and Roman camps so that the Prophecy of Seven can be fulfilled.

Plot
Percy, without memory except for Annabeth, is near San Francisco running away from Medusa's sisters, Euryale and Stheno (who he calls Beano). They are unable to kill each other as the gorgons reform every two hours and Percy still has the Curse of Achilles. As Lupa the wolf had said when he woke up at the Wolf House, he trusts his senses and stops at a side of a cliff overlooking a highway. When the gorgons manage to catch up to Percy, Stheno offers Percy poisoned snacks she carried on a metal tray. Euryale appears and the two sisters argue with each other. Percy takes this opportunity to slash Euryale, grab Stheno's tray and slide down the mountain to escape.

Upon escape, he is then caught off-guard by an old lady named June who tells him that the service tunnel is the entrance to the Roman Camp and is guarded by two demigods of the Roman Legion. June gives him a choice. He could leave her defenseless to the Gorgons and escape into the ocean where he could live to an old age or instead, he could carry her "across the highway, through the tunnel, across the river" and to the camp. If he chose the latter, Percy would slowly regain his memories, lose the curse of Achilles, and have the chance to save the Gods, the world and his friends. He chooses to carry June to Camp Jupiter.

Once arriving at the camp, the Gorgons follow Percy to the banks of the Tiber River where then manage to capture Frank. Percy uses the water from the river to create whirlpools and two giant hands that follow his commands. He uses them to drag the Gorgons under the water and rip them apart as if they were in a blender. The waters themselves seem to remove Percy's Achilles Curse as the water feels like he is taking an acid bath and it makes him feel vulnerable. Percy then helps Frank out of the water and several campers appear, including Reyna and Hazel. The woman June then introduces Percy as a son of Neptune and reveals herself to be Juno, much to the surprise of the Camp Jupiter campers. Reyna seems to know who he is from somewhere, but denies having any knowledge of who he is and orders Hazel to take him in for questioning to decide if he is a friend or foe, before sending him to see Octavian.

Main Characters

 * Percy Jackson - The son of Poseidon who appears at Camp Jupiter after being switched with Jason Grace.
 * Hazel Levesque - A daughter of Pluto and Camper of Camp Jupiter, she becomes friends with Percy along with Frank.
 * Frank Zhang - A demigod son of Mars and Camper of Camp Jupiter, he becomes friends with Percy after the latter saved his life.

Other Characters

 * Ella - A highly knowledgeable harpy.
 * Euryale - The younger Gorgon who was resurrected by Gaea.
 * Hera/Juno - The queen of the Olympians who is responsible for bringing Percy to the camp.
 * Lupa - The immortal wolf who serves as trainer and seer of Camp Jupiter.
 * Octavian - A demigod descendant of Apollo and diviner of Camp Jupiter
 * Reyna - A demigod daughter of Bellona, camper of Camp Jupiter and the Praetor of the Twelfth Legion.
 * Stheno - The elder Gorgon who was resurrected by Gaea.
 * Thanatos - The god of death and a lieutenant of Hades/Pluto.
 * Phineas - A blind king and demigod son of Neptune that makes a bold wager with Percy Jackson.
 * Tyson - A cyclopean son of Poseidon, and Percy Jackson's half-brother.
 * Nico Di Angelo - A son of Hades and half-brother to Hazel.
 * Ares/Mars - The god of war who issues the Quest and prophecy to free Thanatos in Alaska.