The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune is the second book in The Heroes of Olympus series written by Rick Riordan. It is set to be released on October 4th, 2011, a week earlier than planned. Taking place around two months after the start of The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune is written in alternate third person points of view of Percy, Frank and Hazel.

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 the Roman Camp Half-Blood. On May 26, 2011, Riordan released both the cover art and the first chapter of the book confirming such speculation and can be read here. Another excerpt that was read on a webcasted 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, a blonde haired kid holding onto a teddy bear, 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, and another girl riding a horse. 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. ..

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 Camp Jupiter and is guarded by two demigods. 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 the camp entrance.

Once there, he defeats the Gorgons by summoning whirlpool hands formed from the Tiber River. June reveals herself as Juno, Hera's Roman aspect and she tells the campers present including Frank, Hazel, and Reyna that the Feast of Fortune approaches where death must be unleashed and that Percy is the son of Neptune and his fate is in their hands before vanishing.