The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune is the second book in The Heroes of Olympus series written by author 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 counterpart 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).

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 Jackson has no recollection of his life so far, except for a single name: Annabeth. The Son of Neptune opens to a confused Percy, who is being chased by the Gorgon sisters, Stheno and Euryale. They intend to kill Percy to avenge the death of their sister Medusa by his hand four years ago. Percy cannot remember killing Medusa, as he hardly remembers any of his past. He escapes and stumbles upon an old 'hippie' lady named June (Juno in disguise). June gives him a choice: he can carry her to the safety of Camp Jupiter (the Roman equivalent of Camp Half-Blood) across the highway and Tiber River to regain his memory and, eventually, save the world, or he can retreat to the safety of the sea and live a long, happy life. Percy chooses to carry her.

At the entrance to Camp Jupiter, he meets two new demigods: Hazel and Frank. Together, they attack the Gorgons, who are eventually overtaken by Percy in the first demonstration of his demigod abilities in The Son of Neptune. Percy is taken to the camp, where he is introduced to Reyna, the Praetor of the camp. Reyna seems to know something about who Percy is, but doesn't allow it to show. The old woman, being carried to safety by Percy, reveals herself as the goddess Juno. Juno reveals to the camp that Percy is a son of Neptune that has been slumbering for many months. He is interviewed by Reyna, who is curious as to why he can't remember his past. He is interviewed by Octavian who after some talking, allows Percy to join the legion. When asked which cohort will take in Percy, Frank and Hazel invite him into the Fifth Cohort. During the Roman War Game, Percy impresses everyone with his natural battle skills and instincts. Mars, the god of war, then appears, and informs Frank Zhang that he is his son, and that Frank is to go on a quest and Percy must accompany him so that Percy will learn respect for Mars. Frank requests that Hazel also comes. Percy, Frank, and Hazel are to free Thanatos, the god of Death according to the prophecy Mars had given them. The three demigods set out on the quest using the only ship in the Roman navy, the Pax. While traveling, Percy is struggles to retrieve his lost memory. It is also revealed that Hazel died, but that Nico di Angelo saved her and set her free as he didn't feel it was her time and it was already too late to save Bianca (who was reborn). Also, Frank has a stick that is connected to his life as if the stick were to ever completely burn, Frank would die. Frank is also told by gods and people alike that he has "special talents," but doesn't know what they are and often thinks of Percy as better than him because Percy has more experience, confidence, and skills.

While speaking with Mars, his father, it is revealed that the seven demigods of the prophecy each pull their own weight, Frank need to stop comparing himself to Percy. Percy has a fatal flaw, personal loyalty, and Frank will name to make a decision that Percy himself cannot make. When Frank asks Mars what his is, Mars says that he can't tell him and needs to discover his fatal flaw himself, and will, soon.

When traveling to Alaska, they encounter Ella the harpy. She is an intelligent harpy, but Phineas, also a son of Neptune, wants to keep her captive. So Percy made a deal with Phineas, Frank retrieved the Gorgon's blood before Percy saved him, one vial will heal you and the other will die. Percy says that they will each take one and that Phineas will give them the information if Percy wins, but if he wins then Phineas will get his sight back. Phineas thinking Gaea will protect him (the earth shakes when he touches a vial), he drinks a vial and at first it appears he won until he starts to turn to dust. They take Ella with them for awhile, but when she refuses to go in a plane, they leave her in the woods and they tell Tyson to go and find her. They take a plane from a legacy to Alaska, the land beyond the gods. They reach a glacier and find Thanatos. His chains cannot be broken, unless melted by the fire of life, Frank's stick. Hazel attacks Alcyoneus, while Percy is defending Frank from hundreds of ghosts as Frank uses his stick to melt Thanatos' chains. Percy summona a mimi-hurricane while he was attacking the ghosts and manages to retrieve the golden eagle, the pride of the twelfth legion. Frank eventually freed Thanatos, and Frank is torn between helping Percy or Hazel. Percy orders him to help Hazel, and he suddenly realizes his special gift, he can be anything...literally. He transformed into an eagle and a bear and knocked the giant unconscious. They suddenly realize Percy's difficult situation as he grows more tired and can no longer keep his hurricane formed as the ghosts keep attacking him. He thrust Riptide into the ground and the ice around him started breaking. Cities, ghosts, and Percy Jackson went flew over the edge as Frank and Hazel watched, but had to kill the giant before they could help him.

Frank was so distracted by Percy's sacrifice that he zoned out, Hazel had to inform him of the task on hand. They got on Hazel's horse, Arion, and pulled the giant into Canada, only 10 miles from the glacier. As the giant charged Frank, he waited and then quickly transformed into an elephant. The giant died, and Frank and Hazel rushed back to where Percy went over. Percy was standing there, angry, but otherwise unharmed. When they approached him, Percy greeted them and Frank noted that he looked like they were just meeting up for lunch. Percy said that the fall was nothing, and he fell twice as far off the St. Louis Arch (he did this in The Lightening Thief). They looked appalled at Percy's nonchalant attitude, despite everything he just did. They got on Arion and went flying back to Camp Jupiter, which took some time.

Percy regains his memory during the four hour journey back to Camp Jupiter, but when they returned, they saw that the Camp was under attack. Percy took charge and led the Romans into battle, with the help of his old friends, Tyson and Mrs. O'Leary, the hellhound. They also bring Ella with them after finding her and she and Tyson seem to like each other. The Romans defended their camp with valor after discovering that Percy saved the golden eagle. Percy then challenges a giant to a duel by Polybotes, and the rest of the camp formed a circle around Percy and the giant. Percy calls to Terminus, the god of borders, to help him defeat the giant as giants can only be defeated by demigods and gods working together. Percy eventually beat the giant after a treacherous battle by smashing Terminus' detached head into Polybotes skull. The camp was once again in awe of Percy's instincts and skills, and they named him praetor, leader of the Roman camp. Percy collapsed from exhaustion later that night, and he was confronted by Hera in a dream. She called him "a loose cannon," and that he is valuable because he is the glue that will unite the Greeks and the Romans. At the end of the book, Percy, Hazel, Frank, and the rest of the camp go to await the arrival of the Argo II carrying Jason and several demigods from Camp Half-Blood, including Piper, Leo, and Percy's girlfriend Annabeth. Percy wrapped his arms around Frank and Hazel and tells them he wants to introduce them to his other family.

Prophecy
Before going on a quest, a prophecy is required and was therefore insisted upon by Octavian. Mars gave them an informal prophecy, which is more like instruction rather than guide, written by Mars himself on paper and his grenade-turned-ballpen:

"Go to Alaska.

Find Thanatos and free him.

Come back by sundown on June twenty-forth or die."

Second Prophecy
However, while in the Zhang's mansion, Ella recited two lines of a prophecy to Frank:

"To the north, beyond the gods, lies the legion's crown.

Falling from ice, the son of Neptune shall drown-"

This part of the prophecy was apparently read by Ella from the Books of Sibylline, but was not able to read the whole prophecy because the continuation was said to have burned before she got the chance to read it.

Main Characters

 * Percy Jackson - The son of Poseidon who appears at Camp Jupiter after being switched with Jason Grace.
 * Hazel Levesque - A demigod daughter of Pluto and from Camp Jupiter, she becomes friends with Percy along with Frank.
 * Frank Zhang - A demigod son of Mars from Camp Jupiter, he becomes friends with Percy after the latter saved his life.
 * Nico di Angelo - a son of Hades and Hazel's half brother.
 * Ella - a highly knowledgeable harpy, who follows Percy, Hazel, and Frank on their quest until she was brought back to Camp Jupiter.

Villains

 * Stheno - one of the remaining Gorgons who chases Percy with Euryale at the start of the book.
 * Euryale - the other Gorgon who also chases Percy in The Son of Neptune.
 * Phineas - a blind seer and undead son of Neptune who wagered boldly with Percy.
 * Gaea - The earth goddess. She taunts Percy and Hazel throughout the book.
 * Alcyoneus - One of Gaea's children, the Giants. The evil counterpart of Pluto/Hades.
 * Polybotes - Another one of Gaea's children; the evil counterpart of Neptune/Poseidon.
 * Otrera- Ex Queen of the Amazons. Brought back to life by Gaea and tried to take over the Amazons.
 * Many other monsters.



Other Characters

 * Hera/Juno - the goddess of marriage and queen of the Olympians who brings Percy to the camp.Percy carried her across the river.
 * Ares/Mars - the god of war who issues the prophecy and quest to Alaska
 * Reyna - a daughter of Bellona and Praetor of the Twelfth Legion
 * Hylla - Queen of the Amazons and Reyna's older sister
 * Octavian - a legacy of Apollo and augur of Camp Jupiter
 * Lupa - the immortal wolf who serves as trainer and overseer of Camp Jupiter
 * Thanatos - the god of death and lieutenant of Pluto
 * Tyson - a cyclopean son of Poseidon and Percy Jackson's half-brother
 * Mrs. O'Leary - Percy's pet hellhound
 * Hyperborean Giants - They appeared in Alaska, where Percy and the gang seek to free Thanatos
 * Leo Valdez - the engineer of the Argo II, which Percy has frequent dreams about

Trivia

 * If all of Poseidon's Greek children are counted as Romans, there are four sons of Neptune in the book:
 * Percy Jackson, Arion (Hazel's horse), Phineas, and Tyson are children of Poseidon.
 * Also, Periclymenus, Shen Lun, and Frank are legacies of Poseidon, along with the rest of Frank's family.
 * Arion and Phineas are children of Poseidon in mythology, but in the book they are said to be children of Neptune.
 * The number of chapters from the character's point of view is different. In The Lost Hero, each of the main characters (Jason, Piper, Leo) gets two chapters before it shifts to another character while in The Son of Neptune the main characters (Percy, Hazel, Frank) gets four chapters each instead of two.
 * Percy went missing from Camp Half-Blood in mid-December and arrived at Camp Jupiter in late June. However when he meets Hera, he claims she stole 8 months of his life instead of 6 months.
 * This is the first book in the entire Camp Half-Blood series that does not feature Camp Half-Blood as a main setting.
 * The Son of Neptune has more prophecies mentioned than any other book:
 * The first Great Prophecy is mentioned by Ella.
 * The Second Great Prophecy is read partly by Percy and we learn the leader of the Fifth Cohort tried to control it decades ago, but failed.
 * Mars gave a prophecy to go to Alaska to free Thanatos, but this may not be a true prophecy.
 * Ella spoke of a prophecy about a son of Neptune drowning.
 * Ella also mentioned a prophecy about Wisdom's daughter.
 * The Amazons mention a prophecy about how the most courageous female warrior would someday master Arion and ride him to victory, ushering in a new era of prosperity for the Amazons.
 * The Prophecy of Seven was first heard by Camp Half-Blood after the Second Olympian War. However as shown in The Son of Neptune, Camp Jupiter has known about the prophecy for centuries.