Riordan Wiki:Featured Articles/The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian is a novel by Rick Riordan, published on May 5, 2009. It is the fifth and final installment in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

This conclusion to the saga revolves around Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, as he leads his friends in a last stand to protect Mount Olympus and the rest of the world from Kronos and his army of monsters.

Percy and his friend Rachel Elizabeth Dare drive to a ridge overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. There, Rachel reveals that her father is trying to get her to go to a finishing school, Clarion Ladies Academy, that she does not want to go to. She asks if Percy has decided whether he would go with her and her family for vacation or not. Before he could answer, Blackjack, Percy's pegasus, lands on the hood of the car with Charles Beckendorf, a son of Hephaestus, on his back. Beckendorf announces that it is time for them to take out the Princess Andromeda.

Rachel kisses Percy and wishes him good luck. The two demigods then leave. In good humor, Beckendorf states that the kiss might be better left a secret to Annabeth Chase to which Percy agrees. The two see the ship and sneak onto it. They then set Greek fire explosives in the engine room. Percy leaves the room to distract the monsters on the ship, telling Beckendorf to meet him at the air pad.

Percy is captured and brought before Luke, who is now housing Kronos from the events of The Battle of the Labyrinth. The Titan duels Percy for the fun of it, and he mentions a spy in camp. A few minutes later, Beckendorf appears. It is revealed that all the other explosives are already in place and there would be no time to escape the ship once they explode. This is realized by the enemy forces a moment too late as Beckendorf had made it look like he was only about to plant the bombs when he got captured.

He silently convinces Percy to flee, but Percy refuses to leave him behind. Suddenly, a dracanae notices the trigger on Beckendorf’s arm. Beckendorf moves to detonate the bomb, leaving Percy no choice but to escape the ship. He jumps off and wills the currents to speed him away. The ship explodes, and Percy blacks out, thinking only of Beckendorf.

Percy dreams as he drifts unconscious through the ocean. His dream takes place on Mount Othrys during a conversation between Krios and Hyperion. The two Titans talk of their plans to destroy Mount Olympus. After they conclude their conversation, the scene shifts. Percy sees Nico di Angelo eavesdropping on the Titans as well. Nico then asks Percy how exactly he intends to defeat the Titans without the former’s plan before Percy comes to. Percy realizes that he is in Poseidon's kingdom and is being tended to by his half-brother, Tyson. (more...)

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