The Battle of the Labyrinth

Title: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Author: Rick Riordan; Read by Jesse Bernstein

Publisher: Listening Library

Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Bk 4

ISBN: 9780739364765

Length: 9 discs ; 10 hours; 33 minutes

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

It was the next in the series I've been listening to.

Comments:

I don't know that I have anything new to say about this one that I haven't said about the previous 3 in the series (The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan's Curse). 

Percy and friends set out on a quest (or a couple quests) to:
1. Find Daedalus and stop the bad guys from finding the entrance of the Labyrinth that leads to the camp.
2. Find Pan, the god of the Wild.
3. Ultimately, to stop the rising up and destruction of Olympus.

Some ongoing themes:

Bravery
Family
Good vs. Evil
Immortality vs. Mortality
Truth vs. Deception
Save the environment/nature

I'm sure I missed some, but these are some of the more obvious smack you in the face ones.

I'll be beginning the 5th and last in this series, The Last Olympian, soon.  The spin-off series,  Heroes of Olympus, is supposed to be even better, so I'm looking forward to starting that once this one is finished.

The Titan's Curse

Title: The Titan's Curse

Author: Rick Riordan; Read by Jesse Bernstein

Publisher: Listening Library

Series: Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Bk 3

ISBN: 9780739350331

Length: 7 discs; 8 hours, 48 minutes

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book: I'm really enjoying this series, and this was next in line.

Comments:

I'm not sure what took me so long to finish this one.  Or at least I know why I started slow - I wasn't listening to it in the car and opportunity outside of the car dropped drastically.  (Okay, okay, so I could have listened more if I'd been walking like I should have.)

This time 'round, Percy's friend Annabeth has disappeared.  Percy is determined to find her, even if it means sneaking along on the quest that has been forbidden to him.  There was more mythology, more tension in the overall story, and more development in Percy's relationship with his fantastical side of the family.

I can't say much more.  I simply enjoyed this book and look forward to enjoying more, starting with The Battle of the Labyrinth.

The Sea of Monsters

Title: The Sea of Monsters

Author: Rick Riordan; Read by Jesse Bernstein aka Jesse Berns

Publisher: Listening Library

Series: Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Bk 2

ISBN: 0739331191

Length: 7 discs ; 7 hours, 56 minutes

Obtained: Library copy

Comments:

I was eager to read this after reading the first book in the series, The Lightning Thief.  I couldn't find it when I needed it, though, so I started another audio.  Once I relocated this copy I decided it was worth having two audios going (something I never do), just so I could start this.

Percy has made it through an entire school year without problems - almost.  Because the last day of school brings with it monsters, and drama, and of course a sudden rush to get to "summer camp."  Things are changing around camp.  The previous activities director has been fired and Tantalus (do you remember his story?  It played at the edges of my mind until it was described in the book.) has taken his place.  More than that though, the camp (and all the campers in it) is in danger.  And if Percy's dreams are correct, so is his friend Grover.  But wait, there's more.  Percy has just discovered he has family he never knew about and it's even stranger (if you can say that) than the whole Olympian bit.

Like the first book, I enjoyed this.  I like rediscovering some mythological stories I've forgotten and learning new ones.  I find it easy to root for Percy and his friends as they go on their adventures.  And I appreciate the edginess that comes with waiting to see how the bad guys will be beaten.

I look forward to listening to The Titan's Curse.

The Lightning Thief

Title: The Lightning Thief

Author: Rick Riordan; Read by Jesse Bernstein

Publisher: Listening Library

Series: Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Bk 1

ISBN: 9780307245304

Length: 8 discs; 10 hours, 12 minutes

Obtained: Library copy

Comments:

I knew I had audiobooks on the way but I needed one right away.  So I did what I tend to do ... stopped by the children's audiobooks.  Saw this one, which I've meant to read (in print, actually).  And decided, why not?

My first impression was that the narrator sounded young, which is good since the character is 12 years old.  After that I was enveloped in a world where a misfit boy finds that things are much different than he had ever imagined, that the strange actually explains a lot, and that, hey maybe the things he's learning in class really are important to his real life.

Now, I took a mythology class ages ago, but forgotten so very much of what I learned.  As I read this I was jumble little I remembered from that class mixed with odds and ends seen/read in Wishbone the kid's television show, the Disney Hercules movie, Hercules: The Legendary Journey television show, Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series, and other miscellaneous hodgepodge of media relating to Greek mythology.  In other words, I didn't remember much (though I did think the identity of Percy's father as well as some of the bad dudes he encounters struck me as rather obvious).

Anyway, I'm actually pretty eager to listen to the next book in the series, The Sea of Monsters.  And after I've gotten further into the series I might actually brave the movie.