Rick Riordan’s mythological universe of young adult novels beings its newest expansion in The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle, another series set in the central realm of Greek and Roman mythology. The storyline picks up where The Blood of Olympus left off. The Greek god Apollo has been shunned from Olympus by his father Zeus, and he finds himself trapped in the body of a dorky teenage boy, stripped of his godly powers and immortality. Banding together with demigods new and old, Apollo travels to Camp Half-Blood to seek a path to redemption.
As someone who has been reading Rick Riordan’s stories and has read Percy Jackson and The Heroes of Olympus, I feel as if I had a good idea about what to expect from The Trials of Apollo. The book definitely reads like a Rick Riordan novel; its quirky young adult humor is consistent with its predecessors. There are also many familiar faces making appearances within the book.
However, The Trials of Apollo is a different series because of the perspective of its protagonist. Apollo is unique among Riordan’s leads because his first-person perspective is able to offer more insight into the mythology than some previous heroes, and his struggle is unique because, for much of The Hidden Oracle, Apollo is more interested in helping himself than helping those around him.
I believe that The Hidden Oracle is an entertaining and worthy addition to Riordan’s pantheon of novels. I’m excited about the premise of the series, and I’ll definitely be reading subsequent books (I understand the next two are out already). Make sure to read this book if you want to be further entertained by Riordan’s lighthearted work.
The Midknight Watch 