Thoughts after reaching the "The End"

I enjoyed Rick Riordan’s third book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, “The Titan’s Curse”, but it was riddled with some dissatisfying elements. A favorite character is mostly absent in this book. A death of a major character is assumed and is integral to the plot of the series, but the death is not actually confirmed until the next book (and even then the revelation lacks the drama and power that the suspense has built). Annabeth’s stories of her family seem to be shown to be untrue, but no clear reason for the fabrications is ever presented. Also, it becomes clear that there are two storyline threads in this book; One with pieces that will need to be addressed before the end of the book and one with pieces that aren’t intended to be addressed until a “different” book (an unfortunate but common occurrence in stories that are intended to span several volumes). Elements such as these detract from what makes the novel good, but the novel maintains interest and is enjoyable despite these frustrating additions.

All negative opinions aside, “The Titan’s Curse” was a pleasant, easy read that moved the series forward nicely. Riordan does a good job of introducing new elements of mythology and intertwining them with the existing story, and the result is another exciting adventure enriched with elements from Greek mythology.