Thoughts after reaching the "The End"

“The Last Olympian”, written by Rick Riordan as the conclusion to the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series is an excellent capstone for the story.

Some of my previous frustrations remain and some new ones have risen. The attitudes and lack of maturity of the gods still bothered me in this book, but they were consistent with the rest of the series. Several places throughout the book it becomes clear that certain groups were not going to be willing to work together and this was very frustrating, but it did serve the needs of the book.

I didn’t really like the way Percy’s character grew in this final book, as I prefer heroes who learn humility and the advantage/necessity of working with and depending on others. There were some elements of this as Percy progressed to become the hero, but he didn’t have to grow in this way as much as I would prefer. Also along these line, the “advantage” he takes upon himself to help in battles, while intriguing, is less interesting than if he could have facilitated the ending without the “advantage”.

Still, “The Last Olympian” is definitely worth reading. This final book had a consistent theme of sacrifice and collaboration which made it enjoyable to read. I felt that all of the characters grew and that the ending was believable. I thought the “blessing” that Clarisse received from her father was pretty cool. I liked how the story played out, and I felt the author’s choices of characters and themes in the ending were excellent.

“This Last Olympian” by Rick Riordan is definitely worth reading, and the resolution of the plot is enjoyable enough to make this entire easy-read series one that I’d say is worth the time spent.