“One fatal prophecy. Seven brave demigods. A quest to find – and close – the Doors of Death. Annabeth felt as if someone had draped a cold washcloth across her neck. She heard that whispering laughter again, as if the presence had followed her from the ship. She looked up at the Argo II. Its massive bronze hull glittered in the sunlight. Part of her wanted to kidnap Percy right now, climb on board and get out of here while they still could. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. She couldn’t risk losing Percy again.”
What is the book about?
Finally, after months separated, Annabeth and Percy have been reunited and the seven demigods of the second Great Prophecy can begin their quest. The Greek half-bloods arrived in peace, ready to explain themselves to the Romans and keep a battle from starting, and for a while their plan seemed to work…until it didn’t. A battle began and the seven demigods had to leave before they had even had a chance to breathe. They headed off riding towards unknown waters and ancient cities. But they were not just on a mission to keep Gaia from awakening; Annabeth had a path of her own to follow: the Mark of Athena. The fatal prophecy claimed they had to find and close the Doors of Death or else monsters would keep returning from the dead and Gaia’s forces would never weaken. But everything, as usual, was much harder than they thought and it was as if no one wanted their quest to succeed. To top it all off, the demigods had problems of their own and questions they didn’t know how to answer. The risks are great and the chance of success low, if the half-bloods wish to succeed they must travel to Rome, and then Greece, before Gaia wakes and the world falls to Mother Earth…
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
Finishing The Son of Neptune had left me with many questions so I really wanted to start the third book, but mainly I was just excited to see Annabeth and Percy reunited and finally have the seven demigods come together for the final quest to defeat Gaia. As soon as I finished the second book I was desperate to get the next one and I was very anxious to get answers and see the heroes win. The blurb of the book was different to the first two, as it did not have a conversation between a god and a half-blood, but I could still sense it was part of the book. I was a bit disappointed at that because I always like to have a short summary that explains things a little and always leaves me wanting to start the book even more than before, but as soon as I opened the book I was just too happy to be annoyed as something as small as the blurb. I was anxious before starting the book, because I was worried that the book wouldn’t start at the point the previous one had left off as many other Percy Jackson book, and I really wanted to see the reunion, but I was very relieved to see that it started exactly where I wanted it to only from a different perspective (but I didn’t mind that). The start was very interesting, and I always love a bit of happiness, and there was already fighting after the first few chapters which was, as usual, just what I had expected for seven very unlucky demigods. I knew this book was going to be a good one from the very start and I was very intrigued to see what would happen.
Who was your favourite character and why?
My favourite character was very hard to choose because this was a book with the seven most powerful, brave and selfless demigods in existence, so it was difficult to choose just one out of them all. All of the heroes had unique qualities that made them stand out and they were all pretty much equals, but there were a couple characters that stood out to me. One of them was Annabeth, who got her own perspective put into the book so I could finally see inside the head of my favourite character from the Percy Jackson series. At first, she disappointed me a little because I could see that she was acting a little too much like a leader, even if she was one, and she was becoming more like Percy and Jason, who always thought of themselves as the best, even if they didn’t mean to. But after a while, I started to see the Annabeth that I had really liked and I understood why she had thought this way. Pride was her fatal flaw, and having some of the other demigods look to her for advice certainly hadn’t helped her, but even though she didn’t like it, she was still able to admit when she needed help which I think is one of the most admirable qualities of a hero. The other character that I liked was Piper because she was modest and to me that is a great quality to have. Even though I do think that Piper should give herself a little more recognition for her actions, I liked that it didn’t all go to her head and she didn’t think of herself as the most valuable member of the group. She usually saw herself as useless and didn’t always believe in herself, which is not a good thing, but as soon as one of her friends was in trouble she had so much confidence and she was always able to come up with a solution, which reminded me a lot of Annabeth, who was always saving Percy in the previous series. I liked all the characters but I think these girls were the best, it also helped that I was given their points of view because then I got to see their thoughts so everything was a lot more personal about them.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
This choice was obviously hard but once I looked at all the parts in the book, it was easy to see that my favourite part was the reunion because the book couldn’t get any happier than that. At the start, I was very happy and glad that the characters were all together again and the real quest could finally begin. I know that the happiness didn’t last very long but I was very glad that the characters at least got a little time to relax and believe that everything was going to be fine, because they all really deserved it. There were also a few interesting conversations at the beginning of the book, which gave me a few answers and explained things a bit more, but somehow they also gave me more questions which was a bit annoying but I also like having a reason to carry on reading other than watching the characters almost die about 100 times. I really enjoyed every part of the book but I don’t think that there was really any other part of the book where all the characters were happy and relaxed.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, the book was just perfect, even the ending, and I loved everything about it. One thing that I really liked about the book was the start because it gave me hope that after Gaia was finally defeated the characters would have a chance at a normal happy life and they would for once not have to battle a dozen monsters just to have a few hours of rest. Another thing that I liked was the perspectives in the book. Most books that I read with 3 or more perspectives always annoy me because I really want to get to one specific person and usually there is one person that I just do not want to hear from, but The Mark of Athena was different. The book was written from 4 points of view, but there wasn’t a single second where I didn’t like hearing from those 4 heroes. In my opinion, I think those were the best 4 demigods to hear from and I was especially glad to have Annabeth’s view added to the book because I had always wanted to her from her. The chapters left me in suspense multiple times but not too much that it started to get irritated, and I enjoyed every perspective almost equally. One last thing that I found extremely surprising but still really enjoyed was the ending. I know to some people who have read the book this will sound a bit weird but I really did like the ending of the book. I had not been expecting it to end like that because both of the previous books had ended quite happily but I was not at all disappointed at the rather shocking and a bit sad ending. The reason I liked it was because it kept things interesting and gave me even more interest in beginning the next book in the series because I couldn’t just pretend that they all lived happily ever after, and also liked not knowing what would come next because it means more surprise. I just can’t wait to start the fourth book and I hope it is just as amazing as this one.
Which book did you like better, the first, the second or the third?
All the book in the series have been amazing so far and I know that when I had only read the first book, The Lost Hero, and the second book, The Son of Neptune, I had not been able to pick between them, but adding the third book, The Mark of Athena, made it much easier to choose a favourite because I think that it is currently the best. The reason I had been unable to choose was because I loved the plot from one and the characters from the other, but The Mark of Athena combines these two things to make the perfect book. I had 2 of the perspectives I had from the first book, 1 from the second and a new one that I was really excited to hear from. I liked this because it balanced things out and having 2 boys and 2 girls was a lot better than having 2 boys and only 1 girl, because for some reason there always seems to be less girls even in the demigod world. Another reason why I liked The Mark of Athena more than the other books was because of the ending. I always thought that I knew how the book would end because that was how it always worked: get a quest, almost die many times but then complete the quest against all odds and head on to the next quest. The ending of the third book left me so stunned that I was barely able to process what just happened. Even though it was not happy I still liked it a lot more than the other books – which had been very predictable – and I was even more excited to start reading the next book. I really enjoyed all three books, but The Mark of Athena was just superior, and I cannot wait to read the next 2 books and reach the end of this incredible series.
Would you recommend this book?
I definitely recommend you read this book and I suggest you read the Percy Jackson series and the first 2 books in this series prior to reading The Mark of Athena or you will be one confused reading. I think it is best for readers 12 or older and I absolutely suggest reading it if you like action and know a little about Greek and Roman mythology, because things are about to get a little crazy.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
An unbelievably mix of Roman and Greek with twists and turns and more surprises around every corner.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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