Tigerpetal Press : Book Review: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

I liked it; it was good

It’s been a while since I reviewed book 3, and I ended up doing book 6 in the meantime, but here are my thoughts about book 4!

Reread: April 27 – April 29, 2024

Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Middle-grade, Teen
Book contains: madness, manipulation, natural disaster, death, war, monsters

Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca

The Book I Remember the Least of the Series

Camp Half-Blood is emptier than ever, and Luke’s army is preparing to invade via the Labyrinth, the mythical maze invented by Daedalus. A quest is issued to stop Luke before he obtains a method to navigate the maze, which Annabeth finally gets to lead.

This is perhaps the book in this series that I’ve read the fewest number of times, and definitely the one I remember the least, though I still love it every time I read it. During this readthrough, I discovered new details in this book that I’ve always missed before, which was amazing!

Percy narrates with his usual humour and flare, which makes this a great choice for younger readers who need that fun comedy element to balance out the bad things that are happening. It’s told in past tense, which lowers the sense of immediacy a bit, but you still never know if Percy is going to survive all his antics.

I found a lovely channel on Youtube to follow along with as I read this book. Check them out; they were very good. They didn’t stumble over their words at all, though a few words were incorrect, and there was one sentence that was missed entirely.

Percy, of course, is the main character of this novel, followed closely by Annabeth, Grover, Tyson, (all on the quest with him) and Rachel Elizabeth Dare—the mortal he met at the Hoover Dam in book 3. Nico di Angelo also makes an appearance in a side-plot following him running away from camp in the previous book.

There is a bit of romantic tension in this book especially, and Percy has no idea what’s going on. It makes for some pretty comedic scenes. I love the brotherly relationship between Percy and Tyson; they’ve grown to such an amazing spot. And Percy and Grover’s friendship is as strong as ever; they support each other no matter what.

As previously mentioned, this book is for children, so a lot of the writing is simplistic and casual. I love reading and rereading it since I grew up with this story and it’s nostalgic, but it may not be enjoyable for an adult picking up this book for the first time unless casual humour is what they want. There are many very American references that I love because of how Riordan meshes the modern world with the world of Greek mythology. He takes the myths and reimagines them for kids.

The pacing was great. Each chapter is made of somewhat short scenes, which makes sure a younger reader’s attention span doesn’t drift. There was the main plot and several subplots but not too many that it all felt shoved in. I liked how Riordan manages to tell a few different stories while still making it fun and exciting when the battles come up.

Definitely continue this series!

Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

The Book I Remember the Least of the Series

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