Tigerpetal Press : Book Review: The Last Olympian

Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book 5: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

I liked it; it was good

Here is the final book in the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians series! (Rick Riordan has since released book 6 in the series, which takes place after at least two other collections, and books 7 and 8 are also on the way.)

Reread: May 4 – May 6, 2024

Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Middle-grade, Teen
Book contains: war, death, manipulation, sacrifice

Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca

The Final Battle—The Iliad Reimagined!

The final battle against Kronos and his army is about to begin. Typhon is on his way. Kronos has taken over Luke’s body, which is invincible, and Percy must decide whether to follow Nico’s proposition to level the playing field.

Though not my favourite in the series, I like the way the entire story was wrapped up at the end of this book. It still leaves room for the future stories, setting up for The Heroes of Olympus without making the story feel incomplete. I especially loved the important lessons the story teaches you along the way.

Percy continues to be a fun first-person narrator, injecting humour into these otherwise serious scenes of war. This story is a retelling of The Iliad, with Olympus as Troy, and there are a bunch of other parallels as well-which I didn’t realize until reading the Classic.

I listened along to the same YouTube channel as with book 4, which was pretty good. Check out Dare to Read if you’re interested.

Percy continues to be a wonderful main character, in the centre of pretty much all the action. The other characters shuffle in and out of frame (Annabeth at the forefront) as needed. Unfortunately, this is war, so many of them perish in the battles that take place.

The romantic tension is finally released at the end of this book (after four straight books of leading up to it), and even the rest of the characters agree that it’s been long enough. Friendships and familial bonds are also being tested throughout this book—Percy and Nico, Percy and his father, Nico and his father, and so on.

The writing style of this final book does not differ from the others in the series. It is casual and somewhat light-hearted, though the tone had darkened considerably as the characters have aged. It is a good balance of humour and the real life horrors of war.

I don’t think I’ve ever realized before just how great the pacing of this book is. When I read The Iliad, it felt like it took forever, but this book coasts through scene after scene, giving each the respect it deserves without lingering too long.

An amazing finale to this series that I 100% recommend reading! I’m excited to continue with reading and reviewing the next series: The Heroes of Olympus.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book 5: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

The Final Battle—The Iliad Reimagined!

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