After the last of the Norse mythology books, I honestly thought Riordan was losing his touch. I don’t know that much about Norse mythology so I had been excited to use the series to learn more, but in the end, the series, and especially the last book, felt very rushed to me. However, I was already two books into The Trials of Apollo series, and since I am nothing if not a completionist, I didn’t let that disappointment deter me from reading this one. Overall, I actually […]
Is Rick Riordan Finally Wearing Out?
I’ve been having some doubts about the Trials of Apollo series. It doesn’t have a terribly interesting heroic character or group, it seems to rely too much on the popularity of previous series’ characters and events, and the plot’s been dragging for two books so far. I was ready to give up after this one. I’m still not sure, so maybe that’s in favor of The Burning Maze? Apollo, Meg, and Grover are still searching for oracles to free and evil emperors to defeat. They’ve […]
Episode 1-19: Going Insane, Got No Brain
https://killingmykindle.com/2018/05/14/episode-1-19-going-insane-got-no-brain/ Wherein I review: 67. The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo #3) by Rick Riordan 68. Deranged: The Shocking True Store of America’s Most Fiendish Killer by Harold Schechter 69. Lies, Damned Lies, and History (St. Mary’s Chronicles #7) by Jodi Taylor 70. Oathbringer (Stormlight Archive #3) by Brandon Sanderson 71. Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh Lots of crazies up in this piece. Apollo finds his third Emperor. Harold Schechter scribbles about Albert Fish. Jodi Taylor soldiers on through the time travel. […]
Missing the Beatles and Norse Insults
First, I’ve gotta say that I’m glad I got the Barnes and Noble exclusive on this one; the Norse insult generator in the back is fun if a little limited. So overall, the third book in the Magnus Chase series is pretty standard Rick Riordan fun. There’s plenty of action, and some touching moments mixed in. Seriously, if you don’t at least internally have an ‘awww’ moment when Hearthstone gets his othala rune back, there is something wrong with you. That part of the story […]
This is the last book! I thought there were two more!
Well, if this is the last new Riordan book I ever read, it’s a great one to go out on. Despite my fatigue with Riordan’s shenanigans, I’ve actually really enjoyed this series. It was *just* fresh enough, with the Norse mythology and some all-time great characters of types he hadn’t written before to make it worth my time (Hearthstone and Alex Fierro are my children). I also appreciated that it was a trilogy, and not a stretched out quadrology (I was super surprised several weeks ago […]
Riordan, I’m probably going to quit you.
There was a distinct moment about a third of the way through this book when I thought, I don’t think I’m going to read any more of Rick Riordan’s books; I don’t think they are for me anymore. After this series is over, I’m out. This was a sad thought to have. For the most part, I have really enjoyed reading Riordan’s demigods and monsters saga(s) since I picked up the first Percy Jackson book in 2009. But I am starting to feel exhausted by them, […]