The Hidden Oracle Series: Trials of Apollo #1 on May 3rd, 2016
Pages: 384
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How do you punish an immortal? By making him human. After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favor. But Apollo has many enemies—gods, monsters, and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go... an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.
Review
Rick Riordan returns to Camp Halfblood with The Hidden Oracle, the first book of The Trials of Apollo. Cursed by Zeus for his actions that contributed to the war with Gaea, the god Apollo has become a 16-year-old, acne-ridden, out-of-shape, mortal boy. But becoming human just might be the salvation of Apollo.
I thought a book narrated by the egotistical (not to mention narcissistic) Apollo would be annoying, but it’s actually quirkily amusing, with just a touch of “it’s about time he got a comeupance.” Apollo starts out just as self-centered as you would expect from his appearances in the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series. But the character development is impressive and surprising. By letting us into Apollo’s head, Riordan slowly uncovers Apollo’s regrets, hidden for years behind his massive self-importance. Peel some of that egotism away, and you begin to get a more likeable character—certainly one I could sympathize with. More than that, being human allows, or perhaps forces, Apollo to grow a conscience, develop some compassion, confront his failures, admit his faults, and begin to take responsibility for his past and present deeds. I was even kind of moved by his grief over… (never mind, I guess I should let you find out for yourself.) Somehow Riordan manages all this without losing the things that make Apollo, well, Apollo.
There’s plenty of other stuff to keep Riordan fans happy, too. Will Solace and Nico di Angelo (or as shippers call them, Solangelo) are important secondary characters—and hurray for Nico finally getting a little happiness! Percy Jackson makes an appearance. Other familiar names and faces pop up here and there, either as characters or at least mentioned. I won’t say more because spoilers, but fans of the two previous series will definitely want to read this one.
Of course, Riordan is practically a demi-god himself when it comes to storytelling. He uses foreshadowing to build tension, but still manages to surprise you each time something is revealed. He’s a master of the unexpected twist, and his pacing is perfect for a MG/YA audience. His books read more like oral storytelling than literary prose. Apollo’s narrative voice is different from Percy’s or Magnus’s, but Riordan’s matter-of-fact, straightforward delivery is still evident.
And then there’s the humor. The Hidden Oracle contains the usual terrific one-liners and funny cultural references, though perhaps not quite as many as in the two previous series:
- “His chin was so weak, I was tempted to create a GoFundMe campaign to buy him a better jaw.”
- “They were presently on hold with Comcast customer service and might not emerge for hours, if indeed they survived the ordeal at all.”
Plus, every chapter starts with a haiku. A conspicuously bad one. And there’s at least one limerick involved in the story somewhere. On a more personal note, I had to grin when I discovered that Apollo once dallied with a music theory professor at Oberlin, my alma mater. At least he’s got good taste! (Apollo would probably say that he invented good taste, but that’s Apollo for you.
If I had to sum the book up in three words, they would be exciting, fun, and fast-paced. I will say, though, that The Hidden Oracle is not the place to start if you’ve never read Rick Riordan before. Go read the Percy Jackson books, and then the Heroes of Olympus series. Then you can start on this series.
Boy, are you going to have fun!
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
The two lines you mentioned made me smile. This sounds fantastic. I’ve yet to read Rick Riordan at all yet but I do have the best of intentions. I’m planning on starting with Percy Jackson and knowing that there are connected books that you really enjoyed makes me even more interested in starting this series!
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Lark_Bookwyrm
Oh, Katherine, you are in for a treat! If you like audiobooks, the narrator for the Percy Jackson series (the first 5 books) is terrific. I didn’t listen to the Heroes of Olympus series or the first Magnus Chase book, so I don’t know about those. But I’ve enjoyed reading everything he has written so far.
Oh BTW, the audio for the Kane Chronicles was pretty good, too, although “Sadie” tends to overdramatize… but that fits her character. That trilogy isn’t really “connected” except by a trio of crossover short stories, but it’s a fascinating look at Egyptian mythology.
Got My Book
Great alliteration in the title. I’ve been trying that in my New Releases post. I don’t like what I ended up with this week, but I needed to post it and just had to choose something. I think yours works great.
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Lark_Bookwyrm
I can’t take credit for the title this time; I had one that was OK (“The God Who Fell to Earth”), by my daughter suggested “Haiku and Havoc” and I liked it better, so I used hers. 🙂 Catchy titles are hard!
Quinn @ Quinn's Book Nook
I cannot wait to read this one. I started listening to the audiobook, but hated the narrator. So I will read this print version. I’m glad you liked this.
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Lark_Bookwyrm
I did; it was fun. I didn’t love it as much as the Percy and Heroes series, but I enjoyed it.
Tiffany @ I Was Angelized_1st
Great review! I totally agree with you. I was worried Apollo’s POV would be annoying, but he was hilarious! I loved watching him bungle the easiest stuff.
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Lark_Bookwyrm
Hilarious and, as the book went on, oddly endearing. 🙂
Stormi
I was hoping it wasn’t a spin off but I was afraid it was…lol. I recieved this book from the publisher (which was a surprise) and want to read it but I have only read two Percy’s and none of the Heroes though I have a couple of those books, so I guess I need to get in a Rick Riordan mood and catch up…lol
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Lark_Bookwyrm
Yes, there are some spoilers for PJ and Heroes in The Trials of Apollo, so I do recommend reading the books in order in this case.
Ilene
I finished listening to this last week during a very long car drive to Atlantic City. T too was skeptical of how the narration by Apollo would go but found myself really enjoying it. Apollo was as annoying as ever but Riordan managed to make him at turns humble and even sympathetic. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
Lark_Bookwyrm
So am I! How is the narrator–do the voice and presentation work well?
Ilene
The voice works very well. The narrator truly brings Apollo to life. Highly recommend listening to it. I’ve listened to all the Percy Jackson, Lost Heroes and Kane Chronicles on audio.
Lark_Bookwyrm
That’s good to know, thank you! Our daughter Robin has visual issues and prefers audiobooks for fun. I listened to the Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles books, but read the Heroes of Olympus series and the first Magnus Chase in print… and The Hidden Oracle, obviously. 🙂
Ilene
Forgot about Magnus. Listened to that one too.
Lark_Bookwyrm
I’m excited for that series too; I really liked the first one.