Battle of the Labyrinth

Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Supernatural / Young Adult
Pages: 361
Published: 2008
Series: 4th book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
Series Order:

1. The Lightning Thief (2005)
2. Sea of Monsters (2006)
3. The Titan's Curse (2007)
4. Battle of the Labyrinth (2008)
5. The Last Olympian (2009)

First Line: "The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was blow up another school."

Synopsis: Percy Jackson is starting yet another new school in NYC and unexpectedly meets up with a mysterious mortal acquaintance ... as well as some demonic cheerleaders. Due to the destruction that typically follows Percy at a new school, he has to hightail it out of the school and back to the safety of Camp Halfblood.

When he arrives he learns that the evil Titan lord Kronos is getting stronger. Kronos' army is trying to find a way into Camp Halfblood so that they can destroy the demi-gods and ultimately destroy the Olympic gods. The army has found a way ... through an ancient underground labyrinth. The Camp sends a group of demi-gods on a quest through the dangerous labyrinth to see if they can stop Kronos before he destroys the only safe place the demigods know on earth.


My Thoughts:
Hold on to your seats. This is another fast-paced read that's filled with action, great humour and even a wee bit of teenage romance (which for a big ol' romantic sap like moi is great). I read this book in just over one day and Riordan never ceases to amaze me at how he can keep the story going and make it virtually impossible to put the book down.

Like the previous books the storyline revolves around Percy and his friends Annabeth and Grover and Percy's half-brother, Tyson with a few new characters thrown in for good measure and interest. Lots of new villians in this book too.

There was a nice lesson in this book that was learned by Grover about how humans need to start taking care of the earth. I also love that Riordan seems to have a really good take on what it's like to be a teenage boy. A fair bit of angst, cluelessness (when it comes to girls anyway) and camaraderie. There's a great cliffhanger at the end which makes the reader want to jump into the final installment of the series. Once again, I highly recommend this series to people 8 years and up. Don't let the 'young adult' label fool you. These are a great read.


My Rating: 4/5 stars