“The Last Olympian,” by Rick Riordan

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 8
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 9
4. Characters 10
5. Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

This is the 5^th and final book in a beautifully realized series. Yes, the series is written for “Young Adults” (I volunteer to be a young adult!) but the quality of writing and especially characterization here is as good as any to be found in “adult” literature. The humor is the spice that makes the recipe; a spice that other more universally acclaimed fantasy series, such as “Lord of the Rings” or “The Chronicles of Narnia” could have used some of. Would those works have been the same with such humor added? No. They might not have been as “weighty,” but they wouldn’t have been as tedious, either. The humor, along with the pace of this series is perfect. Riordan is a writer of the highest level in my opinion (and his “adult” books are just as good). The bonus feature of these “Percy Jackson” novels is that the reader is made familiar, or at least much more familiar with the panoply of the Mythological beings, creatures, and stories covered in any course on Mythology. (Riordan has spent time as a Middle School teacher covering just such material!) The hero, Percy Jackson, is one of the most admirable heroes in Young Adult literature, and the rest of the cast is just as convincing. For my money, if a young reader had to choose between the Harry Potter books and this series, I would recommend this one!