The End of Percy Jackson

This week, I finally got my hands on "The Tower of Nero" by Rick Riordan. This book brought to conclusion the "Trials of Apollo" series and also the story of Percy Jackson in general. I read it in a couple of days, and I even took a break from school work a whole day just to complete it. Let me tell you... this book wrecked me. 

Before we go into how it emotionally destroyed me, let me give you a quick introduction to it. As I previously stated, "The Tower of Nero" is the last of a series, which is the third in the Percy Jackson story. In the "Trials of Apollo" the mentioned god is turned into a human by his father Zeus, as a punishment for something he did in the previous series. Now Apollo has taken the form of a mortal, with no powers or immortality, and he is made the slave of a little daughter of Demeter called Meg (who is the cutest thing to ever grace a book). 

Credits to Cookie Creation from Tumblr. 

Not only is Apollo a mortal slave, but he must also stop Python, a giant snake of ancient times who has taken control over Apollo's oracles, and with that it could control the very future itself. Not only that, but three ancient, evil Roman emperors are back: Nero, Caligula and and Commodus. They all have one intention: rule over all and kill Apollo. The latter must then rely on demigods, the ones he used for his own benefit in the past, to survive and get his godhood back. Apollo must also learn to be more human, feel compassion and empathy for once in his life, strive without the help of his godly family, and come face to face with the harm he has done as a divinity. 

Nero is a disgusting prick. 

The first time Apollo slayed Python. 

Now, as for "The Tower of Nero" itself, here's a quick review divided between the things I liked and the things I didn't. 

Things I liked: 

First of all, I really liked the writing style. I believe Rick Riordan is a masterful storyteller, and he knows exactly how to make you feel excitement, sadness, joy and desperation all in a couple of pages. The story flowed naturally, and there wasn't a single moment where the story lost its fast pace. The moments of personal reflection and internal monologues were not forced, the action sequences were amazing and so well written, and the emotional moments were (although short and simple) sad enough to shed a tear or two. 

These are the rest of the books in the series. 

Second, the characters were EVERYTHING! They are truly the heart and soul of this book and the rest of the series. Apollo has some major character growth in this series, but this book really cemented his development and the irrevocable truth that Riordan is an expert at character development. You can see how Apollo came from being a selfish, narcissistic and shallow god to someone with real feelings; he became considerate with others, he showed remorse for his mistakes, and he learned how to stay away from his toxic family. He learned to put some healthy boundaries between him and many relatives, which was great to read. 

Apollo really grew as a person. 
And he's smoking hot, which has nothing to do 
with him being the sun god. 

There was also Meg, the daughter of Demeter I previously mentioned. She was raised by the emperor Nero, who was very abusive towards her. During the series, we have Meg struggling with her feelings for Nero, and with her loyalty towards him. There are many signs of PTSD in her, and also the guilt often inflicted in victims by their abusers. In the last book we finally see Meg coming into her own, separating herself from Nero forever and realizing one important truth: it's never the victim's fault. 

Meg was a whole mood during these books.

This character aspect of the book brings me to the third thing I liked, which was the closure moments. You can see how much Riordan is going to miss his literary children, as he carefully places characters from the past in this last novel. Most major characters made a comeback one way or another, and it felt very natural for me; it didn't come off as forced. The book ends giving a proper ending to everyone, with most of the characters ending in a very good place with a hopeful future. Some wounds will never heal for them, such as losing one significant demigod (I won't spoil who it is), and the characters address this. They will never stop mourning their friend, but the best way to honor a loved one's memory is by not giving up, and by being the hero your friend always believed you were. 

Now, the things I didn't like: 

The book was filled with lots of humor, which is the case with all of Riordan's books. And that humor is typically great, but I feel like it was overdone in this series, and "The Tower of Nero" was no exception. There were some moments where I believe humor was not to be used, or at least not used so much; some moments required more seriousness in my opinion. For example, during the final battle against Nero, the latter punches a wrong button (long story) and instead of destroying everyone, some television screens come down from the ceiling. The characters have to fight each other while listening to Fox news. I really didn't like this, because I feel that it took away all the seriousness and danger this moment represented. 

Apollo as a human. He was known as 
Lester. 

Another thing I also didn't like was the final scene with Meg. Yes, it brought closure, but I was expecting more. The scene was over too quickly for me, and it didn't leave me the bittersweet feeling I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad. After all, Meg ends in a very good place. But still, I was definitely expecting more. 

Credits to the artist!

The true heartbreaking thing of it all for me was realizing that this is the end. There will be no more books in the Percy Jackson world. This was the last year I waited for a new installment in the story, and the last time I will be reading about Percy and his friends. And of course I can go back and reread the books whenever I want, and revisit this world time after time. But it will never be the same. 

I cried a lot while reading "The Tower of Nero", mostly during the final scenes, the ones that brought closure to the characters. It felt as if I was saying goodbye to my friends, to people I deeply love. I started reading these books in my senior year of high school; I was 16 when I started "The Lightning Thief", and it shook me to the core. The Percy Jackson world was with me throughout college, and during my first years of adulthood. I became a teacher and the books were still coming out, including the two companion series- "The Kane Chronicles" based on Egyptian mythology, and "Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard" based on Norse mythology. 

I've been with this story for basically ten years already. Ten years is a lot of time! I've grown with these books, and I've learned so many things from them. They made me feel welcome and accepted, I laughed and cried with them, I came out of the closet thanks to them, and they gave me a safe home when everything around me was falling to pieces. No matter how long I live, where I go, what other books I might read: Percy Jackson will always stay with me.   

And now... what? What does the future hold? "The Tower of Nero" ended in such a way that it's open for the story to continue, but I'm not sure Rick Riordan will go back to it. Maybe he will focus on other stories, other mythologies, new characters. But I don't believe he will return to Percy Jackson. Whatever comes now from him, I'll be here for it. Meanwhile, I'll learn to go on. I may being overdramatic, but it really feels as if I lost a friend. I'll continue reading other books, falling in love with new others, but none of them will be like Percy. 

Credits to Nowhere Little Girl from Tumblr. 

An imaginary toast for: 

Percy- son of Poseidon 

Annabeth- daughter of Athena

Grover- a satyr 

Clarisse- daughter of Ares

Thalia- daughter of Zeus 

Piper and Silena- daughters of Aphrodite 

Nico- son of Hades 

Frank- son of Mars 

Leo and Beckendorf- sons of Hephaestus 

Meg- daughter of Demeter 

Hazel- daughter of Pluto 

Will- son of Apollo 

Reyna- Puerto Rican daughter of Bellona 

Connor and Travis- sons of Hermes

Rachel- oracle of Apollo 

Lou Ellen- daughter of Hecate 

Calypso- a former minor goddess

and Jason- son of Jupiter 

Thank you guys, for being my friends and family when I felt more alone than ever. 

P.S. I need some books on Asian and Celtic mythologies, please.