Wow. This was an amazing book and totally worth the wait. Rick Riordan did it again.He had a big job ahead of him. The Roman camp (Camp Jupiter) was different from Camp Half-Blood, which I'm happy about. For some reason, I thought it would be an exact replica of Camp Half-Blood, but it wasn't. I personally was a little slow to warm to the Roman camp but by the time Percy, Frank, and Hazel left on their quest, I was pretty much accepting the Romans.
I have a feeling Octavian is going to be mega dangerous in these later books. I was wondering how they'd work out the whole prophecy part, seeing as Romans don't have an Oracle, so I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with his role. I think how they're receiving their prophecies is very true to the Roman character portrayed in this book.
Frank was a surprising character, as was Hazel. And Leo??? What! Okay, I won't say it but there's definately a surprise waiting for us when he and Hazel meet up and have a real discussion. That was unexpected. Frank's ability and role were also somewhat unexpected but I must say, his Olympian parent was somewhat predictable. I was a little sad that it didn't turn out to be what he wanted. I have to say, I like Ares's Roman form (Mars) much better than his Greek.
Nico's role was definately surprising. I didn't expect him to be in the book so early. But that was amazing. I am glad that Percy's memories returned differently than Jason's. After having read the book, I like Percy way more (he's a lot tougher) than I did before but I still like Jason better. Sorry, Percy die-hards.
All in all, I think you've probably already gathered that The Son of Neptune was amazing and Rick Riordan is one of the best authors ever. I'll definately read this book again next year before The Mark of Athena is released. Oh yeah, and I've accepted Annabeth's role in the series but I'm still disappointed she has such a large one. But Riordan will do well with it.
