The Chalice of the Gods

Just few days ago I was telling a friend I had to rethink how I give out five stars for books I loved.

The moment I started this book, I was hit with a wave (pun intended?) of nostalgia. I remember being so entranced with the Percy Jackson books for so very long, and I was so sad when the sequel series came to an end.

It's lovely being back with the original trio off on an absurd quest for godly Letters of Recommendation to go to Rome University. Percabeth were, as usual, the cutest. I found my self genuinely laughing out loud at numerous points in the book. From the first page to the last, I had a huge smile on my face.

This is such a good book, and it's nice to see Rick Riordan hasn't lost his touch especially with Percy Jackson, Annabeth and Grover.

I like that Percy is on a quest that isn't about saving the world or civilization. 

As I'm reading this with the boy, and we only started reading Percy Jackson this year, it is clear to me that a lot of real world time has passed and feels like it is aimed at an older age group.  Still, the boy enjoyed it and there are fun characters to bring to life. 

3.5 estrellas

Es un golpe de nostalgia muy duro, mas que todo por el hecho de que hace mas de dos años no leia al autor (Aunque si es uno de mis autores favoritos) desde que termine la saga de los Heroes del Olimpo. Leer ahora estoy es muy raro pero tambien lindo, porque, cuando empece a leer la saga Percy era mas joven, era un niño pequeño y ahora tenemos la misma edad y es un poco raro (Como ya dije). Seguramente la mayor parte de la reseña va a ser pura nostalgia mia.
Primero; el tono infantil que vi que se mencionaba en otras reseñas, siento que si esta y es marcado pero al mismo tiempo lo veo como algo que esta mostrando la evolucion de Percy como personaje, donde la batalla a la que se enfrenta ahora no es algo que marca el fin del mundo, sino que es algo que marca su vida y su crecimiento, ya no tiene que enfrentarse a porblemas que van por encima de su edad, tiene que enfrentar problemas tipicos de esa edad, que son; dejar tu hogar para irte a la universidad, dejar amigos y entrar a la universidad. El libro ya deja eso claro su problemas es entrar a la universidad y por primera vez es un problema que es de su edad y no algo supermistico como derrotar a titanes. Me gusto como se toco este tema de Percy empezando a ser mas serio y en la narrativa se nota eso, como al inicio era supersarcastico y a medida que sucede el libro el deja un poco este tono y empieza a tener uno mas relajado, serio pero fiel a su sarcasmo.
Segundo;
La Vejez y la inmortalidad. La segunda hasta Percy nos dice “la inmortalidad es una maldición”, el menciona que aunque los dioses cambien fisicamente como tal ellos no tambien, siguen siendo los mismos. Es clave mencionar esto si hablamos de Percy como personaje porque algo que desde el inicio lo marca es el hecho de que el no quiere ser un inmortal, el abraza la mortalidad, abraza el hecho de crecer y envejecer, poder formar una familia junto a Annabeth, simplemente hermoso.

Para este punto creo que muchos me diran, si tiene tantas cosas buenas entonces porque le pones solo 3.5 estrellas, yo respondere con:
1.No me termino de engañar del todo
2.Toco bien los temas antes mencionados pero necesite mas profundizacion en otros que espero el autor lo haga para los proximos libros. Temas como la salud mental que fue algo que apenas se menciono pero espero si empiece a ser un tema como mas relevancia.

Moraleja de este libro (porque tiene una), es vive, con lo bueno y lo malo, porque de eso hace parte vivir.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Edit after reading:

I have been waiting for a new Percy Jackson as long as I can remember I feel, and this one immediately returns you to the shenanigans of this world and Percy's unique narrative voice and does not disappoint. My only issue is that there are no stakes here and it's really just a peek back into Percy's life. It was also novella level short so I want more. I NEED more.

The original trio is back together for a series of quests! All with the goal of getting Percy into College at New Rome University! This book perfectly captured the more lighthearted-ness of the original series, a feeling I loved getting to go back to. This book was so much fun, my only complaint is that it wasn't longer! I would have loved to spend more time with the original trio. I guess I'll have to wait till Wrath of The Triple Goddess comes out!

This book has no identity.

Percy ranting about brunch, pontificating about old age, cringing at Fergalicious, trying to go to college but still acting like a 12 year old...

Riordan clearly wanted to return to Percy but seemed unclear on who he actually is. Half the asides do not feel like something a person his age at his time would act like (speaking of: they mention Wandavision, so this is set in recent times, but Percy was 16 when the series ended in 2009? Hmm).

It feels like Riordan tried to age this series up with the fans but couldn't do it entirely because so much time has passed, so he had to stay in the YA lane, but didn't want to lose the middle grade charm, but wanted to appeal to the humor sensibilities of the people who grew up with the series (rants about boomers, anyone?) and so the result just feels tonally strange and overall very haphazard.

I will say, though - it made me laugh more than any of the others. So...mission accomplished, kinda sorta?

Eu aproveitei muito essa aventura. Adorei ver o trio do primeiro livro da série reunido de novo, não sabia que sentia tanta saudade do Percy com Annabeth e Grover, e principalmente da narração do Percy, agora com 17 anos, mas ainda mantendo as características que sempre teve em como conta a história, como seu humor e seu sarcasmo, e as vezes sua lerdeza. Ler esse livro também foi mágico porque tudo que fez Percy especial ainda está aqui. Os deuses menores que ficam entre os humanos, os deuses do Olimpo, cada um com seu jeito, a série continua muito mágica em como conta tudo isso.

Um detalhe importante foi que o Rick sabe que a maioria das pessoas leu os livros originais faz mto tempo, logo esse livro trata de relembrar muita coisa quando necessário para a trama, e o Percy sempre volta a pensar em coisas que aconteceram na série original ou em Heróis do Olimpo, relembrando alguns eventos. Minha única crítica fica ao fato desse livro ser o #6 dentro de PJO, sendo que ele se passa depois de Heróis do Olimpo... poderia ser uma trilogia nova ao invés de novos livros na série original. Mas tudo bem. Mal posso esperar pela próxima aventura em setembro.

“You know, sometimes it's the smallest waves that knock you off your feet. Tsunamis—everybody knows they're powerful. Tidal waves—big and impressive. But those small waves? They hold a lot of power. They prove what the ocean is capable of, even when no one is paying attention.”


3.5 bc i was uncomfortable w/ this one...

I haven't read any of his books in a long time and this one reminded me of his older writing style for the first five books. Perhaps it's only because I've gotten older since I last read them. Either way, it was a fun read and it was nice reading about the original trio on a new adventure. I'm glad he's writing more stories about them.

Going into it, I was prepared for this book to be just okay. I thought that it just couldn't live up to the originals and would feel cheap, but I was wrong. Not everything can be about the fate of the entire world with an ancient evil being rising from the depths, and I thought the author did a great job of getting me invested in the plot without it not making sense in the PJO universe.

Percy is so likeable as a character and I'm a sucker for the wholesome moments in this book: with his family, with Grover and Annabeth.

Age range: 10+
If you can read, there shouldn't be any concerns about this.

Look, I know I'm the outlier here. I love the PJO series and I will always hold it near and dear to my heart, but this ... was not enjoyable for me. I don't know if it was the plot I didn't like (this 230 book took me two months to finish) or the numerous pop culture references/Gen Z slang, but something about it rubbed me the wrong way!

Then I was trying to figure out the timeline and had to do some research. Rick said this:

“Percy exists “now,” as you are reading the books, and that's when his story is happening.”

Which I guess is why he thought putting in references to TikTok was a good idea?? But I do not recall the original series having so many time period-specific references. (Why does Percy know what TikTok is if he isn't supposed to use a cell phone!!!)

Overall, it was fine, but the things mentioned above REALLY irked me. Nostalgia wasn't enough to make this anything more than an average read for me.