OLYMPUS AT WAR

After a mostly triumphant adventure, Emily, Pegasus and company are back for more Olympian goings-on.

It’s almost happily-ever-after: Emily can walk again thanks to a golden brace, and she and Joel, along with Pegasus and Olympian thief Paelen, are safely ensconced in Nirad-free Olympus. But Emily’s father is still a prisoner of the Central Research Unit, the evil government agency that tortured Joel and Paelen. When the teens leave Olympus on a rescue mission, they find the Nirads are back—but the Nirads are actually the prisoners of the Gorgons, who are seriously bad news. This second volume has the same action-and-violence–packed, Greek mythology–flavored adventure. There’s a hint of romance and a bit too much weeping from Emily. The young-feeling writing style (simple sentence structures, lots of telling) sometimes sits awkwardly alongside the more mature content—violence, loss, self-awareness and adolescence. Still, the underlying messages (friendship and self-reliance win the day; the bad guys always lose) are appropriate for all ages (if a tad on the simplistic side). The next volume promises a love triangle and potentially more CRU, as the wicked G-men  remain at large at the end.

Weaker than the first volume, but still a good diversion for Rick Riordan fans in need of something to tide them over between books.