The final book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series provides an amazing climax to the final showdown between the defenders of Olympus and Cronos’ army of titans and monsters.

The Great Prophecy is coming to fruition, yet for Percy and his friends, much of it remains unclear.

A half-blood of the eldest gods

Shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep

The hero’s soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze

Is Percy the one on which the prophecy hinges. After all, he is a child of the Big Three gods who is turning sixteen just as Kronos and his army are sweeping across the country to attack Olympus. To make matters worse, Olympus is virtually disserted. Zeus and most of the other gods are struggling to slow down the approach of the titan Typhon. Poseidon is busy fighting his own war in the ocean depths, and Hades sulks in the underworld. It is up to Percy, the campers of Camp Half-Blood, and their allies to defend Manhattan and Olympus (located on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building).

This book does not disappoint! And it also leaves a few tidbits at the end that point the way at future books (what will become the Heroes of Olympus series).

Rick Riordan has gone on to write a number of mythology-based series (and supported other writers in their own mythological series), some better than others, but I believe Riordan’s best work involves the world of Percy Jackson and the characters of Greek and Roman myths.