The Titan's Curse
By Rick Riordan
Rating: 4 1/4 stars
Reviewed by Noelle
Riordan continues his series of Percy Jackson and the Olympians with the third installment. Readers will want to try The Lightning Thief (see review, Oct. 2006) and Sea of Monsters (see review, Oct. 2006)before tackling this story. The action starts right away as Percy, and his friends Annabeth and Thalia, arrive at a private school after Grover the satyr lets them know that two half-blood siblings are in attendance. Camp Half-Blood is doing its best to find and bring back any children sired by the gods to build an army to fight against the traitor Luke and his army of monsters that is set to resurrect Kronos and the Titans. The two children are rescued with the unexpected help of Artemis and the Hunt--her team of girls pledged to her for immortality. Annabeth falls off the cliff with the manticore they were fighting and is missing and feared dead. Artemis heads off alone to hunt a particular monster and orders her lieutenant, Zoe Nightshade, to take the group back to Camp Half-Blood. But, as in past books, the Oracle indicates a quest is required. Zoe, Bianca (the rescued girl), Thalia, Grover, and a stowaway Percy all head out to California to try and fulfill the quest and stall the coming war. And rescue Annabeth too, if they can find her. Will there be adventure, chases and escapes along the way? Of course! This chapter in the series is just as strong as the others, and we are promised more installments as it becomes clear that Percy is the hero named in the prophecy that foretells of the fall of Olympus. Readers will happily be swept along in the Greek mythology and the action and wait breathlessly for book four, The Battle in the Labyrinth, due out in May 2008. Thumbs up!