"The Chalice of the Gods"

The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan

Book Club Pick

Pages: 268 Genre: middle grade fantasy

Rating: 5 Stars

While I definitely fall outside of Riordan's target age range these days, I still think he knows how to write a good story, and Chalice of the Gods proves that.

This book follows Percy as he is getting back to his life after the events of the Heroes of Olympus series where he is met with his scariest challenge yet: college applications. He's determined to go to New Rome with his girlfriend, Annabeth, but unfortunately being the son of Poseidon includes some additional requirements. Percy has to get recommendation letters from three gods, and they have to come from brand new quests (so no, the fact that he has saved the world 3 or 4 times doesn't count). That's where Ganymede comes in, who needs Percy to find his stolen chalice before Zeus' next feast. Working with Annabeth and his best friend Grover, Percy has to, once again, hunt down a stolen object before the disaster occurs.

Fans of Percy who have been looking forward to his next adventure (or have just been looking for something to tide them over — uh, no pun intended — until the TV show premieres in December) will not be disappointed. This book brings us back to the original trio for the first time since The Lightning Thief, so I was probably going to love this book no matter what. However, I really feel like Riordan found a groove with this book that I haven't seen in a while. You can tell how at-home he is when writing from Percy's POV, and I'm sure being around the actors gave him a fresh perspective on this cast. Both of these facts made for a fantastic return to this type of story that made us fall in love with this world in the first place.

As an older reader, I did still genuinely enjoy this book. A lot of that can probably be credited to the consistent callbacks to past events, as well as the nostalgia-blast that would come from any first person-Percy, but I also think Percy's narrative voice lends itself well to writing for a variety of ages. For Riordan's books in the third person, I always felt the age gap more. I expect these books to feel a little more simple and immature, so that's not an issue. But sometimes it seems like the writing suffers in an effort to make the narration comfortable for children in a way that I don't feel with Percy. His unrelenting sarcasm and his 17-year-old brain make, what I believe to be, an enjoyable story for both children and those of us who have grown up.

More than anything, I just think these books are fun. Riordan is a funny writer and a funny person, and that really shines in this book. For fans of this series, this is a comforting and entertaining continuation for this story. Was it obvious that this book was kind of fan service? Sure, but that didn't make it bad. Plus, sometimes it's nice to go on a straightforward and easy quest with characters you love.

I try to convince everyone to read Riordan's books, and this is no exception. Now we just have to wait for the rest of this new trilogy, and the TV show, and the movies ...

Well, you can't say Riordan doesn't us content.