Magnus’s mother passed away two years ago and since then he has been living on the streets. He has family but his mother had always warned him about his uncle who seems to be on the evil side. When he finds that his uncle is looking for him he knows that it isn’t a good thing and it causes his death…
I chose to read this book because I had not before read a Rick Riordan book and I just wanted to have a glimpse of his books. Before reading this book I had already seen the Percy Jackson films, so I knew the background of some of the characters.
Reading the first page I was immediately transported into the book. One of my favourite things about this book was how humorous it was; Riordan added a funny touch to the book, and as well as making the book funny, it made it more realistic and what a 16 year old would say.
The book was full of action and it had some other themes, such as family, which aren’t mentioned a lot in today’s YA fiction. When the theme of family was included it made me think a lot about the moral of the book and how your friends could be your family.
Although at some points I felt the book was quite slow and it didn’t fit the YA genre; due to the writing style I felt as though the book was more for children that young adults. To make it more young adult more themes could be introduced and Riordan could write more in the way a teenager would think; by adding numerous amounts of thoughts and feelings that contradict each other.
Overall I did enjoy this book and it was a light read after reading all those heavy fantasies and classics. The book also made me happy because in a way it’s a light-hearted read, but at some points in the book there is a dark element to create more suspense. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t read any of the Percy Jackson books beforehand, as you will still understand the plot like I did. I didn’t have any trouble understanding the plot and so I recommend this book to people who like fantasy.
- Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
