Percy Jackson & The Olympians #3 - The Titan's Curse: Percy Jackson and the Olypians Book Three

Grover sends out an urgent call, for what - Percy, Annabeth and Thalia do not know. Situation changes as more monsters are involved and trying to save two half-bloods, brings them in contact with the Hunters. Only to have more people go missing and guess who needs to save them? Find out what monsters are a stirring in this book and what Percy must do to save himself and his friends. Enjoyed!

** spoiler alert ** This book was better than the second but still not as good as the first. I found the addition of Bessie to be adorable, as did my little cousin who was reading the book at almost the same pace as me. The use of old English in parts was not very well done, and some of the new characters detracted more than added to the story. They didn't seem very useful till the end and I think they could've been written better into the plot so that more emotion would've surrounded the loss of them.

The bickering between the Gods serves to create tension in the story, and once again the reading is not dumbed down for the younger reader.

All in all this is still a fun series to read, and I appreciate the way the story of the Titans is unraveling.

Love the series! Great read! Great for anyone of any age who is interested in adventure and cultural history/mythology

This is the third book in the popular series Percy Jackson & The Olympians. These tell the tale of a young lad who learns that being dyslexic and having A.D.D are not always hurdles in life but sometimes they can identify you as a demi-god. Our hero and main character goes by the name of Perseus Jackson or Percy for short. He happens to be the son of Poseidon and since Greek gods seem to really like humans so much so, they have to make it law that none of the big three may have children born to humans. So if Zeus, Poseidon or Hades does a naughty with a woman, the child born of this relationship is hunted by monsters that have the task of killing him. At the same time there is a place of refuge where these demi-gods go and train to protect themselves. It is called Camp Half Blood. It is basically a training facility to make warriors who will do the bidding of the Gods. Each book has Percy going on some trek or quest to stop Cronus and the Titans from regaining control of the world.

So most of the characters are back but some have much smaller roles in this story than in the first two books. Annabeth is back but is soon captured and although a major part of the story the character herself is not really a major player in this one. Grover is also there and just as loyal to Percy as ever. There are two new characters that play a major role, one is called Zoe Nightshade and the other goes by the name of Bianca di Angelo. Also back in this one is Thalia daughter of Zeus...Yes I know they just love the human women don't they. All the rest of the gang at Camp Half Blood are really not that present which means I missed the heated arguments with Percy and Clarisse. We do get to see a side of Mr.D. the camp director that was never shown in the other books. He still is an idiot but he seems to have a little more respect for Percy. He actually remembers his name once in this one. What is a bit special about this story is the fact that it takes place two years after the last so our young warriors had a chance to grow up a bit. I guess romance will be in the air for the next instalments.

So the main story in this one is about what happens after Grover Percy and Annabeth are saved from some new monster called Dr. Thorn by the Goddess Artemis and her guards known as The Hunters. Sadly though not before Thorns kidnaps Annabeth and escapes with her as his prisoner. The Hunters are a strange lot of women who devote themselves to Artemis and pledge allegiance to her and follow her on quests. They must swear to remain virgins and never be romantically involved with anyone. They are repaid by being immortal. So they have more than enough time to become very deadly and are stone cold killers. They may look like children but they are deadlier than the demi gods and don't feel bad about letting them know about it. So after Artemis also goes disappearing a quest is launch and Percy, Grover, Thalia and two Hunters, Zoe and Bianca go looking for the Goddess. Of course Percy is keener on finding Annabeth than Artemis but this he must keep to himself. So of course we get to meet new really bad guys, one who goes by the name of the General who has a chip on his shoulder and seems to be carrying the weight of the whole world on his shoulder. He really is Cronus second in command and he is smart and of course very evil. They are also other new monsters and mystical creatures from Greek mythology. So this one is also action packed cause a quest is always a bit of a roller-coaster ride.

As much as I liked the book there seem to be less humour than the others. Although I do understand that Percy is two years older, the author should have kept his wisecracking ways. There seems to be less of the quick response Percy was known for. Still a good read but I find it is a notch lower than the two first books. And they are unanswered questions that I hope will be brought up in the next of the series. I simply don't like thinking what happened to such and such at the end of a book. I must admit that I really liked the interactions between Percy and The.Hunters. From almost competitors to trusted friends...well a good quest will do that to people or demi- gods or whatever you may be. So all in all a very entertaining read just simply not as good as the predecessors but don't worry, they never are boring and you still often find yourself with a smile on your face. I f I could I would have given it a 3.75 rating