A penultimate novel in a series is almost always an
interesting read. It’s at this point in
a series where the author prepares to finish the series, but must also not fall
into the trap of making the book completely setup. The Battle of the Labyrinth is the
fourth installment in Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Rick Riordan
deserves praise for writing a book that straddles the line between setup and
its own story brilliantly. The formula
for these books is well established at this point, but it is The Battle of
the Labyrinth that experiments with this about halfway through. Riordan decides to shoot Percy out of a
volcano and it is at this point where instead of the standard searching for a
quest goal while encountering monsters every so often Riordan opts for a focused
goal of the characters trying their best to stop Kronos’ ascension and invasion
of Camp Half-Blood. One of those goals
is successful, the other is not. The end
of The Battle of the Labyrinth has an extreme bittersweet element as there
is time spent on the fallout of the titular battle where people die and Kronos is
essentially free to enact his own plans.
The great prophecy in the background of the entire series is going to be
the subject of the final novel in the series and it’s coming to
completion. The book ends with Percy
turning 15, having one year left before the prophecy is to be set in motion. Riordan reflects on the fact that he didn’t
give the normal campers personalities by showing Percy not quite know how to
act when some of them dies. There’s also
this moment with Dionysius (his only scene in the novel) which is incredibly
effective at giving the god of wine one little moment where it shows he cares
in his own way.
Riordan also does an excellent job of foreshadowing
later events in the novel as early as the first chapter. The first chapter is a standard monsters
attack at a school, but it brings back a minor character from The Titan’s
Curse who becomes incredibly important for this book. Rachel Elizabeth Dare appeared in the scene
at Hoover Dam where Percy stabbed her with his sword, and it turns out she
lives in New York and is at the same high school orientation with Percy. Percy’s anxiety at seeing her is what causes
him to run off and get cornered. She can
see through the Mist and is eventually used as a guide through the Labyrinth in
the second half of the book. Rachel brings
an outside perspective to the book’s proceedings: she’s incredibly sarcastic
and doesn’t put up with much of the insanity that the situation she finds
herself in is. She isn’t scared off by
the gods and monsters she encounters, but she doesn’t want to take any of Percy’s
weak explanations. Riordan is clearly
setting up a love triangle between Percy, Rachel, and Annabeth, and while Annabeth’s
reaction to Rachel is catty, Rachel proves to be the bigger person. She’s got her own family problems (parents
who are rich and distant) and is just happy to get explanations to the
mythological world around her.
Annabeth and Percy’s romance (or slight lack thereof)
is also really interesting, as Riordan writes the book with everyone else
essentially knowing that they’re in love and eventually going to be together,
except for Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth is
still hung up on Luke and leading a quest in this book to realize while Percy
just hasn’t thought of that yet.
Annabeth’s best moments in this book are when she is in the role as
leader. There is a choice foreshadowed early
in the novel and she makes it, not quite knowing if it’s the right
decision. Hera, goddess of marriage,
essentially represents keeping the status quo and a happy family, avoiding the oncoming
war, and is treated (rightly so) as almost a villain in her two appearances in
the book. Annabeth also chooses not two,
but three companions to join her on the quest which apparently breaks ancient
laws, making it harder to succeed. Along
with her and Percy is Grover and Tyson who both have their own arcs. Tyson is the easiest to discuss here as
Riordan has improved with his portrayal since The Sea of Monsters: gone
is a character written like an idiot and in his place is a Cyclops who is
intelligent. Tyson may not be typically
intelligent, but he does make decisions and shows a creativity to problem solving. There is a scene where he meets one of his
heroes and essentially convinces him to keep living and fighting the fight against
the Titans. He also shows that he has a
selfless side to him in many ways, caring deeply about his friends, treating Percy
as his brother. He’s become a character
who can grow and change. Grover, on the
other hand, gets his character arc of wanting to find Pan brought to a conclusion
here, ahead of the final book. While
this may have detrimental effects on the final book, for this book it feels
like the completion of his arc is necessary.
He finds Pan in this book, and finally stands up to the council of satyrs
who has been harassing him since The Lightning Thief. His life now has a new purpose, no longer on
a quest to find, but on a quest to protect nature and the wild with his
own. He also forms a friendship with
Tyson and gets a girlfriend which allows him to grow out of the role of sidekick
to Percy Jackson.
For someone who’s name is in the title, Percy Jackson isn’t
really the hero in this one. Yes, he is
the point of view character and there are plenty of heroic moments, but The
Battle of the Labyrinth is all about the people around him, the people he
cares about. On his own in this book,
Percy gets a diversion on Calypso’s island to expose him to the other side of
the argument and he does show just how dangerous being a son of Poseidon can
be, but his best moments are the quiet ones.
There’s a moment near the end of the book where Paul Blofis who has been
dating Percy’s mother asks for his blessing in proposing to her which is a
brilliant scene. The Labyrinth and
Daedelus are really characters in their own right, providing an oppressive
atmosphere to the quest and a variety of confusions. Riordan draws from myth and the film Labyrinth
in many places for scenery and encounters in the book which work incredibly
well. It creates a sense of confusion
which is reflected in all of the characters: it’s a place where choices are
made and allegiances are formed, past mistakes are revealed and characters find
their own way to essentially a final battle.
Clarisse, who has already been given development in The Sea of
Monsters, is further changed by the maze in this book, showing motherly
instincts and a real sense of caring for a traitor whom she falls in love with. The character who makes the most important
choices here is Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades.
Throughout the book Percy is trying to guide him away from anger and the
possibility of being seduced by Luke and Kronos’ promises of a better
world. Nico throughout the book is in a
deep stage of grief and all the anger which comes with it. There is something amazing about how he is
able to overcome it and realize that while he may not be accepted at Camp
Half-Blood (in his own mind), that trying to destroy it is not the right
answer. He has grown from the little kid
from the previous book, foolishly putting aside childish things, but eventually
rediscovering them for what they are and can provide. There is a plan in the final chapter that he
proposes to Percy, something that won’t be revealed until the next book, but
this also becomes the first point in his own life that he’s treated almost like
family indicating that his life may be on the up and up.
Overall, The Battle of the Labyrinth does a lot
to take what worked from the previous three novels while trying something
new. There is a lot of character work here
as Rick Riordan prepares to have the final confrontation with the armies of
Kronos and Luke in The Last Olympian.
Everybody grows at the very least a little bit and it finally feels like
Camp Half-Blood is fleshed out with a variety of people who will stand or fall
together. It is also the best book yet,
reaching Riordan’s highest highs. 10/10.
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