Book Review - Battle of the Labyrinth

Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Childrens, Young Adult
Release Date: 1st August 2010
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 342
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Percy Jackson isn't expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to diabolical.

In this latest installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos‘s army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop them, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn. Full of humour and heart-pounding action, this fourth book promises to be their most thrilling adventure yet.

The following review may contain spoilers concerning earlier books in the series.
If you have not read the previous installments, please proceed with caution.

Whenever I read a book from the Percy Jackson series, I'm always welcomed with one huge problem that affects my ability to write down to earth, honest and well written reviews and that's that I get so sucked into the world that Riordan has created each and every time, so much so, that I forget to even make any notes, therefore most review worthy mentions pass me by in a wave of awe, however, as always I will do my best to convey how much I enjoy this series and how Battle of the Labyrinth only helped develop that enjoyment.

The only real issue I had with this book and in fact the series so far is how I feel too old for this series. It's a strange concept, but Percy, Annabeth, Grover and so on, they are still much younger than I am and because of this, the actual feel of the novels feels young and I sometimes struggle to come to terms with this. I'm all for the characters exploring their youth and their emotions towards one another, but I personally refuse to wait 5 novels for Percy to release her cares for Annabeth. Riordan takes the mickey at this point and if I do not get a good shippy moment in Last Olympian, things are going to do down. Other than this minor - but huge - issue, Battle of the Labyrinth was a novel much like the others.

When I wasn't immersed completely into the world that Riordan continues to create, or in awe over just how many historical and legendary characters from Greek Mythology he managed to include, or getting annoyed due to lack of Percabeth, Battle of the Labyrinth was action ridden, character development inclusive and had plenty of twists and turns that I've come to expect from Riordan. Picking out individual moments is so difficult because he blends them so wonderfully and perfectly together, not one scene feels out of touch or out of place within the novel, no character feels conveniently placed or unnecessary throughout and I can honestly confirm that this man is indeed to American J.K Rowling - his world building, his characters and the emotions he conveys through them and creates within myself is enough to compete with the lady herself and if I could surround myself with their works for the rest of my life, I would do that.

As always, there were honestly some fantastic memorable moments that I really enjoyed in this novel from the Poseidon meeting in the final chapter (which was just hilarious, we all know where Percy gets his humour from don't we?) to Nicos development and use in this novel (who yes, I am slowly developing a weird crush on, but that age gap, it's so not fair..), but generally, there's just a wonderful, awe inspiring and hugely enjoyable feel to his works. Riordan creates these novels that I can fall in love with the read throughout on night, he creates emotions in me for characters I didn't know I enjoyed and has a bag of plot twists ready to unleash at any moment that throws me seconds every time. I understand that there's very little I can talk about in this review because I was so lost within the story, but if you've read and enjoyed the other three in this series, there really isn't any excuse not to read this novel, it's just as fantastic as the rest and is written by a genius, what else do you really need to know?