“Until she met the exploding statue, Annabeth thought she was prepared for anything.”

From Rick Riordan’s The Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena.

Of the seven half-bloods (kids with both human and godly parentage) chosen to fulfill and fight through a mysterious and foreboding prophecy connected with fighting the evil Gaea, none of them are looking forward to the dangerous task ahead.  Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Leo, and their chaperone satyr Coach Hedge are all being tested beyond they ever thought possible… and all with very little help from the Roman and Greek gods who sent them on this path.  Led by Octavian, the Romans at Camp Jupiter do not trust the Greeks which further complicates half-bloods’ mission.  However, left with no other options than to continue fighting against Gaea’s takeover, the friends set off on the flying ship (Argo II) that Leo built in search of the Athena Parthenos (a statue that can unite the Romans and Greeks if it can be retrieved), but each step of the way is filled with danger, monsters, trickery, mistakes, and near-fatal disasters that slowly, but surely bogs the young heroes down in the fight for the fate of the world.  However, when the half-bloods learn that fellow half-blood Nico has been captured by monsters in the underworld, they risk everything to help him, but nothing could have prepared them for the way things play out.

This third book in Riordan’s Greek and Roman crossover series is full of action, humor, and adventure.  The story does not disappoint and brings in many of the elements that fans have come to expect from the author.  An interesting look into the similarities and differences between Greek and Roman mythology, readers of the original series will have the best experience and the cliffhanger ending will leave readers wanting to continue the series, but The Mark of Athena is a fun read adventure for any reader.