“No.”

From Rick Riordan’s The Trials of Apollo: The Burning Maze.

Despite his feeling that he has learned his lesson, Apollo (Greek god of poetry, music, healing, prophecy, and the sun) is still bound to the human body of Lester Papadopoulos and bound to obey the young, fashion-blind demigod, Meg McCaffery.  The world is quickly falling apart as the evil Triumvirate (a trio of supposed-to-be-dead Roman emperors) further enacts their plans to take control of the world and use all the magical monsters at their disposal to wipe out the Greek and Roman demigods of the world.  Apollo and Meg team up with Grover the satyr to try to navigate their way through the Labyrinth in an attempt to stop the third emperor, Caligula, but they are unsuccessful and barely escape with their lives to reconnect with Jason, Piper, and several other allies.  Desperate to keep Piper safe, Jason has tried to outwit a prophesy by breaking up with her, and while Apollo admires Jason’s plan is unsure if it will be successful.  In following the prophesy that guides their quest, Apollo, Meg, Jason, and Piper plan to steal Caligula’s shoes from one of his giant luxury yachts.  The mission is far from successful and the small band of heroes suffers a deadly blow which forces Apollo and his friends to go back into the Labyrinth in an attempt to salvage what little victory over evil he can before the burning maze destroys even more of what they hold dear.

This spin-off series from Riordan’s Percy Jackson series does a solid job to connect the characters and legends in both the Greek and Roman series.  The book incorporates characters from previous series while also creating solid new characters and situations that captivate the readers from start to finish.  The Burning Maze is a captivating and thrilling adventure that highlights ancient mythology to showcases Riordan’s well-loved humor, wit, and creativity.