Nico di Angelo!

I saw a post on percyjacksonfansunite.blogspot.com that talked a little bit about Nico and Percy's relationship. I found it really cool, and it got me thinking a little bit about it.

The post talked about how Percy and Nico are like a family, and I want to share my thoughts on this!

Now, we all know that clearly, Percy and Nico are biological cousins, but that is not really what is meant by the word family. When Percy met Nico, in The Titan's Curse, he was a strange, outcast, who only had his sister. Percy was there when Bianca went missing in "the land without rain," as the prophecy said she would. At that point, Percy became Nico's family. Percy has seen him struggle through bad and good.

For example, in The Battle of the Labyrinth, Nico was a traitor, of sorts. But Percy didn't see Nico as that. Percy saw Nico as the nice little boy he rescues; he saw Nico as the boy who asked him "Are you really good at surfing, then?"

Now, look at him. Nico was one of the only people who knew the secret about the two camps.

Nico has traveled through the deepest depths of the Underworld, and ever through Tartarus.

And finally, Nico made a promise to Percy. Nico promised Percy he would be waiting on the other side of Tartarus for them; he promised Percy he'd help him.

Just think about that. Percy's "little brother figure" developed into a very mature man. I truly think that Nico has shown the most change in regards to maturity and aging of all of the characters. Even more than Percy, who went from a confused ADHD school failure into the savior of Olympus.

Thanks for Reading, and keep in mind, these are my opinions: you are entitled to your own!

Grover!

On my post from a few days ago, a lot of you commented saying how happy you are that Grover is going to be returning in The House of Hades. I am so excited too, so I just wanted to talk a little bit about it!

First of all, how do you think he will be presented?

This is where I run into the most confusion. There will probably be a scene or two at Camp Half-Blood because Octavian and Reyna are invading, but how are they going to portray that? No one at Camp Half Blood is going to narrate. The three things I could think of are:

1) They see it through a dream
2) They see it through an Iris Message
3) They see it through Katoptris (Piper's/Helen of Troy's Knife)

Or, could it have something to do with the empathy link between him and Percy? Does that work even in the depths of Tartarus? Will Grover sense that they're in danger?

Do you think Grover will have more of a leadership position?

I don't know if they are going to go that in depth on him, but do you think Grover would have a leadership position in camp now? He's been on a bunch of quests, he found Pan, and did a whole lot of other stuff.

Is it possible Grover won't be at Camp?

Grover is constantly off spreading the word about Pan's death. Is it possible he will run into the 6 (the 7 minus Percy and Annabeth plus Nico)? Or something like that?

I hope Grover has a good scene! Maybe he and Coach Hedge will share a Satyr moment :)

Another thing: Rick also said in that same Q&A that Nico will have a crucial role in The House of Hades. We all already knew this. but that leads me to the question: Will Nico narrate? I'm pretty sure when I did my post a while back on who will narrate, I said I think Nico will, and this makes me believe it more.

Thanks for Reading and sorry about my negligence lately :(

The Challenge Continues!

You all know that I am not participating in my own challenge...:(, however I hope some of you are!

I really want to know if anyone is, because I will credit you in one of these posts!

I'm going to do another post either today or tomorrow, so check back soon!

PS - I hit 10,000 views! Oh my Gods! Thank you Greek God of Internet Blogs :D

From Rick's Blog!

Rick posted his Q&A from Twitter the other day. Here are the ones I found interesting!

Check out the rest at rickriordan.blogspot.com

EDIT: OMG I JUST WROTE A HUGE THING AND IT ALL GOT DELETED!

Instead of retyping it all, I'm just going to give you the summaries of the ones I liked.

He said that we will get Reyna's surname in The House of Hades

He said Grover will make an appearance in The House of Hades

He said nothing could possibly be a bigger cliffhanger than that in The Mark of Athena

I encourage you all to go and read the rest; it's not the best Q&A he's done, but there are some good ones.

Again, I'm so sorry, but I am not going to be participating in MY OWN challenge.

I feel bad, but I just don't have the time. Congratulations, though, are in order for everyone who has been successful thus far. You guys are better than me. Any of you who are successful, please comment telling me so I can credit you! If you want to remain anonymous, comment anonymously and make up a name! At least you will know that it's you!

Thanks for Reading!

I Hate This!

This is so annoying!

I've just been bombarded with work for so long! I can't find time to write a post, let alone read the book for the challenge.

I'm going to try my hardest to find time, but just in case I don't, here is a message for anyone participating in the challenge:

If any one of you wants to write about The Red Pyramid after this week is over, please let me know ASAP! I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to read it, so any of you willing to do this would help a ton!

Thanks for Reading, and I really am sorry guys!

The Kane Chronicles Challenge!

The Kane Chronicles Challenge has Begun!

You have one week to read each book of the Kane Chronicles.
At the end of each week I will post my reaction/review of the book!

THIS WEEK: THE RED PYRAMID

Good Luck!

Thanks for Reading!

The Sea of Monsters (Movie) Update!

The Sea of Monsters Movie's release date has been changed. It is now going into theatres on August 7th (instead of August 16th)!

The main purpose of this was to open in a weekend without any major competition.

Sorry for not posting about this earlier.

Thanks for Reading (and be sure to read my other post from today, below)

Book 1 vs. Book 1!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting too much, I really have been overloaded with work.

This is the reader-submitted post I was talking about; I got an email giving me the idea to compare The Lightning Thief to The Lost Hero, The Sea of Monsters to The Son of Poseidon, and so forth.

I'm going to just compare the first ones now, but if I think it works out well, I will do the other two.

Characters

In both books, we were introduced to three new main characters (Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, and Jason, Leo, and Piper). In both books, there was one character who had absolutely no idea what was going on for a while (Percy and Jason). In both books, there were two boys, and a girl. Yes, many of you are probably saying something like, "yeah, well, if you wanted to, you could say 'they all had eyes too,' but that doesn't prove anything." And yes, you are right, but I am trying to point out the similarities. Anyways, in both books, one of the three was a child of the Big Three. Also, in both books, one of the three ''did not belong'' (Grover's a Satyr, and Jason's a Roman)

Conflict

In both books, it was clear that this quest was the start of something bigger. A half-blood of the eldest gods... and ...the seven shall birth; it was clear that these were going to influence the Great Prophecies. Also, both books had a personal goal involved in the quest. Percy wanted to free his mother, while Jason wanted to figure out his identity. Then you have the obvious similarities of things such as both quests were led by the child of the Big 3, and so on.

I don't really know what other categories to throw in, so if you guys could comment what I should add, and if you liked it, it will help a ton. (If you tell me something to add, I will update this post and let you all know)

But, one other similarity that comes to my mind is that in both books, the main character (Percy and Jason) is being played by the gods. Percy was being accused of being the lightning thief, and Jason was part of Hera's plans to unite the camps.

Challenges!

This is not the reader-submitted idea I was talking about yesterday. This is just something I have wanted to talk about!

Someone asked me why I didn't post about the 8 month challenge for The House of Hades. The answer is, because that seems like too long!

So, here are the challenges I am laying out for you guys:

1) 3 Week Challenge: Starting on April 16, you have one week to read each of the Kane Chronicle books in preparation for The Son of Sobek. I will remind you guys when the date comes closer.

2) 8 Week Challenge: Starting on August 13, you have one week to read each of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus Books in preparation for The House of Hades. Again, I will remind you guys before the date comes up.

This will not be the easiest thing, but it makes it more fun, and prevents "cheating." When you have one month to read each book, you tend to start at the end of the month, and sometimes carry over into the next. This way, we will be right there, and will have a fresh mindset for these books when they come out.

Do realize that in each scenario, you will be finishing the last book (The Serpent's Shadow, and The Mark of Athena) the same day the next book comes out (The Son of Sobek, and The House of Hades)

I will be trying my hardest to succeed in each of these challenges. I would love, when they start, for you guys to all comment, telling me your progress.

I'm thinking that I may do a review/summary of each book after finishing. This will not only give me something to post about, but will also help to refresh the minds of those not participating in the challenge. Because if you guys are anything like me, you do not remember much about The Red Pyramid, and the other books, besides the general plot.

Hopefully I will have a chance to post the reader-submitted idea tomorrow, but again, no promises.

Thank you for Reading!

I Am Sooo Sorry!

I've been being terrible lately. I've been overloaded with work, and haven't had time to get to blogging. Sadly, this may continue for a little bit of time.

I got a reader-submitted idea about what to write about, and I really want to do it. Hopefully, I will be able to do it tomorrow, but no promises.

I owe you guys!

P.S. Thanks on letting me hit 8,000 views! You guys rock!
P.P.S. One month until The Son of Sobek!

Sad News!

I'm sure you all have noticed that Fiona Verde hasn't been posting lately. Well, we talked, and she decided that she just didn't have time time to run a Blog.

Thank You to Fiona Verde for trying, and for the few posts you did!

Running out of ideas again guys! I need more! Comment then, or email me at percyjacksonjunkers@gmail.com

The House of Hades Cover!

James Junkers

Due to a comment I received, I have decided to do a post analyzing what The House of Hades cover will be. We all [should] know that it comes out on May 31, so let's make our guesses.

First, let's take a look on what has been used in the covers of the past books for The Heroes of Olympus. Since we will have the cover before we have the book, I am going to be describing each cover as if we don't know what happens.
A note in advance: This is going to be about the American Covers

 

The Lost Hero: At first glance, we see it shows three people, flying away from a castle on a mechanical dragon. Upon closer look, we can see that the group consists of two boys and a girl. Also, it seems like the dragon is going down, due to the fact that the two in the back are holding on tightly, the "driver" is focused clearly, they are headed in a downward pull, and it seems like the dragon's head is kind of broken. In a way, the cover is showcasing false danger. I haven't read the book in a while, so I don't remember the exact scene, but even if this is when Festus goes down, Leo, Piper, and Jason are in no real danger. The cover is showcasing false drama.

The Son of Neptune: At first glance, we see a boy, emerging from ice, holding a gold eagle. There isn't much more to it, except that we can assume, based on the title, that it is Percy. Although, we know that Percy can't be injured in water, and this boy seems to be in danger. He is exhausted, it seems, and is sort of trapped, as it seems he fell of a glacier, or something. Also, we can see this boy is wet, and we know Percy can control whether he gets wet or not. Again, this could be showcasing false danger. I doubt too much thinking was put in as to the details, because I doubt they, the illustrator, realized that Percy cannot get wet. But, nevertheless, it seems danger is being put into place, when really, it is just, again, false drama. Percy was perfectly fine, and if I remember correctly, this was when he had just gotten his victory.

The Mark of Athena: At first glance, we see two boys, sitting on pegasai, fighting. When we look closer, we can clearly see that one is Percy, and the other Jason. Also, we can see the background is an owl's eyes, the symbol of Athena. The cover implies that Percy and Jason will fight, either representing the Greeks vs. the Romans, or Jupiter (Zeus) vs. Poseidon. Again, this could be showcasing false danger. This scene was what, 10 seconds long? It ended so fast. They are taking a minor detail in the story, and making it into a huge thing, making everyone want to see this drama, which does not really exist.

So, this leads to the question, what will The House of Hades' cover be? I would have to assume that it will follow this same pattern of "false-drama." The only problem is, if that is what it does, we could have no way of telling what it is.

One thing it could be is Percy and Annabeth falling into Tartarus, but I doubt that will be it.

The comment I got said that she hoped it would be Nico in some way, and that is a possibility, but we can't have any chance of knowing what it will be.

I want to say that it will be Percy and Annabeth peeking through a door, seeing light, signifying them leaving Tartaurus, but that probably won't happen until Book 5. And if it does happen, that would be the end of the book. Percy and Annabeth would leave, and maybe find everyone else, and *poof* RickHanger.

Maybe it will showcase one of the fights Percy and Annabeth have in Tartarus, and will show them losing to again show that theme of "false-drama."

Anyways, I guess we'll just have to wait less than a month to see!

What are your Ideas?

Recent Reads!

James Junkers

So I don't post about books other than Percy Jackson often, but when I read something like this, I have to.

For a long time, I have been hearing a lot about the ever-so-popular book series, Divergent, by Veronica Roth. I finally decided that I have to read them, and here is my story:

As soon as I read the first chapter of Divergent, I knew I was going to love it. Although it did end up getting a little slow at the end, I still managed to finish it in about 2 days. Then, I immediately got Insurgent, but had a completely different reaction. I started reading it, and was upset by how...well...boring it was. I simply did not like the fact that I was reading 200 pages of "I love you." "I hate you." "I'm sorry, I love you." However, once I start a book, I'm going to finish it. About halfway through the book, it started picking up speed, but then soon lost it again. Once I was down to about the last third of the book, it got pretty good, and I finished it in that sitting. But the ending. The ending. The ending. I thought Riordan was bad with cliffhangers, but this is terrible! Although, the second I read it, and got past the goosebumps it caused, I realized it was the best ending to a book I have ever read. Thank the gods that I didn't read this when it came out (May 2012), because Book 3 doesn't come out until October 2013, and I don't know how I would be able to wait that long. I would definitely recommend this book to you guys!

The Sea of Monsters Trailer Review!

James Junkers

By now, we all should have watched The Sea of Monsters Trailer, which I have already posted about.

I'm not going to talk about every single thing in the trailer, so feel free to share your thoughts via comment [or email].

I'm not going to say whether it looks better or worse than The Lightning Thief Trailer. Everyone is saying, "Oh, this follows the story line so much better!" How do you know that? The Lightning Thief Trailer did not look as inaccurate as the actual movie was. Anyways, so that's that. Also, there is one major problem right off the bat. It doesn't seem like Grover has been captured! Like, what? I need that scene of him in a wedding dress! Also, Percy better become a guinea pig...just saying. Another thing that I notice is that Kronos is being portrayed for what I think is too much. He wasn't a big part of The Sea of Monsters, and if I'm looking at this correctly, it seems they are showing the coffin. Didn't that not come until The Battle of the Labyrinth, or am I mistaken. Well, that is what I took from the trailer, tell me what you think!

Just a little heads up:
Tomorrow, I am posting about my recent reads (something I do not often do)
The next day, I am posting about The House of Hades cover (what I think)

Instagram Account!

James Junkers

I posted a while ago that I don't have a Facebook, Twitter, or anything for this Blog, and if anyone wants to make something, they can. Well, QueenHuntress-13 took that seriously, and informed me that she made an Instagram account for my Blog.

Follow it at percy_jackson_for_life

Note: I do not have anything to do with this account. Please do not ask me to post anything towards it, nor question things posted on it. I trust that QueenHuntress-13 will take it seriously, but I cannot possibly know for sure. If you see anything on it that you find strange, or unusual, you can tell me about it, and I will contact her, but I will not have had any direct correlation with it.

That said, I will try to do my "The Sea of Monsters Trailer Review!" post tomorrow, hopefully I get a chance.

I know that some sites have taken down the video for copyright reasons, so if you haven't seen it yet, and can't find a working site:



That should work.

Thanks for Reading!