Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

Fourth book in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

 

(taken from Amazon.com)

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 humor and heart-pounding action, this fourth book promises to be their most thrilling adventure yet.

I felt like this fourth book in the Percy Jackson series had the most intrigue and mystery elements of all the books in the series. While some of the other books focus more on Odyssey-esque adventures of Percy, Annabeth, and their friends, this book felt a little more cohesive in terms of storyline. While the other books seem to move more through series of myths, The Battle of the Labyrinth still involves Percy running into a series of mythological characters, but each of the encounters houses clues that build together into the final "big battle". I also felt like because the narrative centers around one main myth--Daedalus and the Labyrinth--it held together better as a whole. I liked the surprises and how the clues all fit together in the end. This book also introduces a kind-of love triangle with Percy, which is normally annoying but I found funny because of the way it depicts an utterly clueless fifteen-year-old kid stuck in the middle of it. 

Overall Rating: 8 / 10 Stars 

I give this book eight stars because I liked it best of the first four in the series for the way it weaves together its plot thread, and the characters really seem like they're becoming more proactive as opposed to reactive in the overall narrative.