The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson #3

The stakes are getting higher and the gods are stepping in more directly in this latest installment of Percy Jackson's saga. The situation on Earth is also getting more dire as the  Titans gain strength and followers. People actually die! Then, there's the looming prophecy that the child of one of the "big 3" - Hades, Zeus, or Poseidon - will decide whether Olympus rises or falls when they turn 16. Besides Percy, there's only one other candidate so there's a lot potentially coming Percy's way.

There's finally a continual sense of urgency in this book brought about not only by the Titans' increasing strength but by the pain and sacrifice being demanded of the demigods. They're getting hurt, sacrificing themselves for the cause - really fighting like hardened soldiers instead of teenagers. And yet, Riordan hasn't created teenage characters completely devoid of angst. It's an interesting combination that I find very appealing to read.

In book #3, Annabeth and the goddess, Demeter, have been kidnapped and it's up to Thalia, Percy, and two of Demeter's immortal huntresses to find them, rescue them, and derail (well really postpone) the imminent attack of Kronos and his minions. They travel cross-country again, making new pit stops in areas of the gods which are hidden among mortals. The gods are getting more involved so we meet Aphrodite, take a ride with Apollo, and get a hint of Pan in addition to Demeter. Our half-bloods also get to Olympus and actually talk to their parents which, to me, was a huge indicator of how serious our story is getting. Demigods are the mortal instruments of the gods, not people they typically interact with directly.

Only two more books left in this series although Riordan has many others. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this story goes and thinking about diving into another series once I'm done here. I know this is YA fiction, but it doesn't feel as young as a lot of other books in this genre. It hasn't hit a slump in the narrative yet as many other series fall victim to and it continues to stay steadily engaging. Percy Jackson is still a big recommendation from me.

The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

2013 Reread #2

At first read (quite a while ago,) this book blew me away. I hadn't read very much Vonnegut at the time and had only grazed the surface of Sci-Fi Humor (which this book definitely is.)

It's amazing how perspective adds so much to how a book makes you feel. This time around, knowing the big reveal, I kept expecting the entire book to be just as exciting as the last few chapters, but truthfully, it was a little slow. I can't remember what I thought about Malachi Constant, our "hero," initially, but this time around I really didn't feel anything for him at all. Having read so much Vonnegut now, ti was easier to see how rough his style was here in his first book. And, while I still absolutely love the story, it didn't blow me away like it did before.

I feel like I took something totally different away from Sirens at this read than I did initially. At first read, this book was about the meaning of life and how disappointing and humorous humanity's "actual" purpose was. I loved the f-you to the scientific community about life on earth and evolution. This time around, the book was about emotion - how living without it makes you do stupid things, like invade Earth, and living with too much can make you a crazy zealot. Emotion is even powerful enough to force a robot to dismantle himself. In this way, the big reveal for me wasn't about the meaning of life, but rather the revelation of where to reside on the scale of emotional involvement. Malachi sums it up perfectly in the book, "a purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved."

Vonnegut's humor was still delightful with this reread. I love how he plays with reality. I'm still definitely a Vonnegut fan and I still believe that Sirens of Titan is a wonderfully entertaining book, but I'm not sure it's my favorite anymore. I might have to reread Galapagos to see if that's worthy of the #1 spot.