Book Review: Rick Riordan, Jim Butcher, Lisa Shearin

Last week was spring break, and while I didn't get much of a break, I did get a lot of reading done. So we'll have a book review post that's a bit overdue.

The Sea of Monsters

Book 2 in the Percy Jackson series. We find out more about a prophecy, and get a run in with some famous greek monsters. The plot in this one was a little weaker, I think, than the first, but it did some good set-up for the third and fourth books. Percy gets a little more disobedient, closer to how he was in the movie. As with the first, and most YA I find, it's a quick, engaging read. 

Titan's Curse

In Book 3 of the Percy Jackson series, we find more players in the prophecy. 2 new characters set the stage for the next book as well. Plot-wise, there's some fallout of the events in the previous book, but they're tied into a new quest and a new conflict. There's some believability issues near the end, but the book is an enjoyable read.

Battle of the Labyrinth
The penultimate book of the Percy Jackson series. The titular labyrinth is the very same of Theseus and the Minataur. We finally see the conclusion of one of the side-arcs that one of the characters was going through, which is a bit of a relief, and there's plenty of twists to keep one guessing.

Armed & Magical

The 2nd book in the Raine Benares series, this picks up pretty much exactly where the previous book left off. All in all, I find myself sucked into the world. I would consider this strong worldbuilding. Character's are pretty engaging, even with the MCs possible lack of limits. We see a bit more of the dark side of things here, and a few more players on the global stage. All in all, an enjoyable read, even if it did take me 3 weeks to read it.

Grave Peril

Ahh, Back to Jim Butcher, and the Dresden Files. When I was listening to the forward, Butcher claims that this book is what fans usually consider the start of the series. The first 2 books are more stand alone. I think this is partially true, though elements do carry over, we're starting to see more global plot structure in this book. The fall out of the events effect the next book (see next bullet) much mroe than the previous book effected this one. Dresden's world is also providing some great inspriation for the Mage: The Awakening games I've been throwing around. Things dont' transfer 1-1, but it's really easy to get some of the same imeagry and themes going, if you want to. My only downside to these books is that Harry is always so beat up. I know characters are supposed to fail at times, but he's always on his last limb, making the stories pretty gritty from that perspective.

Summer Knight

The 4th book in the Dresden Files, we see the fallout of Harry's decisions in the previous book. This book also shows us the world of Harry's Fae, and the war between the courts that's seen in every fae story. Historically I've always been more of a witches and wizards fan, but lately branching into the fae has given me some interesting ideas to explore. 

Conclusions

I have to say, these book reivews get harder with each book. I think it's because I'm trying to avoid major spoilers, but at the same time I'm always giving something away.