The Battle of the Labyrinth

Riordan, Rick. Battle of the Labyrinth. New York: Hyperion 2008.

ISBN: 978-142310146-8

Summary

Percy Jackson is the son of the sea god Poseidon. Being a demigod is still quite new for him, but he is getting used to risking his life to save the mortal world as we know it. Riordan creates a fantastical world flawlessly weaving or perhaps entangling the realm of ancient Greek mythology with a Harry Potter-like story about an underdog boy and his demigod friends who save the world from Kronos and utter destruction nearly every holiday from school.

In The Battle of the Labyrinth, Percy finds that the titan lord Kronos is gathering strength, and preparing an invasion of the demigod safe haven, Camp Half Blood, where Percy trains each summer. Kronos takes bodily form in Luke, a friend who betrayed Percy and everyone at camp, and he is planning to lead an army of gods and monsters through the labyrinth that Daedalus built to hold the Minotaur, which has grown and spread across the entire US, and if it is navigated correctly can take you from New York to California in a matter of minutes.

Riordan’s writing causes the reader to strap on a seat belt and hold on. This fast moving fantasy world accounts for every logical (and mortal) explanation for why it couldn’t really happen, and even causes you to want to learn more about Greek mythology. The chapter titles, like “ I Battle the Cheerleading Squad,” make you interested, and the fantasy/ mystery style that is so action packed keeps you reading. Each of the books in this series has an element of a “who done i?t” and draws you in the way an episode of CSI does, so that you HAVE TO know how it ends. The characters are believable in their parts- Percy is brave but doesn’t always get what is going on, Annabeth knows the dangers that she faces and is courageous enough to make hard decisions, even if she reveals some feelings for Percy in the process, Grover is lovable, and loyal, but all of the characters are simply typical teenagers with extraordinary abilities. These are the kind of heroes people love to read about. It is the perfect mix of courageous fantasy and comedy, one great example of this is sacrificing McDonald’s food to hear from the spirits of the underworld- a slightly different take than the sheep’s blood of Odysseus’ day.

We came to a cave where stalactites hung low from the ceiling. In the center of the dirt floor was a rectangular pit, like a grave.

Grover shivered. “It smells like the Underworld in here.”

Then I saw something glinting at the edge of the pit—a foil wrapper. I shined my flashlight into the hole and saw a half-chewed cheeseburger floating in brown carbonated muck.

“Nico, I said. “He was summoning the dead again.”

Reviews

Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians series has won accolades among both critics and readers for its combination of real-world places and otherworldly antics. Tongue-in-cheek narration combines with a steady stream of grotesque monsters, perilous dangers and surprising plot twists for a nearly nonstop reading adventure.

-Kidsread.com

"The Battle of the Labyrinth," the fourth in the series, is a glorious, no-holds-barred adventure with great plot twists, a melding of ancient and bionic technology and a cliffhanger ending that will have fans eagerly awaiting the fifth and final showdown between gods and monsters next year.

-LA Times

Enrichment Activities

This book would be great with a study of mythology or ancient Greece. Students could get to know one of the Greek gods of the pantheon and share information about that god or goddess.

Another activity would be to claim to be the demigod child of a god or goddess, and come up with attributes that he or she would have because of it. Perhaps create a quest that only a demigod with those skills would have, or write about what that character’s role would be in the Battle of the Labyrinth- good, bad, lost in the maze. . .