Book Update!
I am not calling this a book review, because I already reviewed the Percy Jackson series as a whole. However, I have to add kudos as I read more of the series. I admit it, I am a pure fan. I usually get somewhat disappointed as a series that becomes popular continues. The intrigue and the quality of story usually decreases. I have not noticed that such is true with this. Beth feels that the editing quality goes down, which it probably does. I hadn't noticed that, but she's an editor, and I'm not. However, I feel it doesn't go down in the Harry-Potter way. The Harry Potter books, as they go on, start to need editing in the "This has nothing to do with the story" way, and Percy Jackson probably does have more incident of typo or word order editing problem, but they don't have story-quality editing problems. In my new-library-to-explore euphoria, I discovered "The Demigod Diaries," a short story collection about the characters that Rick Riordan published between Son of Neptune and Mark of Athena. And I was thoroughly impressed. It's not getting old.
But, the thing that I'm most impressed by is the character quality. If you hadn't noticed, character quality is important to me. Characters make and break stories. Also, in my own writing, I am a very character-driven writer, as opposed to plot-driven. It is amazing to me that Rick Riordan managed to create a character who ages, matures and develops, but doesn't change personality. Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson in the first book is naive, lost, confused, immature and unskilled in the life that he is supposed to lead, whereas the seventeen-year-old him is confident, more mature than most seventeen-year-olds, and ready to take on the world. But they both have the same quirky, dry, sarcastic, self-deprecating personality. He's just older. It also helps that he doesn't go through a whiny phase, like most adolescent series heroes. I don't call those phases unrealistic, but not every teenager would respond that way, and it's kind of annoying anyway. The same is true of Annabeth. In the second "series," a lot more main characters are introduced (Jason, Piper, Frank, Leo, Reyna, and Hazel for starts), and each of them, with the exception of Hazel, is likeable, unique and complex. It's really impressive. And I want that tangible of characters.
But, the thing that I'm most impressed by is the character quality. If you hadn't noticed, character quality is important to me. Characters make and break stories. Also, in my own writing, I am a very character-driven writer, as opposed to plot-driven. It is amazing to me that Rick Riordan managed to create a character who ages, matures and develops, but doesn't change personality. Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson in the first book is naive, lost, confused, immature and unskilled in the life that he is supposed to lead, whereas the seventeen-year-old him is confident, more mature than most seventeen-year-olds, and ready to take on the world. But they both have the same quirky, dry, sarcastic, self-deprecating personality. He's just older. It also helps that he doesn't go through a whiny phase, like most adolescent series heroes. I don't call those phases unrealistic, but not every teenager would respond that way, and it's kind of annoying anyway. The same is true of Annabeth. In the second "series," a lot more main characters are introduced (Jason, Piper, Frank, Leo, Reyna, and Hazel for starts), and each of them, with the exception of Hazel, is likeable, unique and complex. It's really impressive. And I want that tangible of characters.
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