This past week I finished the book, "The Trials Of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle" by Rick Riordan, and I have to say it is one amazing book interconnected within the Percy Jackson universe.This story takes place pretty soon after the Heroes Of Olympus series ends after the battle of Gaia. In this installment the god Apollo has lost his divinity and has become a fully fledged mortal.
I know what you're thinking: what?!! Apollo the god of sun, light, healing, music, poetry, archery, reason and prophecy a mortal? You're insane! Just hear me out. According to Apollo who is telling the story he is being punished for what happened in the last installment of the Heroes Of Olympus series ("The Blood Of Olympus" if you want to know exactly what that is go and read that book) Apollo has become known in the mortal world at least as Lester Papadopoulos who is your stereotypical awkward, acne ridden, sixteen-year-old boy. Seeing as Lester is also the Olympian God Apollo he is also a bit of an egomaniac. Okay, fine, he's a giant egomaniac, better?
So Apollo, the average mortal that gets thrown down onto a dumpster and attacked by two thugs when all of a sudden a demigod girl named Meg comes and saves him and has become his trial master of sorts in which he is obligated to do whatever she says. Apollo, being the self-entitled prick that he is, doesn't think that this girl is his trial master and he hopes and prays that Percy Jackson (yes, that Percy Jackson) will claim him to be Apollo's trial master and not this small annoying Meg girl. Well, things don't go according to plan and when they get to Camp Half-blood and into the forest Apollo Feints. After this Meg ends up bringing Apollo the rest of the way to the camp to the big House where Apollo talks to Chiron who tells Apollo that bad things have been occurring.
According to Chiron Campers have been disappearing from camp with no signs of where or why. Also another thing that's been going on is that the Oracle of Delphi has stopped working and nobody has any idea why and because of this nobody can go out on a quest to find out what is wrong because you need the oracle to go and give you a prophesy to go and give you a quest to go on in the first place.
Apollo becomes a part of the camp and Meg gets claimed as a child of Demeter there is a death maze game that is invented by an eight year old child of Hephestus which goes into the labrynth this is THE labyrnth that goes all over the world. Apollo and meg end up in Delphi where the Python is with a mysterious figure who calls himself the beast.The Python isn't your average python this is a ten foot monster of pure distruction that'll make you pee yourself just thinking about it. These two are talking about controlling all of the oracles even the one called the cave of dodona. Apollo tells this to the camp and him and meg go into the forest where they think that this oracle is.
Apollo and Meg go and find this oracle but it turns out that Meg has been working for the beast who is Emperor Nero a very corrupt emporer who lived in ancient times. Nero gave Meg the idea that him and the Beast are two completely different people. Because of this Meg flees with Nero not wanting to anger the beast.
Apollo opens the cave of dodona and gets a prophesy that gives him an idea of what he needs to do next. We wiill see what that is in the next installment of the Trials Of Apollo.
