OLYMPIAN WEEK- Rick Riordan Blog Tour

As a fan of Mr. Riordan when I was asked to host part of the blogtour I initially thought I was reading Greek.  Me? MFB? With actual words from Mr. R himself on our blog.  Yeah, I could live with that.

Moonrise over Cape Sounion in Greece - Temple to Poseidon

Today MFB and I are paying homage to the great god of the sea himself, Poseidon, part of a Homeric poem from Illiad -

Hail, Poseidon, Holder of the Earth, dark-haired lord! 

O blessed one, be kindly in heart and help those who voyage in ships!

The blog tour is the run up to the release of Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune, in which lovely Percy Jackson makes a guest appearance.

Percy, son of Poseidon – god of the sea – is just waking from a very deep sleep when he comes face-to-face with two snake-haired ladies who refuse to die! But this is only the beginning of his fresh woes as he finds himself at a camp for half-bloods – which curiously doesn’t ring any bells with him. There’s only one person he remembers from his past… Annabeth.


It seems that Percy Jackson’s questing days are far from over. He and fellow demigods Frank and Hazel face the most important quest of all – the Prophecy of Seven. If they fail, it’s not just their camp at risk. Percy’s old life, the gods and the entire world might be destroyed.



Gaah! I can't wait. In the meantime, here's the fantastic blog post Rick has written exclusively for MFB:

The Character I'd Most Like To Be

I get a lot of questions from young readers, but this one is a perennial favorite – Which of my own characters would I most like to be?

Writing about Greek gods, I certainly have a lot to choose from. I suppose I could choose Apollo, the ultra-cool god of poetry, although in my world he does have a tendency to spout bad haiku. I’m also partial to Poseidon – no surprise, since I made Percy Jackson his son. I like Poseidon’s laid-back attitude, and I certainly wouldn’t mind hanging out in the Caribbean, but I do think it would get lonely at the bottom of the sea.

What about my demigod heroes? Percy is an obvious choice, but while I do share Percy’s sense of humor and feel very close to him after writing five books in his voice, I don’t think I’d want to change places with him. Percy is much braver than I could ever be, and honestly you couldn’t pay me enough to go through high school again. In a real fight with monsters, I would not be in the front lines like Percy and Annabeth. I would be more like Grover, hiding behind a bush and whimpering, “Don’t kill me!”

Would I be Grover? Hmm, I like cheese enchiladas just fine, but I don’t think the tin cans would agree with my digestive track. The goat legs would also be challenging, as down here in Texas they would very quickly get me labeled ‘El Diablo.’

Pierce Brosnan as Chiron in the Percy Jackson movie

After much thought, I’ve decided I most relate to Chiron, the immortal trainer of heroes. And no, not just because Pierce Brosnan has that role in the movie. Like me, Chiron is first and foremost a teacher. His job is to train heroes, not to be the hero himself. I would be comfortable in that role. In my years in the classroom, I always enjoyed helping students discover their talents, and maybe find skills they didn’t even know they had. Making someone who is a reluctant reader into a lover of books may not seem as exciting as teaching a demigod to fight hydras, but in my perspective, it’s just as important!

Chiron has a sensible, easy-going attitude. He is also there, always dependable. He’s a person I’d like to be, although I will admit, it would get a little old being a horse from the waist down. Staircases would be murder. Elevators? Forget it. And taking my wife out to dinner at a romantic restaurant would be difficult, unless the restaurant had a stable. On the bright side, I’d never have to worry about parking again, and I’d get great mileage. A little hay and water, and I’m good to go.

So yes, I’ll stick with Chiron as my character of choice. Who’s your favorite character? Who would you like to be, either from one of my series or another book?

***

Calliope the Muse

Personally, I would love to be...I don't know.  I toyed with the idea of Athena, but she's super serious and I'm not sure I will ever be able to do her justice.  I've sourced this on Twitter as I couldn't make up my mind.  But I think Calliope, who was a muse.  I like that idea.

Check out the last day of the Heroes of Olympus blog tour over at Ultimate Book Guide.

To coincide with publication of THE SON OF NEPTUNE, Puffin Books is launching the HUNT FOR A HALF-BLOOD HERO competition in schools throughout the UK. Entrants will put themselves forward to be Percy’s comrade is a new and terrifying quest. First prize is Texas-based Rick Riordan streamed live exclusively into the winning school’s assembly, plus a trip for the winning class to their local Sea Life Centre. Visit www.percyjackson.co.uk for entry details.

Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

Teaser:

Honestly, blowing up another school was the last thing I wanted to do. As the son of a Greek god, I've had my share of near-death disaster. This summer, I didn't choose to battle the cheerleading squad, but when two hissing she-devils with fangs are heading straight for you, what's a half-blood meant to do?

This is the fourth book in the Percy Jackson adventures and it is a no-holds barred fun read - no matter your age.

Percy has moved on from being the newbie at Camp Half Blood - he has had several adventures since and has developed into an interesting capable character and is very close to his two friends he made his first summer, Grover (the satyr) and Annabeth, one of the daughters of Athena.

Percy manages to escape being eaten by the cheerleaders at the school (they were actually emposai, servants of the goddess Hecate), with the help of Rachel Elizabeth Dare who, although she is a mortal, can see through the Mist - the Mist is a type of glamour supernatural creatures cast about themselves to appear normal to humans and the ordinary world.

Percy meets with Annabeth outside the school and they run off to the safety of Camp Half Blood where Annabeth is given her first quest - she has to lead a quest into the Labyrinth to find Daedalus's workshop. Grover is given one more week in his own seeker quest - to find the great god Pan. Together with Percy's half-brother, Tyson, the friends set off into the depths of the Labyrinth, not knowing what my become of them. Some people have disappeared into it completely, never to return, others have returned crazed and insane.

In each book, the stakes are raised higher and higher. In this novel it is the safety of Camp Half Blood that is at stake - an ex-camper, Luke, has betrayed them and has joined forces with Cronos, the Titan, to demolish the camp and by doing so, clear the way to move on Mount Olympus itself to kill Zeus and his clan - to bring chaos to the world.

The friends battle countless enemies, mythical creatures of times gone by, along with human adversaries, keen to cash in on the chaos created by Luke and his advancing army, so there is action and adventure to be had and some pretty dire situations which only quick thinking gets them out of.

If you're a fan of mythology, action adventure and quest novels the Percy Jackson books are definitely a good read. Battle of the Labyrinth is the fourth in this series but I would like to hasten to add: it can be read as a stand-alone. And having said that...it may quite easily tempt you to buy the first three too.

The writing is strong and uncomplicated - the characters are well developed, having become comfortable in each other's company and the pace is a steady march to battle.

There is an excellent Percy Jackson website which can be found here, complete with links to extracts of the books and a newsletter to subscribe to.

Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth is out in March 09, published by Puffin.