The Battle of the Labyrinth

This post first published May 5, 2011.

Author: Rick Riordan
Published: 2008
Publisher: Hyperion
Series: Percy Jackson & The Olympians #4
361 pages (paperback)
 
Percy Jackson once again manages to somehow blow up another school, and as usual, is grateful that it’s summer vacation so he can go hide out in Camp Half-Blood. Really, mortal troubles are the least of his problems when there’s possibly another war with the Titans approaching. During a game of Capture The Flag at camp, Percy and Annabeth stumble upon an entrance to the Labyrinth — an enormous underground maze that spans pretty much the entire country. Their worst fears are realized when they find out that Luke — their enemy — already knows about the Labyrinth and they worry that he will use it invade the camp with his army. The only thing probably stopping him is the fact that the Labyrinth is so complicated, people have gone mad trying to find their way out of it. Percy and his friends decide they still can’t take any risks, so they seek out Daedalus, the maker of the Labyrinth, to try to persuade him to not help Luke. Problem is, Daedalus lives inside the Labyrinth …

That’s pretty much the plot in a nutshell. Truth be told, I didn’t find this book that fun to read, unlike the previous ones in this series. I haven’t read book five yet, but I’m pretty sure The Battle of the Labyrinth is the weakest book in the series. For one, it was really long. I know what you’re thinking: “Uh, you’ve read thousand page books before, and you’re complaining about a 360 page book?” Um … yes. If you have enough of an interesting story, page number doesn’t matter, but for the story this book told, I feel it dragged on a little too long. Many parts felt sluggish and slow, and honestly, their adventure in the Labyrinth wasn’t as adventuresome as it could have been. I pretty much ho-hummed my way through.

Another reason I didn’t find this book as awesome as its predecessors is the fact that this book utilized a lot of visions and dreams on Percy’s part in order to tell events that happening to other characters elsewhere. It’s cool to use it once or twice, but I just felt like a lot of crucial background information scenes were being told through Percy having a dream, or being sent a vision by a mysterious benefactor, and it was all a little too convenient.

But of course, if you’re reading this series, you’re going to have to eventually read this book. It’s by no means terrible, but when the first three books are generally really awesome, you may find The Battle of the Labyrinth a bit underwhelming. On the bright side, the next — and final — book of the series is, according to my friend, really good and one of her favourites, so I am looking forward to reading it and finding out what happens between Olympus, the Titans, and Percy in the finale.

My Rating: 2.5/5