The Trials of Apollo, Book 1: The Hidden Oracle (Trials of Apollo, 1) by Rick Riordan (Epub)

Description

Favorite Greek and Roman demigods return in a new five-book adventure quest with a fresh twist: they’re helping Apollo regain his immortal status.

“A clash of mythic intrigues and centuries of pop culture to thrill die-hard and new fans alike.”–Kirkus Reviews
#1 New York Times best-selling series
Rick Riordan is considered the “storyteller of the gods” because of his five #1 New York Times bestselling series based on mythology
A continuation of the Percy Jackson saga, but it also stands alone
A new take on Greek and Roman mythology from the point of view of a fallen god
Brings back beloved demigod characters from the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series
Introduces new demigods
Villains are based on Roman emperors
Features a diverse cast with people from all kinds of backgrounds and lifestyles
Perfect for middle schoolers but can be enjoyed by older readers, too
How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favor.

But Apollo has many enemies―gods, monsters, and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

User’s Reviews

Review PRAISE FOR THE BLOOD OF OLYMPUS”. . .fans will revel in the adventures, wit, and memorable characters found in this thundering conclusion to The Heroes of Olympus series.”―*Booklist Online*PRAISE FOR THE HOUSE OF HADES”In this adventure, victories are hard-won and the essence of bravery nuanced, making the journey as satisfying as it is entertaining.”―*Kirkus*PRAISE FOR THE LOST HERO”Readers longing for a return to Camp Half-Blood will get their wish…. …the action scenes come frequently as the three heroic teens fight monstrous enemies in North American locales….. Flashes of humor lighten the mood at times, but a tone of urgency and imminent danger seems as integral to this series as the last. With appealing new characters within a familiar framework, this spin-off will satisfy the demand for more.”―*Booklist*PRAISE FOR THE MARK OF ATHENA”With a true storyteller’s sense of pacing, Riordan creates another compelling adventure, right down to the cliff-hanger at the end. Stay tuned for volume four.”―*Booklist*PRAISE FOR THE SON OF NEPTUNE”Fans will find plenty to cheer about as Percy and his allies move slowly toward fulfilling the mysterious Prophecy of Seven.”― *Booklist*

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ We stopped reading this once we figured out it was pushing the LGBTQ agenda, which is constantly in all media forms these days. Wish I had know before purchasing them. Very unnecessary and not pertinent to the story line at all.

⭐ I am a big fan of Rick Riordan, or at least I’m a fan of his first books. However, this book pushes the LGBTQ agenda so much the child I purchased it for stopped reading it. She said it was making her uncomfortable that the author was focusing on sexuality so much in a children’s book. She felt the storyline was “meh” compared to the Percy Jackson series and the Kane Chronicles and she said the gender issues were starting to be the focus of the book. It’s very disappointing because she enjoys the mythological aspect of Riordan’s previous books but unfortunately this one falls short. Hopefully Riordan goes back to focusing on the mythology and humor in his future work.

⭐ Two thoughts about this book:1. We started with this book (I read this to my 4th grader) and it would have been better if we started with the Percy Jackson books by this author since those were written before this and has characters reappearing in this book. This was recommended to us by the school librarian because we had just finished the Harry Potter series (which are fantastic). I’m not sure he’d recommend it if he had read it himself.2. Given the age range this book is supposed to be geared to, I thought a lot of it was hugely inappropriate for a children’s book. I ended up having to frequently skim over parts since the Apollo character – in every chapter – liked to reminisce about his past lovers, both male and female, and all the illegitimate children that came from those flings and how he never cared about the children or had any interest in them. It was constant to the point where I was reading the book and thought to myself that the author is randy and just needs to get laid. It was that bad. For an elementary age school book, I did not think it is appropriate for the main character to clearly be a horn dog that would sleep with anything, male or female. At one point in the book, there was an entire paragraph about Apollo fathering a child with a man and that it was possible because he was a god and gods can do that. Um…yeah.The thing is, not only is it inappropriate for a young reader, but it makes the character unlikable even to the adult reading the book. To me, the main character came off as a whiny man whore who spent the majority of his time complaining that he missed being a god and how much it sucks to be human.I would definitely not recommend this book for the age range it says it’s for. Maybe high school or junior high. Many people seem to love this book, so this is just the opinion of a mom who finished reading this to her kid. Again, in case you think I’m being a prude, this is the first book I’ve ever had to skim over stuff.

⭐ Garbage, absolutely garbage. Rick riordan has failed miserably filling his child friendly books with crap that sould not be introduced to, anyones mind really. Do not read, repeat do not read.

⭐ I am a fan of Riordan. I enjoy how he takes ancient mythology and relates it to the modern world in a way that intrigues young and older minds alike and inspires kids to learn more about ancient histories and civilizations. This first book of the new Apollo series was much anticipated by both myself and my son (age 12). That anticipation may have been a disservice, however, as the story did not quite meet the high expectations. While the Percy Jackson and the subsequent books brought the reader into this mythological cross-section with relatable characters, Apollo falls short of establishing this relationship. He is frequently far too depressed and, for lack of a better description, whines too much in self pity. While I realize this is an internal struggle for Apollo, it is not so dissimilar to the feelings of inadequacy Percy often felt, yet because of better development, the reader was drawn into Percy’s feelings rather than just being annoyed by them. It is never a good thing for the reader to find your main character annoying. I did finish the book and I am hoping Apollo’s inner whine struggle will abate, or at least be relatable n the future installments. My son did not finish the book. And that is saying something, as he is an avid reader and huge fan. He easily reads two books a week and loves all the Percy Jackson, Olympian, Roman, Egyptian and Nordic books by Riordan. He was greatly disappointed and would probably disagree with my giving the book three stars. However, I stand by the three stars, admitting this is not Riordan’s best work, but the research is excellent, the plot moves sufficiently, he did create characters I care about and he did provide adequate conflict, even if the resolutions were sometimes over simplified. It is an okay read if you are patient enough to get past Apollo being a little too Apollo. I do hope the next book is better, but this one does not leave me in a rush to pre-order it.

⭐ I’m a big Harry Potter fan having read the series at least three times over the years. I’ve been curious about the Riordan books but there were always so many series & so many books I could never decide where to start, so I didn’t. This book popped up while searching Amazon for something to read. I read the reviews, especially the ones complaining about the LGBTQ content and was intrigued. If two bigotted idiots could be that upset about this book then maybe it was worth reading. They complained about the book pushing an LGBTQ agenda & the sexual content being inappropriate. The gay content consists of the following: one of Apollo’s sons is gay, has a boy friend & they hold hands, all that is mentioned once, more or less in passing,in just one small part of one chapter. Also Apollo several times mentions having had numerous love interests in the past, most female, some male. That’s it. That’s the big, scary LGBTQ content these two idiots are so upset by. Amazing how stupid & bigotted some people can be. Anyway, I enjoyed the book, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue with more of the series. I might just go back & read all the Harry Potter books again, or maybe “The Lord of the Rings” for the fourth or fifth time.

⭐ CHARACTERS:I had a love/hate relationship with Apollo in this one. He is definitely not at all how I envision him to be. But Riordan’s versions of the gods rarely are but … At first I found him quite humorous but that quickly faded and I was absolutely over him. I was over him being self-absorbed and whiny. His change didn’t happen until the last fourth of the book and while I’m glad it came, it really felt like we spent WAY too much time with whiny self-absorbed Apollo for me to truly appreciate him.I loved Meg from the get go. It was sooooooo nice to see a Daughter of Demeter and one so strong. I love Demeter, she’s so badass, and her kids are definitely badass as well. Meg is just full of life and amazing and I just love her.Apollo’s kids. I love them. Will, Austin, and Katie, they’re all great. And while they’re all good at healing they’re all into different things. It was nice to see that since Apollo is the god of so many things. I really hope that we see all three of them in the following books.Nico. NICO. N.I.C.O. I love him, he’s one of my absolute favorite of Riordan’s characters and I am so, so glad that he was in this book. I definitely hope that we see him more, I love that he had such a big part in this one. It was also nice that we got to have a tiny bit of Percy, I really didn’t expect to have him at all, so that was a nice surprise! I would love it if we got more of him but I doubt that will happen.PLOT:This one follows the Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus books so I definitely recommend reading those two series first. Yes that’s 10 books but trust me, you will NOT be disappointed, and the plots of all of them tie in together. You don’t NEED to read them, but this one DOES have spoilers for the earlier books. So I really don’t want to tell you much. But Apollo got punished for something that happened in The Heroes of Olympus series and Zeus banished him from Olympus and made him a mortal and before he can be returned to his godly self he has to go through some trials. XD Seriously go read the PJO & HOO books.WORLDBUILDING:Like I mentioned this one follows the previous series and is just like all of his other Greek Mythology books. The humor and such is all there, pretty much all the elements that make it a Riordan novel.OVERALL:I didn’t think this one was as good as the PJO or HOO books but I am definitely going to keep reading them.

⭐ I have really come to enjoy Rick Riorden’s mythology-inspired series. This one focuses on Apollo after he has been made mortal and thrown down from Olympus by Zeus. As a god he had awesome powers, but now he is a petulant teenager who feels he has been wronged. Aided by an undisciplined demigod named Meg, he travels to Camp Halfblood to try to regain his godhood.What I really love about these different series (Heroes of Olympus, The Lost Hero, The Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase, and now Trials of Apollo) is that they exist in the same universe and we get to go back and revisit characters we loved from other series, sometimes as active characters and sometimes as references. Each series is its own story arc, but it exists in a larger framework. There is nothing sadder than reading the last book in a series and realizing that you will never live in that world again, bar a rereading. Riorden’s choice to have characters from the different mythologies around the world interact is incredibly satisfying, especially in a time when everyone believes that their way is the only way; Riorden’s characters do believe their understanding of the world is accurate, but they do realize throughout their encounters with characters from alternate myths that another person’s way can also be right, which is a valuable lesson for the adolescents that his series is written for.

⭐ I loved Percy Jackson! I bought this book because I read that Leo and Calypso were returning. They finally did, but it’s almost like Leo was missing his personality and was a mere shadow of his former self.I really didn’t like Apollo…after the great job Riordan did creating the characters in the Percy Jackson series, Apollo seems thrown together as an afterthought. He’s got some funny moments, but overall he’s not very likeable.The biggest problem I had with the book was Apollo’s lack of remorse. In both Percy Jackson series’ we see the first person damage…the anger, the resentment, the shame, abandonment, etc that comes from these demigods growing up without one or more of their parents….its a major theme! Yet Apollo brags throughout the entire book about his previous flings and continues to size up everyone he meets in the book like he’s looking for his next one…with total disregard for the damage someone else will have to pay.Not sure this is a book for kids.

⭐ “The Hidden Oracle” by Rick Riordan is a new adventure in the world of Greek and Roman gods, demigods, monsters and spirits.I remember when I saw first news ofabout this book I almost squealed. This is a very dear universe for me, and I couldn’t wait to find out what the characters were up to. I was not disappointed: several old friends appear during the story, some are mentioned in conversations, and some you just remember about.Rick Riordan returns to first-person narrating, bringing the stories back to the personal level. You will pity unfortunate Apollo from the very first pages, laugh at his naïve and oblivious actions and live through his heartbreaks. The scale of the story dropped massively – everything takes place not just in one city, it is narrowed to the Camp, and it is a nice change from massive journey we lived through in last five books. But at the same time, the book plants dozens of seed for development of the plot, future cameos and intriguing secrets.It is very refreshing to see the main character of youth fiction be openly bisexual (pansexual?). Through eyes of Apollo you see his view of the world, the god who can’t choose and doesn’t want to choose. Even in mortality he doesn’t change, he describes girls and boys as equally attractive, doesn’t give a single thought of his son dating another boy and represents the perfect mindset for a modern person.A very important topic is raised with a new character. Family abuse is often ignored in social media, but Meg is a sad example of victim syndrome. She lived through abuse, but continues to defend her abuser – a very often behavior. Personally, I really wanted to help her out of this, and it should be a very important character arcs in future books. Thanks, Mr. Riordan, for bringing this topic up and treating it so realistically.All in all – intrigued for next books! Definitely a must-read for all the fans, and for all the readers, who like funny and fast-paced stories with bright humor and memorable characters.PS: The haikus for each chapter are 10/10!PPS: Limericks keep on getting stuck in my head now.

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