The Battle of the Labyrinth
 | |
| Author | Rick Riordan |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Percy Jackson & the Olympians (Book Four) |
| Genre | Fantasy novel, Young adult, Greek mythology |
| Publisher | Hyperion Books for Children |
Publication date | May 6, 2008 (US)[1] 3 July 2008 (UK) |
| Publication place | United States. |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback), Audiobook |
| Pages | 361 |
| OCLC | 180753884 |
| LC Class | PZ7.R4829 Bat 2008 |
| Preceded by | The Titan's Curse |
| Followed by | The Last Olympian |
The Battle of the Labyrinth is a 2008 fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology; it is the fourth novel in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Fictional demigod Percy Jackson, who is fifteen years old by the end of the book, tries to stop Luke Castellan and his army from invading Camp Half-Blood through Daedalus's labyrinth by trying to find Daedalus and convince him not to give Luke Ariadne's string, which would help Luke through the Labyrinth. It was released on 6 May 2008 in the US and Canada.[1] It was received positively overall.
Prophecy
You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,
The dead, the traitor and the lost one raise,
You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,
The child of Athena's final stand,
Destroy with a hero's final breath,
And lose a love to worse than death
"And all shall be dead in the end"
Summary
After being attacked by empousai cheerleaders at his new school, Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood and learns about the Labyrinth; part of the palace of King Minos in Crete that was designed by Daedalus. He also meets the camp's new sword master, Quintus. During a battle drill with Giant Scorpions at the camp, Annabeth and Percy accidentally find an entrance into the Labyrinth. Percy soon learns that Luke had used this entrance before and will try and lead his army through the Labyrinth straight into the heart of Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth reads the prophecy and comes back out of the Big House with a feeling of dread. When Percy and Annabeth privately meet afterwards in Athena's cabin, and Percy asks her if she is okay, she is moved to tears and holds out her arms. Percy hugs her, telling her that she shouldn't worry about whatever she was worrying about. What Percy doesn't know is that Annabeth thinks that Percy is going to die.[2]
Using the Labyrinth, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson, must find Daedalus to prevent Luke from obtaining Ariadne's String; the tool that would allow Luke to navigate the Labyrinth. Percy and his friends encounter Kampê (Campe), a half woman, half-dragon creature, and free her prisoner, Briares the Hekatonkheires (Hundred-Handed One), Tyson's idol. After an encounter with the goddess Hera and a battle at the farm of Geryon, the group is reunited with Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, who blames Percy for the death of his sister Bianca. Percy helps summon the spirit of Bianca, and Nico is convinced to put his grudge behind him by the ghost of his sister. The next day, however, Percy and his friends (without Nico) depart to find Hephaestus, hoping he would know the location of Daedulus. While traveling, the group gets separated, with Percy and Annabeth searching for Hephaestus and Tyson and Grover searching for Pan. After a meeting with Hephaestus, Annabeth and Percy go to Mt. St. Helens. There he finds telkhines, also known as "sea demons". He is discovered by the telkhines, who attack him. Percy finds Annabeth and they have a short argument during which Percy tells Annabeth to flee. Thinking that Percy is the one to die in the prophecy, Annabeth kisses Percy, tells him to be careful, and disappears. In an attempt to escape the telkhines, Percy causes Mt. St. Helens to erupt, pushing him out of the volcano, draining his energy in the process.[2]
When Percy awakens after the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, he finds himself on the mythical island, Ogygia inhabited by Calypso, who is revealed to be a daughter of the Titan, Atlas. After being treated for burns by Calypso and returning to the mortal world, Percy finds Annabeth saying her last few words, Percy gets the help he needs from a mortal girl named Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who is able to see through the Mist: the magical veil that makes mortals see things differently than demigods. Grover finally finds Pan, but the god of the wild is dying and wants Grover to tell the other satyrs that they must save the natural world themselves. His spirit passes into all present, the satyr in particular, when he dies. They finally discover that Quintus, the mysterious new sword instructor at Camp Half-Blood, is actually Daedalus, who has attained extended life by putting his life-force, his animus, into a robot body and that Kronos has gained enough strength by Luke. He also possess Luke, using his body as a starter form. Kronos finds out that Nico di Angelo is a son of Hades and that he could be the child of the great prophecy, which states that a child of "Big Three" (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) would decide the fate of the gods. Luke has already reached Daedalus and attained Ariadne's string; using the magical instrument, he sends out Kronos's army to take Camp Half-Blood via the Labyrinth. While fighting a losing battle, the entire camp is either injured or killed, and Daedalus and Briares come out of the Labyrinth to help fight the battle and destroy Kampe. Grover rescues Camp Half-Blood by causing a Panic, which Pan had used once before, to scare away the enemy. The story ends at Percys house and a visit from his dad, Poseidon.
Major characters
- Percy Jackson is a 15-year-old son of Poseidon. He is the series' narrator and protagonist. He joins Annabeth in her quest to go into the labyrinth to find Daedalus' workshop.
- Annabeth Chase is 15-year-old daughter of Athena, and one of Percy's closest friends. She gets the quest to navigate the Labyrinth. Her feelings for Percy start to show but she is confused because of her lingering feelings towards Luke.
- Rachel Elizabeth Dare is a mortal who can see through the Mist. Her father is a wealthy businessman who buys the undeveloped land of the wild and builds developments upon it. Percy had previously met her at the Hoover Dam in The Titan's Curse, where she helped him get away from the undead warriors.
- Nico di Angelo is an 10-year-old son of Hades. Upset that his sister Bianca died, he is slightly unstable, and attempts to trade Daedalus' soul for that of Bianca. He has a sword made of Stygian Iron. He also is out to get Percy.
- Luke Castellan is a son of Hermes and traitor to the Olympians. His body becomes possessed by the spirit of Kronos. He is the series' main antagonist.
- Grover Underwood is a satyr and Percy's best friend. His life's ambition is to find Pan, the lost god of the Wild. Grover, Tyson, Percy, Annabeth, Nico and Rachel find Pan inside Carlsbad Caverns along with some extinct animals. He gave them words of wisdom, and then died. When he died, his essence entered all of the characters' mouths (except Nico), meaning a piece of the wild remained in their hearts. He gave Grover the famous battle cry, Panic, which Grover used to scare off the intruders in Camp Half-Blood. The word Panic is named after Pan because in the Titan war he let out a horrible cry that drove all the monsters back to where they came from.
- Tyson is Percy's cyclops half-brother. He now works for his father in Poseidon's palace, under the oceans, in the Cyclopes' forge. Tyson enjoys forging, and nicknaming mythical creatures they come across. He joins Percy and his friends in the Labyrinth.
- Daedalus/Quintus was the creator of the Labyrinth and son of Athena, who makes five automatons in order to cheat death. He becomes the new swordsman at Camp Half-Blood under the name Quintus, but during the intrusion of Camp Half-Blood, he is stabbed, but instead of blood coming out of the wound, golden ichor does (the usual thing that flows when a God gets wounded). He has a murderer's mark on his neck (a bird of some sort), branded by Athena, because he killed his nephew, Perdix. He owns a hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary. After his death, he was assigned to buildstoll-ways and other buildings to control traffic in the Underworld and, according to Nico, is very happy with this job. Before he dies, he gives Annabeth a laptop containing all of the works he never had time to complete, as well as many of his ideas and theories.
Critical reception
The Battle of the Labyrinth received generally positive reviews. Publishers Weekly praised Riordan by saying, "One of Riordan's strengths is the wry interplay between the real and the surreal", and adding that "The wit, rousing swordplay and breakneck pace will once again keep kids hooked."[3] Children's Literature said, "Riordan creates a masterful weaving of Greek mythology and traditional fantasy in this latest book in "The Olympians" series. Fans will enjoy the latest adventures of their favorite characters, and those picking the book up for the first time will have no trouble falling into this magical world."[3] The website Kidsreads.com praised the book, saying "the story arc has remained unified and compelling."[4] School Library Journal wrote that "[l]ike many series, the "Percy Jackson" books are beginning to show the strain of familiarity and repetition",[3] before adding "However, the overarching story line remains compelling, and the cliff-hanger ending will leave readers breathless in anticipation of the fifth and final volume."[3] Kirkus Reviews adjudged the book to be the best in the series and said, "The often-philosophical tale zips along with snappy dialogue, humor and thrilling action, culminating in a climactic battle between gods and Titans.”[5] The Los Angeles Times gave a positive review, calling it "a glorious, no-holds-barred adventure with great plot twists, a melding of ancient and bionic technology and a cliffhanger ending that will have fans eagerly awaiting the fifth and final showdown between gods and monsters next year."[6] It was first runner-up in the 2010 Indian Paintbrush Book Award.[7]
Audiobook
The Battle of the Labyrinth was adapted in a 30 hour 32 minutes audiobook[8] read by actor Jesse Bernstein.[8] It was released on 13 May 2008 by Listening Library.[8][9][10]
AudioFile Magazine praised the audiobook, saying that Bernstein was "skillful at wringing humor from the witty dialogue and from the contrasts between the modern and ancient worlds."[11]
Sequel
The Battle of the Labyrinth was followed by The Last Olympian, the final book in the series, which was released 5 May 2009.[12] In The Last Olympian, Percy and his friends defend Olympus from Kronos's army.
Film adaptation
Fox bought the rights to the entire series from author Rick Riordan, meaning The Battle of The Labyrinth will most likely be adapted for film. The film will likely be entitled Percy Jackson: Battle of the Labyrinth.
See also
References
- ^ a b "The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan −4th Book, Chapter 1". Scribd. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ^ a b Riordan, Rick (8 May 2008). The Battle of the Labyrinth. Percy Jackson & the Olympians. Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 978-1-4231-0146-8. OCLC 180753884.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b c d "The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series #4)". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
- ^ Piehl, Norah. "Review: The Battle of the Labyrinth". Kidsreads.com. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
- ^ "The Battle of the Labyrinth review". Kirkus Reviews. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ Hamilton, Denise (18 May 2008). "Paging Daedalus". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
- ^ "Indian Paintbrush Award by Year: 1986–2011" (PDF). Indian Paintbrush Award. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
- ^ a b c "The Battle of the Labyrinth: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4 (Unabridged)". audible.com. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ "The Battle of the Labyrinth Audiobook". Random House. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ "The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4) [Audiobook][Unabridged] (Audio CD)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ "THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH : Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4". AudioFile Magazine. August 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ ""Percy Jackson" children's book series ending next year". The Seattle Times. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2011.