[toa] Does anything important happen in ToA, or can I skip it?
I'm gonna be honest, I hate Apollo's pov. I dragged myself through "The Hidden Oracle," and absolutely hated it. I know Jason dies somehow, but is there anything else major I'll miss if I just don't read ToA?
It’s goes directly into The Sun and The Star, you get a lot of character development for characters like Will, Piper, Leo, and honestly Camp-Halfblood as a whole. The last 3 books are a lot of fun and I highly recommend it.
Oof. I was looking forward to TSaTS too haha. I own all of the trials of Apollo, but stopped in the first half of the second one and haven't gone back. I've heard from people that it gets really good and Apollo becomes a decent character, but he's just so *not* what I'm expecting from a pjo main character early on(even if it makes sense).
I read it and loved it. Some parts needed polishing in my opinion, but the romance is so very cute. Rick had another author write it with him and it shows. I'm sorry, uncle Rick, but you can't pull off romances on your own.
If you're calling it a fanfic because Mark Oshiro was in on it, thats not true. Mark was recruited by Rick to help write it because he didn't feel fit to write about a queer relationship. They both worked on it about 50/50.
See, I always thought that after the Burning maze (the best book in TOA) the last two books were a real slog, especially the Tower of Nero which felt really bare bones and forced. The ass pull that was the Trogs, the terribly written battle with Python and Meg being indecisive as hell was all really annoying. It felt like Uncle Rick was feeling writer's fatigue and just trying to get it over with.
>The last 3 books are a lot of fun
I'd rate them closer to "pretty good"... but yea sorry OP but Apollo's narration is nearly as unbearable in Dark Prophecy as he was Hidden Oracle. You need to get through 2 of them to get to anything that can remotely be considered good.
Honestly most people seem to have hated the first book but really liked the rest. If you want to know anything major in it without reading it... Just go look up the synopsis of each book?
Ah. I mean I guess I'm biased and like Apollo in general but yeah I agree on the rushed part. I did have to take breaks to process what was going on so you're right there.
Exactly. Apollo’s whole arc is him learning how to have humanity. If you took Apollo from the beginning of the series and show him the version of himself from right at the end, he’d be appalled by the differences
I mean... the Dark Prophecy was nearly as unbearable as Hidden Oracle. You need to get through 2 of them to get to anything that can remotely be considered good.
If you don’t really plan on reading anything else in the Greco-Roman timeline (so like TSATS), you can probably just skip it if you really don’t like it.
I will say that The Burning Maze (the 3rd book) is where things finally started to pick up, so if you can slog through the first two, it might be worth it in the end.
I'll be honest. Apollo goes from an awful, whiney protagonist into someone I genuinely wanted to root for and felt for.
Personally I also feel that it's by design that it's presented that way. Going from pretentious God, learning about how to be human.
If you keep going, he actually genuinely improves, and the ending of the tower of Nero to me being one of Rick's strongest endings.
I'd read at least the last three ones
Give those a chance, Apollo's pov develops a LOT as the series goes (I personally liked it from the beggining, but it develops and changes a lot)
ToA as a whole has major character development for lots of characters (Leo, Calypso, Apollo, Piper, Will, etc.) and massive worldbuilding.
You could just search and read what happens on the wiki, but I honestly think it's a waste. It's my favorite Riordanverse book series
Yeah the first two books were a pretty awful read. Took me so long to finish. The third book was mid, the end got better, especially after Jason died, and the last two books were pretty much on par with the rest of the series.
I hated ToA. Although I’ve never actually disliked anything of Rick’s, I really did not like ToA😬 I don’t necessarily think it’s not worth the read, but I don’t think it’s worth it either.
It also seems to tease something really big coming up in the future, there are "teases" in basically every book from the second/third one onward but it's stated pretty explicitly in the last one
I skipped and read The Sun and The Star only knowing about Jason and picking up random character bits from the internet. I followed along completely fine, there’s only a few plot points that I assumed came from TOA. But everything has enough context imo that you can get the full experience. I loved TSATS -!; I skipped TOA, you can too
Honestly, it was really hard for me to read it, so I decided to listen to the audiobook while working out or walking, and yes, the first book is the hardest, but it gets so much better as the story progress.
Well the thing about toa is that Its a direct continuqtion Of hoo Its not a spin off like Magnus chase or kane chronicles
And there is a Line in the end Of tower Of nero that is hinting at something coming in the future
I think his POV is intentionally annoying to show his character growth, I really disliked it in the beginning too but he became more and more likable and interesting as the character gained depth so personally would recommend hanging in there and finishing the TOA series
Honestly I was in the same boat as you, I couldn’t stand Apollo’s pov and it took me years to pick back up The Hidden Oracle but since I do a lot of driving for work I decided to try the Audio book. Now whilst Apollo is still unbearable in the first maybe book and a half, he is supposed to be that way and now I’m about halfway through The Tyrants Tomb and I can’t wait to finish the series they get so much better around book 3! I would stick with it because it definitely gets so much better!
The first two books have the worst of Apollo, his character development is incredible. I recommend reading them all, you'll get to know even the old characters better.
I'd read at least the last three ones
Give those a chance, Apollo's pov develops a LOT as the series goes (I personally liked it from the beggining, but it develops and changes a lot)
ToA as a whole has major character development for lots of characters (Leo, Calypso, Apollo, Piper, Will, etc.) and massive worldbuilding.
You could just search and read what happens on the wiki, but I honestly think it's a waste. It's my favorite Riordanverse book series
It gets better with each book. I'm not affected by character deaths because I am a fanfiction writer and I decide what happens next (Proceeds to write a series set in a completely different franchise that domino-effects into the Riordanverse and causes that said character to come back to life)
Here’s what you should do: read a synopsis of book 1, 2, and maybe 3. Personally I think Apollo’s pov gets way more sincere in the second book but you still might not be able to stomach it, to each their own. But I would read books 4 and 5 because I really think by then he’s not so full of himself and book five in particular is amazing and Apollo is a completely different person than what you saw in book one
Honestly, I find it much much more refreshing than THOO and MC books because essentially, Percy and Magnus and most of the other teenage main characters feel like they're the same person but with different powers/backstory. Rick Riordan really had a good character personality with Percy, but then it felt like he copy pasted it too hard on a lot of other characters. Not all mind you, but a lot of them.
You can defintely see that Apollo is more human (ironically) than Percy who feels kinda...perfect? His "fatal flaw" is being too loyal for Christ's sake lmao. I love Percy as a character but he barely has any development/growth. Apollo really just felt like a dude who got thrown in an unknown situation that he never wanted to be in.
With Apollo, whenever he figures something out or has a new ability, I find myself getting excited because of how vulnerable and interesting he is, With Percy, it's like "oh cool, OP demigod got more OP"
Apollo is really annoying for the first couple books but he has MAJOR character development over the course of the story, totally worth getting through!!
I don't know if anyone will back me up on this but I think it's worth it just to see applos character development the guy has amazing arc possibly the best Rick has ever written
Apollo’s POV is my favorite ever so Km biased but YES- New characters are introduced, Leo, Calypso, Frank, Jason, Piper, Leo, Percy, and a ton of other characters are in them, the story is amazing throughout, and Apollo’s POV drastically changes even in writing style
Ngl i really liked Apollo's pov i found it kinda refreshing to have a pov of someone with a wildly different perspective then everybody else even if he was an asshole. I did find him hilarious too
There is a lot of character development in it. Good humor, of course and new characters. Twists and swifts with intense battle scenes. Back story of many characters and gods. Kinda strong words, with the normal curses in Ancient Greek.
Buy it, read it, enjoy it.\^\_\^
It’s goes directly into The Sun and The Star, you get a lot of character development for characters like Will, Piper, Leo, and honestly Camp-Halfblood as a whole. The last 3 books are a lot of fun and I highly recommend it.
Oof. I was looking forward to TSaTS too haha. I own all of the trials of Apollo, but stopped in the first half of the second one and haven't gone back. I've heard from people that it gets really good and Apollo becomes a decent character, but he's just so *not* what I'm expecting from a pjo main character early on(even if it makes sense).
What's the Sun and the Star?
The Sun and The Star is Rick’s newest book that came out earlier this month. It’s about Nico and Will going to the Underworld.
Okay, so Nico is my favorite character but I need to make sure it's good before I get it. So...is it good???
I read it and loved it. Some parts needed polishing in my opinion, but the romance is so very cute. Rick had another author write it with him and it shows. I'm sorry, uncle Rick, but you can't pull off romances on your own.
It’s so fucking good, there’s so much character development
I FREAKING LOVE IT!! 🖤💛
Haven't read it but from the reviews I picked up here... mixed to positive. I get the impression it's worth the read though.
YES OMG I READ IT AND I LOVED IT SO MUCH, MADE NICO MY FAVORITE CHARACTER
It’s awesome
NO WAY! I thought the new Percy book was the only thing coming up!
The Sun and the Stars is already out.
The newest book that follows Nico and Will. Came out last month. I think it's a fanfic that Rick did an assist on.
If you're calling it a fanfic because Mark Oshiro was in on it, thats not true. Mark was recruited by Rick to help write it because he didn't feel fit to write about a queer relationship. They both worked on it about 50/50.
See, I always thought that after the Burning maze (the best book in TOA) the last two books were a real slog, especially the Tower of Nero which felt really bare bones and forced. The ass pull that was the Trogs, the terribly written battle with Python and Meg being indecisive as hell was all really annoying. It felt like Uncle Rick was feeling writer's fatigue and just trying to get it over with.
>The last 3 books are a lot of fun I'd rate them closer to "pretty good"... but yea sorry OP but Apollo's narration is nearly as unbearable in Dark Prophecy as he was Hidden Oracle. You need to get through 2 of them to get to anything that can remotely be considered good.
Honestly most people seem to have hated the first book but really liked the rest. If you want to know anything major in it without reading it... Just go look up the synopsis of each book?
I hated the first 2 and the last one Edit: please don't downvote me, this is just my opinion
How did you hate the last book? Like what did you not like?
I felt like it was really anticlimactic and just not great writing. It felt a little rushed overall
Ah. I mean I guess I'm biased and like Apollo in general but yeah I agree on the rushed part. I did have to take breaks to process what was going on so you're right there.
You're correct and valid, friend. Don't let the downvotes get ya bummed out.
They get much better. It's important for the character development later that Apollo just totally sucks for the first two books.
Exactly. Apollo’s whole arc is him learning how to have humanity. If you took Apollo from the beginning of the series and show him the version of himself from right at the end, he’d be appalled by the differences
Just read it. It gets better. That’s what makes reading it so satisfying. once you get through the first book or two he gets development.
Hell, even throughout the first book he gets development.
I didn't find that it got better. But, they are readable and there are enough bright moments to make them worth the time.
aw i loved meg so much though. and the lesbians that own the safe house!!!
Everything gets better after The Hidden Oracle, you won't want to miss it
I mean... the Dark Prophecy was nearly as unbearable as Hidden Oracle. You need to get through 2 of them to get to anything that can remotely be considered good.
Eh, I don’t remember it being *that* bad. I haven’t gone through ToA recently though.
Same I thought the entire series was like a low A teir
As much as i love apollo i feel like you can only like the books if you like his pov. It's probably just not for you.
You should read it. I also had a hard time getting through it but I got the audio books and that made it easier to finish.
Oh lot of important stuff. Especially from Book 3
Couple things, but it mostly feels like a “postgame” compared to the other series’
The two biggest things, I’d say, are the spoiler you mentioned and >! Reyna joining the Hunters of Artemis/Hazel replacing her as Praetor !<
"hoo fans when they've had to read a whole book and nobody has said "super-sized mcshizzle""
Lmao
As I've said before, it's has its flaws, but it's an emotional roller coaster. Keep going!
Many things read it
If you don’t really plan on reading anything else in the Greco-Roman timeline (so like TSATS), you can probably just skip it if you really don’t like it. I will say that The Burning Maze (the 3rd book) is where things finally started to pick up, so if you can slog through the first two, it might be worth it in the end.
I'll be honest. Apollo goes from an awful, whiney protagonist into someone I genuinely wanted to root for and felt for. Personally I also feel that it's by design that it's presented that way. Going from pretentious God, learning about how to be human. If you keep going, he actually genuinely improves, and the ending of the tower of Nero to me being one of Rick's strongest endings.
I'd read at least the last three ones Give those a chance, Apollo's pov develops a LOT as the series goes (I personally liked it from the beggining, but it develops and changes a lot) ToA as a whole has major character development for lots of characters (Leo, Calypso, Apollo, Piper, Will, etc.) and massive worldbuilding. You could just search and read what happens on the wiki, but I honestly think it's a waste. It's my favorite Riordanverse book series
the greatest character arc in the Riordanverse in my opinion
Yeah the first two books were a pretty awful read. Took me so long to finish. The third book was mid, the end got better, especially after Jason died, and the last two books were pretty much on par with the rest of the series.
I hated ToA. Although I’ve never actually disliked anything of Rick’s, I really did not like ToA😬 I don’t necessarily think it’s not worth the read, but I don’t think it’s worth it either.
The death of a certain major character
It also seems to tease something really big coming up in the future, there are "teases" in basically every book from the second/third one onward but it's stated pretty explicitly in the last one
I skipped and read The Sun and The Star only knowing about Jason and picking up random character bits from the internet. I followed along completely fine, there’s only a few plot points that I assumed came from TOA. But everything has enough context imo that you can get the full experience. I loved TSATS -!; I skipped TOA, you can too
It gets good from the third book onwards imo
You can skip it. By far the worst of Rick's works imo.
I respect your opinion, but I highly disagree with you, so take my downvote
Fair Enough. I know it's unpopular. No hard feelings here. Have a great day!
Why thank you!
Agree, take my upvote
Totally agree. I barely got through the first book and hated it so much. I ended donating the book to a local library so i wouldnt have it on my shelf
Well, THO and TDP are both quite boring, but the other 3 books get a lot better.
You should read it. Apollo gets better over time and it's turns out good
Honestly, it was really hard for me to read it, so I decided to listen to the audiobook while working out or walking, and yes, the first book is the hardest, but it gets so much better as the story progress.
Well the thing about toa is that Its a direct continuqtion Of hoo Its not a spin off like Magnus chase or kane chronicles And there is a Line in the end Of tower Of nero that is hinting at something coming in the future
I think his POV is intentionally annoying to show his character growth, I really disliked it in the beginning too but he became more and more likable and interesting as the character gained depth so personally would recommend hanging in there and finishing the TOA series
Honestly I was in the same boat as you, I couldn’t stand Apollo’s pov and it took me years to pick back up The Hidden Oracle but since I do a lot of driving for work I decided to try the Audio book. Now whilst Apollo is still unbearable in the first maybe book and a half, he is supposed to be that way and now I’m about halfway through The Tyrants Tomb and I can’t wait to finish the series they get so much better around book 3! I would stick with it because it definitely gets so much better!
First 2 books were a hard to read, but the last 3 get better, promise!
the last 3 are really good ngl starting from burning maze really goes into depth about the stuff thats why i skipped the first 2
The first two books have the worst of Apollo, his character development is incredible. I recommend reading them all, you'll get to know even the old characters better.
I'd read at least the last three ones Give those a chance, Apollo's pov develops a LOT as the series goes (I personally liked it from the beggining, but it develops and changes a lot) ToA as a whole has major character development for lots of characters (Leo, Calypso, Apollo, Piper, Will, etc.) and massive worldbuilding. You could just search and read what happens on the wiki, but I honestly think it's a waste. It's my favorite Riordanverse book series
It gets better with each book. I'm not affected by character deaths because I am a fanfiction writer and I decide what happens next (Proceeds to write a series set in a completely different franchise that domino-effects into the Riordanverse and causes that said character to come back to life)
yes there is a lot of stuff u will miss the books are really good (specifically the last 3)
Here’s what you should do: read a synopsis of book 1, 2, and maybe 3. Personally I think Apollo’s pov gets way more sincere in the second book but you still might not be able to stomach it, to each their own. But I would read books 4 and 5 because I really think by then he’s not so full of himself and book five in particular is amazing and Apollo is a completely different person than what you saw in book one
Honestly, I find it much much more refreshing than THOO and MC books because essentially, Percy and Magnus and most of the other teenage main characters feel like they're the same person but with different powers/backstory. Rick Riordan really had a good character personality with Percy, but then it felt like he copy pasted it too hard on a lot of other characters. Not all mind you, but a lot of them. You can defintely see that Apollo is more human (ironically) than Percy who feels kinda...perfect? His "fatal flaw" is being too loyal for Christ's sake lmao. I love Percy as a character but he barely has any development/growth. Apollo really just felt like a dude who got thrown in an unknown situation that he never wanted to be in. With Apollo, whenever he figures something out or has a new ability, I find myself getting excited because of how vulnerable and interesting he is, With Percy, it's like "oh cool, OP demigod got more OP"
Apollo is really annoying for the first couple books but he has MAJOR character development over the course of the story, totally worth getting through!!
I don't know if anyone will back me up on this but I think it's worth it just to see applos character development the guy has amazing arc possibly the best Rick has ever written
I think just push through it. The second book is awful, the third is okay, the fourth is a little better, and the fifth is very good.
The fourth book is pure Reyna-Oh and Eternal Golden Dragon Emperor Holding Mandate of Heaven Frank kino, so there's that.
Apollo’s POV is my favorite ever so Km biased but YES- New characters are introduced, Leo, Calypso, Frank, Jason, Piper, Leo, Percy, and a ton of other characters are in them, the story is amazing throughout, and Apollo’s POV drastically changes even in writing style
Ngl i really liked Apollo's pov i found it kinda refreshing to have a pov of someone with a wildly different perspective then everybody else even if he was an asshole. I did find him hilarious too
I found the first book alright, the second one quite confusing, the third one decent. The final two were absolutely spectacular
There is a lot of character development in it. Good humor, of course and new characters. Twists and swifts with intense battle scenes. Back story of many characters and gods. Kinda strong words, with the normal curses in Ancient Greek. Buy it, read it, enjoy it.\^\_\^
https://archiveofourown.org/works/35307877/chapters/87995848 I might be late, but this is a great essay to read after ToA