Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth (Book 4) (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, #4)

by Rick Riordan

The Battle of the Labyrinth: the fourth book in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series.

The fourth incredible adventure in the most exciting and commercial fantasy-adventure series since Artemis Fowl.

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?

That was just the beginning. This is the one where my arch-enemy, Luke, is looking for a way to invade our camp via an ancient labyrinth. If he succeeds, thousands of bloodthirsty monsters will attack. So it's goodbye sunshine, hello darkness as four of us descend into the terrifying underground and beyond . . .

Greek mythology relocated to modern-day America. Action-packed, funny, accessible writing for both boys and girls aged 10+. Perfect for fans of Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl.

Praise for the Percy Jackson series:

'Witty and inspired. Gripping, touching and deliciously satirical...This is most likely to succeed Rowling. Puffin is on to a winner' - Amanda Craig, The Times

'Puns, jokes and subtle wit, alongside a gripping storyline' - Telegraph

'Perfectly paced, with electrifying moments chasing each other like heartbeats' - New York Times

Rick Riordan is an award-winning mystery writer. For the past fifteen years he has taught at middle schools in the San Francisco Bay area and in Texas. Rick lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and two sons. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, the overall winner of the Red House Children's Book Award, was Rick's first novel featuring the heroic young demigod.

The Percy Jackson series:

The Lightning Thief; The Sea of Monsters; The Battle of the Labyrinth; The Titan's Curse; The Last Olympian

Heroes of Olympus:

The Lost Hero; The Son of Neptune; The Mark of Athena

The Kane Chronicles:

The Red Pyramid; The Throne of Fire; The Serpent's Shadow

• ISBN10: 014132127X
• ISBN13: 9780141321271
• Publish Date: 5 March 2009 (first published 1 September 2007)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 20 August 2013
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Puffin
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Chelsea]

This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The next book is at the very top of my to-read pile. I loved that we got to meet a few more Gods. Every book there’s a new one we get to see. They are so funny and never what I expect them to be. Plus the plot is just as exciting as the first ones. The labyrinth is so creepy! It’s completely random and there’s a whole bunch of new monsters we get to see. I really enjoyed the scene with the Sphinx and the battle at the end was pretty cool. I’m getting a little nervous because nobody important has died yet but this could be a series where everything ends up happy. Who knows!

I love how you can tell how much older the characters are getting. Percy is getting so much smarter and less childish. It’s so cute! Annabeth is as smart as always but you can tell she’s becoming a teenager with her little crush. Tyson and Grover actually get along in this book which was really cute. Even Clarisse is starting to grown up. I’ve gotten really attached to all these characters but the author makes it so easy!

Basically this book is just as good as the others, if not better. If you STILL haven’t read this series it’s a must!

[Nessa Luna]

Read this review, and many more on my blog October Tune!

I do think this is my favourite book out of the series, until now (though there's only one book left, and that book might be the best one but hey, I'll find that out later). Like the summary says, in this book, Percy, Annabeth, Tyson and Grover enter the Labyrinth; an incredible maze that is right underneath the earth's surface, and goes almost underneath the entire world.

I liked the way the labyrinth was described, though I would never EVER enter it; I didn't find it hard to imagine where they were. Some of the creatures however were kinda hard for me to imagine. For example, there was a creature with more than a hundred arms; and a creature with apparently three chests (though you're able to wear three shirts at a time, which might come in handy when you can't decide what to wear).

Some of the chapter titles were really funny, for example this one: "Nico buys happy meals for the dead'. I also found myself comparing all the Greek gods and goddesses to their Norse 'twins', but that's because I've watched quite a lot of Almighty Johnsons lately.

With the last two books, I had the idea that I had missed a couple of pages of the book, because sometimes they'd be talking about something that apparently happened between the books, and I found myself confused. This was the first book in the series with which I didn't have this, which I felt really happy about. This is also one of the first book in which I had not expected the plot twist at all, perhaps for a couple of pages before it happened, but for the entire book I had not expected that to happen.

Like in any other book that has battles, people died, but that didn't stop me from being sad when I found out certain characters died. I just really don't like characters dying, especially not if they are among my favourites (nine out of ten times, when I call a character my favourite, they die, ugh).

Also this book made me ship a certain ship, and I just really want to know what happens to them in the next book (and that new series, Heroes of Olympus; which I am definitely going to read as soon as I've read the last book in this series). Yay!

This is such an awesome series of books, they are very action packed and easy to read. I love Mythology books, especially Greek, and these are one of the few books with Mythology theme that I love. The characters are great and I really like Percy, such a great main character.

I would recommend this series to anybody.

[rakesandrogues]

Posted at Muggle-Born.net

In a fast-paced adventure, Rick Riordan continues to amaze me by bringing myths to life in the fourth installment of the Percy Jackson series. As the evil Kronos and his army become more powerful, it is up to Percy, Annabeth, Tyson, and Grover to beat the army to the heart of Daedalus's labyrinth. The fate of Camp Half-Blood is in the hands of Percy and friends.

Story-wise, THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH is my favorite so far. Daedalus and his labyrinth is one of my favorite myths, mostly because it brought me back to my Latin class in high school. I loved how Riordan brought the labyrinth to life. As usual, his writing was full of vivid descriptions that brought me into the intricate maze right next to Percy.

The writing was fast-paced as usual full of action and surprises around every corner. Unlike other authors, Riordan still has the ability to surprise me with awesome plot twists that I never would have seen coming despite having recently read his other books. THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH will not disappoint fans of the series.

This book lacked the humor that I loved in the previous books, but THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH makes up for that area in terms of character development and relationships. Percy continues to grow as a character, not only maturing with age, but as well as the powers he has. It was amazing to read what he could do with the gifts bestowed by him as the son of Poseidon. Furthermore, I loved his interactions with Annabeth, as awkward as they were. I love that their friendship is developing into something more, though Percy doesn't really understand it at the moment. So adorable!

The ending left off with a lot of tension. I can just anticipate how amazing the last book will be. With Percy's sixteenth birthday a year away, I can only imagine how much adventure there is to come. The war between the Titans and the Gods of Olympus is just about ready to go into full swing!

I am enjoying the series tremendously. Despite the fact that I still have one book to go, I can honestly say that the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series will become one of my favorites of all time! I strongly urge you to read the series if you haven't already!

[inlibrisveritas]

Absolutely wonderful, this series has become one of my favorites by far. I applaud Riordan's creativity and resourceful in the way of the ancient greeks' myths and legends. Plus it's really fun to read.