The Hidden Oracle, by Rick Riordan

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I like Rick Riordan; I'm a fan. I applaud what his various series of encounters with Greek and Roman gods, Eygptian gods, and the Norse, have done to make mythology cool again for his intended audience (middle school, early HS is my guess). I like it that he keeps doing his homework: he knows these mythologies. Sometimes, yes, he uses them satirically and with tongue firmly in cheek, but then the old stories are always retold and reinterpreted. I am sure some of his young readers have gone to read the actual myths--job well done, and hurray.

Apollo has run afoul of Zeus and has been cast out of Olympus. Not only is he exiled, Apollo has lost his divine status and powers. He has been "cast out of Olympus in the form of a sixteen-year-old mortal boy, acne and all!" To get back into Zeus' good graces, Apollo is going to have figure out what is wrong with the various Oracles, which are not working as they should. And he will have to "serve a demigod street urchin who defends herself by throwing rotten fruit" (front cover). And he reader gets to watch Apollo grow up, as it were, from an arrogant and indulged god to a human boy aware of his frailties.

Complications ensue. Let the quest begin. There are terrible villains to be conquered--this time, a triumvirate of them, including the monstrous Nero.

Fans won't be disappointed. However, what I want to talk about--and celebrate--is here we have what I think is the 16th of Riordan's mythical retelling, and finally, finally, being gay (well, Apollo seems to be bi) is in the story. I mean, these are the Greek gods; these are the stories of classical Greece. Zeus and Ganymede. Apollo and Hyacinthus. Achilles and Patroclus.... In the last book, The Blood of Olympus, Nico di Angelo ( a son of Hades) has a crush on Percy Jackson, but eventually finds himself attracted to Will Solace (a son of Apollo) who returns his feelings. And I think I recall another minor Greek deity also being gay--one of the wind gods?--but that has been it, as far as I can remember.

There is more here. Apollo is pondering how his son can be attracted to a "dark foreboding type," and he turns to the reader:

Oh. Perhaps some of you are wondering how I felt seeing him with a boyfriend rather than a girlfriend. If that's the case, please. We gods are not hung up on such things. I myself had ... let's see thirty-three mortal girlfriends and eleven mortal boyfriends? I've lost count. My two greatest loves were, of course, Daphne and Hyacinthus ... (94)

Oh, please indeed. Such casual references are woven throughout the story and serve to make Apollo a more believable character and acknowledge the stories about him and his love of men and women are integral parts of his myth. And that here Apollo has become mortal and still finds himself drawn to both genders, a clear statement that human sexuality is as varied as humans are.

I wish Riordan had incorporated this essential part of Greek mythology and culture sooner, but I understand the demands of marketing and the like. So be it. Bravo, Rick and three cheers for Apollo.



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