Jayson’s Reviews > The Hidden Oracle > Status Update
Jayson
is on page 46 of 376
Notes:
(1) There's a lot of slipping on banana peels for humor... which might be funny if banana peels were actually slippery on pavement.
- Seriously? how did that gag become a thing?
(2) In my head, Apollo has an upper-class English accent.
- All the better to accentuate his snobbery.
(2) I can already tell Meg's going to annoy me.
- She seems quirky for the sake of quirky, and her personality's all over the place.
— Aug 03, 2023 04:40AM
(1) There's a lot of slipping on banana peels for humor... which might be funny if banana peels were actually slippery on pavement.
- Seriously? how did that gag become a thing?
(2) In my head, Apollo has an upper-class English accent.
- All the better to accentuate his snobbery.
(2) I can already tell Meg's going to annoy me.
- She seems quirky for the sake of quirky, and her personality's all over the place.
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Jayson’s Previous Updates
Jayson
is on page 362 of 376
Notes:
(1) I'm essentially finished. I've only got the glossary to read, which I'll get to later because I'm a completist.
(2) For me, this is on the border between 3 and 4 stars. What made me round up was actually Apollo's narrative voice, which I'm sure people are split on.
- I wasn't annoyed by it and found it entertaining. It's colorful, like when Percy narrates, not bland like Jason or irritating like the Kanes.
— Aug 13, 2023 05:15PM
(1) I'm essentially finished. I've only got the glossary to read, which I'll get to later because I'm a completist.
(2) For me, this is on the border between 3 and 4 stars. What made me round up was actually Apollo's narrative voice, which I'm sure people are split on.
- I wasn't annoyed by it and found it entertaining. It's colorful, like when Percy narrates, not bland like Jason or irritating like the Kanes.
Jayson
is on page 331 of 376
Notes:
(1) I'd planned to finish the final 60 pages in one sitting. However, my body's betrayed me and sleep beckons.
(2) This hasn't been the usual Riordan book. Most notably, nearly everything happens at camp.
- We don't get the standard cross-country road trip and its chain of side-quests along the way.
- It's mostly been about rescuing abductees from monsters. St. George and the dragon stuff. Nothing spectacular.
— Aug 13, 2023 07:45AM
(1) I'd planned to finish the final 60 pages in one sitting. However, my body's betrayed me and sleep beckons.
(2) This hasn't been the usual Riordan book. Most notably, nearly everything happens at camp.
- We don't get the standard cross-country road trip and its chain of side-quests along the way.
- It's mostly been about rescuing abductees from monsters. St. George and the dragon stuff. Nothing spectacular.
Jayson
is on page 300 of 376
Notes:
(1) Nero being The Beast isn't a mystery. Anyone who's read any sort of commentary on the Book of Revelation will know "the number of the beast" is actually code for Emperor Nero.
(2) Not to spoil anything, but SPOILER WARNING, I totally guessed the identity of Meg's step-father.
- When it's mentioned that he's a particular type of person, and only one person of that ilk is named in the book, it's pretty easy.
— Aug 12, 2023 06:20AM
(1) Nero being The Beast isn't a mystery. Anyone who's read any sort of commentary on the Book of Revelation will know "the number of the beast" is actually code for Emperor Nero.
(2) Not to spoil anything, but SPOILER WARNING, I totally guessed the identity of Meg's step-father.
- When it's mentioned that he's a particular type of person, and only one person of that ilk is named in the book, it's pretty easy.
Jayson
is on page 250 of 376
Notes:
(1) The "deadly little girl" trope is one of my pet peeves. It's rarely done right.
- Meg isn't exactly Hit-Girl. She's a pudgy, somewhat dimwitted 12 year-old with zero training. Nor does her godly parentage naturally confer any martial ability.
(2) "Sweet Caroline" isn't exactly the usual Riordan pop culture reference.
- Usually his references are so current and fleeting they go in one ear and out the other.
— Aug 11, 2023 05:45AM
(1) The "deadly little girl" trope is one of my pet peeves. It's rarely done right.
- Meg isn't exactly Hit-Girl. She's a pudgy, somewhat dimwitted 12 year-old with zero training. Nor does her godly parentage naturally confer any martial ability.
(2) "Sweet Caroline" isn't exactly the usual Riordan pop culture reference.
- Usually his references are so current and fleeting they go in one ear and out the other.
Jayson
is on page 201 of 376
Notes:
(1) There are intercontinental campers now.
- I can't say we've seen that until now.
(2) We get the first non-villain deaths in forever.
- They're two no-names, but it's something to give this series some teeth.
(3) How does Meg have a step-dad if her mom's a god?
- I guess her dad's bisexual and married a guy.
(4) Rachel acting like a cheated-on girlfriend when Apollo reveals he has other Oracles is inspired!
— Aug 06, 2023 05:25PM
(1) There are intercontinental campers now.
- I can't say we've seen that until now.
(2) We get the first non-villain deaths in forever.
- They're two no-names, but it's something to give this series some teeth.
(3) How does Meg have a step-dad if her mom's a god?
- I guess her dad's bisexual and married a guy.
(4) Rachel acting like a cheated-on girlfriend when Apollo reveals he has other Oracles is inspired!
Jayson
is on page 150 of 376
Notes:
(1) Apollo's bisexual, and has had around 33 girlfriends and 11 boyfriends.
- You'd think it'd be a lot more since he's literally ancient, and given all the kids he's spawned.
(2) Chiron: "Even the archaic form of communication known as e-mail is strangely unreliable."
- Wouldn't you expect archaic things to be unreliable?
- And since when is e-mail "archaic"? Though, apparently, here Facebook is cutting edge.
— Aug 05, 2023 07:00AM
(1) Apollo's bisexual, and has had around 33 girlfriends and 11 boyfriends.
- You'd think it'd be a lot more since he's literally ancient, and given all the kids he's spawned.
(2) Chiron: "Even the archaic form of communication known as e-mail is strangely unreliable."
- Wouldn't you expect archaic things to be unreliable?
- And since when is e-mail "archaic"? Though, apparently, here Facebook is cutting edge.
Jayson
is on page 93 of 376
Notes:
(1) Definitely a middle-grade tone to this book so far.
- A main character is 12, and there's lots of juvenile humor: pratfalls, food-fights, crotch-kicking, etc.
(2) Whenever I see "nosoi," I think "no soy."
- "I am not" in Spanish, or the bean/milk/protein alternative.
(3) The POV reminds me of Bartimaeus from "Amulet of Samarkand."
- Not just in style and tone, but they're both ancients in the modern world.
— Aug 04, 2023 05:25PM
(1) Definitely a middle-grade tone to this book so far.
- A main character is 12, and there's lots of juvenile humor: pratfalls, food-fights, crotch-kicking, etc.
(2) Whenever I see "nosoi," I think "no soy."
- "I am not" in Spanish, or the bean/milk/protein alternative.
(3) The POV reminds me of Bartimaeus from "Amulet of Samarkand."
- Not just in style and tone, but they're both ancients in the modern world.
Jayson
is starting
Notes:
(1) I could have read this last year but I wanted to refresh my memory with audiobook rereads of the previous books.
- I never imagined the 10 books would take me 9-1/2 months, but that's all down to not having to drive as much as I did, and then driving a lot (I finished the last 3 books in 2 weeks just listening in my car).
(2) Buddy-read with Jenny.
— Aug 02, 2023 03:00AM
(1) I could have read this last year but I wanted to refresh my memory with audiobook rereads of the previous books.
- I never imagined the 10 books would take me 9-1/2 months, but that's all down to not having to drive as much as I did, and then driving a lot (I finished the last 3 books in 2 weeks just listening in my car).
(2) Buddy-read with Jenny.
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Aug 03, 2023 05:45PM
Apollo definitely has that accent! I sometimes imagine him as pish posh kinda dude. Like rich spoiled white teenage boy suddenly becomes homeless and poor and a slave lol
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Sophie ~Child Of Apollo~ wrote: "Apollo definitely has that accent! I sometimes imagine him as pish posh kinda dude. Like rich spoiled white teenage boy suddenly becomes homeless and poor and a slave lol"Yes, really, I can't imagine it any other way. I'd given gim an accent in the preceding series as well.
*correction: (3) I can already tell Meg's going to annoy me...- I can't count.
I find Apollo more annoying than Meg so far LOL, totally agree with the accent though!
Jenny wrote: "I find Apollo more annoying than Meg so far LOL, totally agree with the accent though!"Well, with those two, you can take your pick 😅
As for the accent, I'm always happy to know I'm not the only one having these sort of ideas :)
I did think it was sweet when Apollo said Percy's mom would have eternal fame for her food when she fed him. And his reaction to the seven layer dip was funny. I'm hoping it gets to be more YA then. MG later.
Jenny wrote: "I did think it was sweet when Apollo said Percy's mom would have eternal fame for her food when she fed him. And his reaction to the seven layer dip was funny. I'm hoping it gets to be more YA then..."Yeah, I liked that too. I find with Apollo, he's a complete snob and elitist when it comes to demigods, but he does have respect for adults like Chiron and Sally, especially if they're kind to him. Sally feeds him when he's hungry and so he's eternally appreciative.
Even demigods who prove their worth to him, he has eternal respect for. Seemingly, that's why he's so keen on getting help from the seven from The Heroes of Olympus, and not interested in associating with anyone else but his own offspring.
As well, I hope it gets to be more YA too. Going MG ten books into the metaseries seems a bit like backtracking, especially for the fanbase that grew up alongside the books.
I feel like it's toeing the line between MG and YA right now
Jenny wrote: "I feel like it's toeing the line between MG and YA right now"I feel the same way. If there was a romance storyline, or the potential for one, then it might swing YA, but right now we've got a twelve year-old protagonist and a lot of juvenile humor that makes me think this book, at least, is leaning more MG.
