Audiobook Review – The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus, Book 3) by Rick Riordan (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre; Fantasy
Size: 608 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Release Date: October 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1423140603
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Heroes of Olympus series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the third book in the Heroes of Olympus series by Riordan. As with all of Riordan’s book he follows his normal formula. The story is well done and entertaining; although with all the different characters we are following now things get a bit drawn out.

I listened to this on audiobook and, like the previous two audiobooks in this series, this one was very well done. The narrator does a good job of keeping all of the voices straight…and there are a ton of voices to keep straight.

Finally the two groups of Demi-gods meet. The meeting results in our group of heroes, basically the groups from the first two books, joining forces and journeying to Rome to confront some giants. Additionally Annabeth is told by her mother Athena to follow the Mark of Athena, which also takes them to Rome….but leads Annabeth on a solo quest. The fight against Gaia continues.

Great continuation of this series. There is a lot of action and adventure and some great monsters just like in previous books. We even get to meet Hercules/Heracles. This story follows the same formula as previous ones…the heroes leave on a desperate quest to save the world, then find out they only have seven days to complete their mission. They fight monsters, journey, fight tougher monsters, journey, and then fight the big baddie at the end.

The story gets a bit drawn out because it’s following seven different characters and we hear from all of their different points of view. It’s just a lot of characters to try and stay engaged with. It ends up making for a long story. The characters are pretty easy to distinguish between; Riordan has done a good job of giving them all outstanding characteristics.

Despite the multitude of characters the story never gets confusing though and moves at a fast pace. The majority of the story is about these characters learning each others secrets and learning to trust each other. Of course they are also trying to prevent Gaia from ending the world.

My favorite part was Annabeth’s solo quest to follow the Mark of Athena, I love her character and she confronts some truly creepy things.

Overall I enjoyed this book and found it entertaining. These books are formulaic but also fast-paced and engaging. I look forward to the House of Hades when it comes out later this fall. Recommended to those who enjoy fantasy/adventure reads…or who have enjoyed previous Riordan books.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge
– YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
– Audio Book Challenge
– 150+ Reading Challenge
– TBR Pile Reading Challenge
– Young Adult Reading Challenge