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Rick Riordan’s The Burning Maze Was Well Worth the Wait
I’ve just finished reading The Burning Maze, the third book in Rick Riordan’s Trials of Apollo series. I’m pretty shaken; tears were shed, teeth were clenched, the pages flew by. This is a book best read unspoiled, so I’ll avoid talking about most of the plot. But is easy to say that it’s one of his best books, with more emotional heft than any of his others.
It starts in standard Riordan style, with Apollo, Meg, and Grover lost in the Labyrinth, pursued by monsters, and fending them off with tomato plants (as one does). This is a rather lighthearted near-death experience compared to what comes next, and the trio emerge into a southern California ravaged not just by drought but by subterranean fires that are playing havoc with the environment—a burning maze that has infested the labyrinth. Meg, as the prophecy in the second book foretold, returns to her roots here, giving the reader a glimpse of her early years, and planting plot seeds for the ending (literally).
But after a brief respite, the matter of the burning maze must be tackled in order to free the third of the oracles captured by the evil triumvirate of Roman god emperors. The third emperor, the main antagonist of this book, is the most villainous of them all, and he comes closest to achieving his sociopathic ambitions with the help of his equally sociopathic mythological comrade-in-arms. There are lots of new monsters to fight, and lots of mythological mayhem, but though I myself tend to skim scenes with too much fighting, there was more than enough human interest what was happening here that I didn’t skim at all.
Piper and Jason are drawn into the story, and this is somewhat complicated by what has transpired in their lives since they finished their own particular adventures. Piper in particular shines, saving the day countless times both with her demigod gifts, and with a fierceness of spirit that is truly impressive. Jason is a true hero as well, and Meg and Grover make a great eco-team, doing lots with their nature powers.
Ships in 1-2 days.
Apollo is, in terms of monster fighting, the weakest link of the team. But he is far, far removed from the egocentric idiot he was when we first met him in a dumpster in New York. His fear and pain are now almost fully human, and this is not a weakness.
There are fewer moments of snarky humor than in the first two books of this series, but there is still enough playfulness to counter the very real, very gripping, dangers that Apollo (aka Lester), Meg, Grover, Piper, and Jason must confront. The only thing that I felt was truly missing here was Peaches. Though Peaches doesn’t do well at manifesting underground (which is perfectly reasonable), there were other occasions where a murderous diapered nature spirit would have been welcomed.
The previous book in the series, The Dark Prophecy, strongly suggested that bad sad things would happen. And so the end of this book is reached, and tears are shed…and we must await the fourth book, which looks like it take place at Camp Jupiter, with all the patience we can muster. There are still many, many unanswered questions!