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| The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3) | 
 enlarge | Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Miramax
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy Used: $1.47
You Save: $16.48 (92%)
New (58) Used (59) Collectible (4) from $1.47
Avg. Customer Rating:  93 reviews
Sales Rank: 7749
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.7 x 1
ISBN: 1423101456
EAN: 9781423101451
ASIN: 1423101456
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: No dust jacket. Book is ACCEPTABLE with noted wear to cover and pages. Binding intact. May contain highlighting, inscriptions or notations. We offer a no-hassle guarantee on all our items. Orders generally ship by the next business day. Default Text
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Product Description
When the goddess Artemis goes missing, she is believed to have been kidnapped.And now it's up to Percy and his friends to find out what happened. Who is powerful enough to kidnap a goddess? They must find Artemis before the winter solstice, when her influence on the Olympian Council could swing an important vote on the war with the titans. Not only that, but first Percy will have to solve the mystery of a rare monster that Artemis was hunting when she disappeared -- a monster rumored to be so powerful it could destroy Olympus forever.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 88 more reviews...
 Gods and Monsters April 14, 2007
69 out of 76 found this review helpful
You know, it still strikes me as odd when I run across a kid who hasn't read a Percy Jackson book yet. Take, for example, the homeschooler bookgroup I run. These kids aren't exactly sheltered, but at the same time they don't feel unnaturally compelled to follow the latest trend due to peer pressure. They hadn't even heard of Rick Riordan when I proposed to them that we read, The Lightning Thief the other day. Obediently they took the book home and in a week some of them were back, basically begging me for Book #2. Now they've found out that I've a copy of #3, "The Titan's Curse," hidden about my person and if I don't give it to them soon there will be blood shed. My blood. So while I usually take a long time to process a book before finally getting around to reviewing it, in Mr. Riordan's case I'm gonna make an exception. The third in the series, in "Titan's Curse," Riordan raises the stakes, adds in a couple new gods and monsters, and basically ratchets up the tension while cutting down on the easygoing moments. It's bound to make the fans happy.
Percy's on a rescue mission. Nothing new there. The fact that he's getting a ride to the rescue mission with his mom and two of his camp mates is definitely a unique occurrence, though. Percy, Annabeth, and the now re-humanized Thalia (daughter of Zeus) are traveling to a private school where their friend and satyr Grover has made an important discovery. There are two new half-bloods there, a brother and a sister, and it's up to our heroes to get them to Camp Half-Blood before the resident monster spirits them away. Unfortunately the rescue mission is botched, Annabeth disappears with the enemy, and Percy finds himself facing a whole new bad guy. He's called The General, and under his command he's captured the goddess Artemis and is hellbent on destroying the Gods for his master, the Titan Kronos. Now it's up to Percy and company to rescue the goddess, find Annabeth, and stop The General's plans before it's too late. Which, I might add, it might already be.
Riordan's a much cleverer author than anyone gives him credit for. He's smart enough to know that many of his readers have probably read up on their Greek myths all thanks to his books. Therefore, when someone like Apollo says, "I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees," you may or may not know what he's referring to, depending on how well you know your myths. And in retrospect when I look back at the series, it was a really good idea for Riordan not to make Percy the son of Zeus or something like that. It would've been the easiest thing in the world to make Mr. Jackson a latter-day Hercules and let the story write itself from there. Far more interesting to give him a lesser god as a pop. Still powerful, mind you, but not heir to the big bad father of them all. Extra kudos for his treatment of Artemis and her Hunters in this book. In the story, the girls that join Artemis to hunt with her have, for one reason or another, eschewed the company of men. Annabeth, it soon turns out, was contemplating joining them. This easily could have been played up as an evil choice or one that no right-minded woman should go with. Instead, Riordan prefers to be nuanced. The choice, we learn, may not be for everyone, but for some people it's a legitimate lifestyle. It would have been too easy to demonize an all-woman group of this sort. He could have made them into nasty man-haters. Instead, they don't particularly like men but they also don't act cruelly towards them.
Riordan's also a big fan of casting mysterious phrases the reader's way. This is nothing new, of course. He's always loved to bring up an important sentence, then delay its explanation via a fight or some other distraction. Normally he knows how to keep this instinct under control. In "The Titan's Curse," however, he's gone a little overboard. There are more times in this title where the book will say, "It was a long time ago. Never mind," or, "I decided not to ask what she meant," or something to that effect than he can really justify as an author. He also isn't afraid to throw in a convenient plot twist when the fancy strikes. Like, for example, finding an abandoned truck with a full tank of gas when you really need to drive as fast as you can across America. Or someone just happening to fashion bullets out of celestial bronze and then placing them in a helicopter not long before the moment when evil monsters are nigh. That sort of thing. Even Percy's dreams are never explained, even though they act as perfect little narrative devices. It's a pity.
Which is not to say that the situation in this book isn't direst it's ever been. The pace and plotting of this book work together very well here. Possibly better than they've ever worked before. Riordan juggles humor and action together fairly well, always taking time to introduce new, interesting characters. I also have a weakness for Riordan's chapter headings. Titles like "I Learn How To Grow Zombies," or, "The Gods Vote How To Kill Us," just reel the child reader in. As for his hero, you always root for Percy. Unlike his magician equivalent, Percy never really stays on top of things. If something bad can happen to this guy, it will. He's a hero but he's also kind of a screw-up, so he tends to be interesting to watch since you never know who'll be putting him down next.
Some series books have a clear cut sense of when they're going to end. Take Harry Potter as your example here. Harry attends seven years of school (in theory) so therefore he has seven books in his series. A Series of Unfortunate Events follows a tragic and unlucky set of characters, therefore their books are the unarguably unlucky number thirteen. The "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," series, however, isn't so clear cut. We do learn in this book that Percy may have to fulfill a prophecy of some sort around his sixteenth birthday. So at the very least that may mean two more books, always assuming Riordan makes each title exactly one year. However he chooses to wrap the series up, it really doesn't matter. For the time being, "The Titan's Curse," will satisfy its die-hard fans. I don't know how Riordan managed to find the right child-reader sweet spot, but he definitely managed it. A fine supplement to a fun, fast-paced series.
 Beware of Greeks siring kids May 12, 2007
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
If you've been following this fascinating series, you'll already know that it is based on Greek mythology, with a touch of artistic license and a ton of humor. Apparently, the big three of Olympus (Poseidon, Zeus and Hades) had reluctantly agreed to stop popping over to earth and siring offspring with the local mortals, in order to nullify a prophecy that foretells certain disaster when said offspring reach the age of sixteen. However, gods will be gods, and as we pick up the story from The Sea of Monsters), we have two potentially dangerous demi-gods running around, namely Percy Jackson, star of the series and son of Poseidon, God of the Sea, and Thalia, who formerly had roots on Half-Blood Hill, and is the daughter of Zeus, Lord of the Sky. This is not to say that some of the other gods weren't busy as well, and the majority of the supporting cast is made up of children of the other residents of Olympus.
This third book of the planned five book series starts with a rescue mission to save two newly-discovered demi-gods from a monster attack, and during the battle, a daughter of Athena is taken, despite the timely arrival of Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and her hunters. While Artemis sets off alone to hunt another monster that is destined to cause the downfall of Olympus, the rest are sent to Camp Half-Blood for their safety. While there, The Oracle (whose description makes her sound like Norman Bates' mummy) delivers a prophecy that leads to the rest of the action that packs book three from cover to cover.
To cut the story short, a team of five is chosen to set off in search of Artemis, but there is a last minute unplanned substitution, who has another quest or two to fulfill along the way. The route takes them through Manhattan and across the country to San Francisco, where our hero experiences what it's like to carry the weight of the sky on his shoulders.
Cool monsters, skeletal warriors and bad guys abound, as well as gods behaving badly and making bad haiku, but the most upsetting thing about this book is that after reading the ending, it will be a very agonizing and excruciatingly painful wait for books four and five. This is one of those series where you just gotta get them all.
Amanda Richards, May 11, 2007
Courtesy of Teens Read Too April 25, 2007
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
The The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2) ended with a bang, with another child of the three gods emerging from the tree guarding Camp Half-Blood. Percy Jackson now has his hands full in THE TITAN'S CURSE, the third volume of the series.
When he answers an urgent call from his best friend, Grover, at a school in Maine, unexplainable things start happening. Grover has found two more half-bloods, who are siblings, but the assistant principal is a powerful monster in disguise. Grover will never get the half-bloods to camp without help. Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia set off for Maine to help Grover, but don't realize that they're walking into a trap.
Dr. Thorn, the assistant principal, has some tricks up his sleeve. When Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, arrives, things get out of hand. Dr. Thorn falls off a cliff with Annabeth. Artemis goes after her and everyone else returns to Camp Half-Blood. Here, they try to act as normal as possible, but two camper's dreams indicate severe trouble with both Artemis and Annabeth.
The Oracle speaks and five campers must find and bring back Artemis before the Winter Solstice. For the first time, Percy remains behind, but not by choice, and not for long. When Percy meets up with the group, the enemies start showing themselves--and the race to reach Artemis and Annabeth alive becomes more crucial. Can Percy save both them before the Winter Solstice?
THE TITAN'S CURSE leaves the reader hanging, waiting for several important questions to be answered in the final two books of the series. This fast-paced novel, along with the action, makes it a great series for fantasy lovers, reluctant readers, and anyone looking for a good story.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel
 A poorly written book that does not please July 11, 2007
9 out of 43 found this review helpful
What the heck is going on? My son and daughter never got past the first book. I've just re-read all the reviews, now that I've finished the first three books for myself, and I'm completely mystified by all the glowing reports. How can anyone compare this thing to Harry Potter? Where are the truthful reviews?
As a long-time fantasy and sci-fi fan, this just didn't grab me. Riordan's writing is sloppy. He steals from Greek mythology and thinks readers are too stupid to realize he's dressed up Hercules and the heroes in sheep's clothing.
It is a chore to get through. The characters flat and unengaging. The events unfold more as after-the-fact. There's no sitting on edge of your seat awaiting the next revelation. It's more like riding in the back seat asking "are we there yet?"
Maybe it is more appealing to very young readers who have never read anything else but my kids and I who have read many fantasy novels couldn't have been more disappointed.
The too few negative reviews are accurate. Read ALL the reviews before buying a Riordan book.
Overhyped without much substance July 6, 2007
7 out of 37 found this review helpful
Like many readers, I bought this book and the others with high expectations based on the overwhelming claims it was so good. I hope to save others from my fate. Don't believe the children's reviews here that call this book a masterpiece or a classic. This book is terrible! Where are the honest reviews of this book?
Riordin's writing is dreadful, at times it seems English is his second language. His reuses the same or similar phrases. He uses many unnecessary modifiers. He adds extraneous words for filler. The dialogue rings false almost in its entirety. To make matters worse, the story is derivative and cliche. Anyone who's read about Hercules and Greek myths knows where the story was taken from, and the concept has been done to death already.
I know it's a matter of taste, but nearly anything would be better than this.
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