The first chapter of Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle can be found in the back of the collection of Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles crossover short stories.
Demigods & Magicians puts all three of the crossover short stories into one book. “The Son of Sobek,” “The Staff of Serapis,” and “The Crown of Ptolemy” explore what happens when Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase meet up with Sadie and Carter Kane.
Not only are the stories great little peeks into the lives of our favorite characters, but it was also the biggest piece of proof that Rick Riordan’s mythological worlds existed in the same universe. We had gotten hints before that it was possible, but this was the first time the characters had interacted.
Then we got The Sword of Summer, the first book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, which put Magnus and Annabeth not only in the same universe, but in the same family tree. This feels like it changes everything, and I, for one, can’t wait until we see how much more she’ll end up being a part of her cousin’s life.
If you haven’t picked up The Sword of Summer yet, I highly recommend it in my review of the novel. The tone is similar to the Percy Jackson series, but the mythology makes it feel like a completely different entity. Magnus has to deal with some problems Percy never did, and for that the book takes some interesting turns. You can also read the first chapter of Sword of Summer in the back of Demigods & Magicians.
But let’s get to the good stuff, shall we? The first chapter of Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle can also be found in the back of Demigods & Magicians. If you haven’t read it, skip this next part, as I’ll be discussing what we’ve learned so far.
Riordan’s chapter titles and first few sentences are like a calling card for the author. They’re often witty, ridiculous, hilarious, and shocking all at once. The Hidden Oracle is no different. Where Sword of Summer starts off with “Good morning! You’re Going to Die,” The Hidden Oracle, as promised, gives us a haiku for a chapter title.
Hoodlums punch my face
I would smite them if I could
Mortality blows
Apollo seems like he’s going to be a fantastic narrator, especially as he’s struggling with mortality. Reading the first chapter, we don’t glean a lot of information, but we do learn that the god does not remember why Zeus is so mad at him. However, we do know that whatever it is, it’s Apollo’s fault. Or at least that Zeus thinks it is. Apollo expects to gain his power back in short order, but Zeus lets him get pummeled by the aforementioned hoodlums instead.
We discuss a previous excerpt from chapter 3 here, and you can check out when we first learned about the latest (and supposedly last) Percy Jackson series here.
The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle is the first in a five-part series and will hit shelves in about a month, on May 3, 2016.
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