Main Characters:
Percy – Poseidon’s son. This time, he isn’t chosen for the quest and he’s not named in the quest by the Oracle (who left the attic to make the prophecy this time). Becoming more powerful and more able to use water to help him. Still bickering with Annabeth and Thalia, until Annabeth disappears.
Annabeth – Absent much of this book. We find her at the end being held captive by Atlas. Dances with Percy at the party of the Gods.
Grover – The Satyr who finds Bianca and Nico. On this quest, he gets a scent of Pan while in Arizona drinking coffee. Upon his return to camp, tells everyone of his story. Still Percy’s best friend and the empathy link is still in place.
Thalia – Zeus’ daughter. She is days from reaching 16 and possibly becoming the child of the prophecy that was originally thought (in the first book) to be about Percy. She an Zoe are like oil and water – they don’t get along. After the battle with Atlas and Zoe dies, however, she agrees to join the Hunt, never aging, serving Artemis, and therefore escaping the prophecy.
And, again, everyone else, including Chiron, Mr. D., Luke, etc. from the first 2 books (although Tyson is basically absent in this book – off manning the forges)!
NEW CHARACTERS:
Artemis – Goddess of the Hunt. Comes to the rescue (although Percy isn’t sure that is the right way to put it) in the beginning during the battle with the Principal (as he works for “the General” – who ever that is). She leaves to hunt Bessie (although we don’t know it’s Bessie in the beginning) and is gone for most of the book. She argues to not kill Percy, acknowledging that Percy did well, at the end.
Bianca di Angelo – One of the new half-bloods. Because she was always taking care of her brother, when given the opportunity to be her own person, albeit as part of the Hunt, she takes it. She is killed during the battle with the automaton at the junkyard. It becomes apparent that she was born in the early 20th century, before Washington DC had subways, and she and Nico lost some time in the Lotus casino (from the 1st book) but some unknown person rescued her and her brother. She though FDR was president just before the current president (this is one of the things that make the group realized how old she really is). Although it appears, when we learn that Nico and Bianca’s father is Hades, that Hades broke the pact as well, we are reminded that the pact wasn’t in place until after WWII.
Nico di Angelo – A young boy, totally into a mythological card game. He has the cards and figurines to prove it (turns out the only figure he doesn’t have is his father’s – Hades – until Percy gives him one at the end). Asks Percy to take care of Bianca and when he finds out Bianca died, he says he hates Percy and runs away from camp.
Apollo – One of the gods who helps the group get to where they need to go. We see him a few times, helping out.
Atlas – A Titan who is working with Kronos. Captures Annabeth and Artemis. Gets tricked at the end into holding up the sky, again. Atlas is “the General” that is referenced.
Rachel Elizabeth Dare – Percy runs into her at Hoover dam, while trying to escape some skeletal warriors. She can see through the mist.
Bessie – Percy meets Bessie in the ocean in the beginning. She’s a “sea cow” or something like that. Turns out, she’s the monster Artemis was going to hunt. But Percy argues that Bessie is innocent and not a bad monster. She is saved in the end and winds up in Olympus in an aquarium where she can be guarded.
Zoe Nightshade – Artemis’ lieutenant. She is a fierce Hunter and does not like Percy. Turns out, she gifted a hero, a long time ago, with a hair pin which became Percy’s sword. But the hero she presented it to betrayed her. That is why she joined the Hunters. She was originally one of Atlas’ daughters.
Main Premise: Percy and Annabeth meet Grover at a school in Maine – where Grover has identified 2 more half-bloods. They are siblings Nico and Bianca. Dr. Thorn, the principal (who is really a manticore) tries to prevent the group from leaving the school. During that battle, Annabeth goes over the side of a cliff and becomes “lost”. Percy and the group, minus Annabeth, then encounter Artemis and her Hunters (including Zoe). Artemis can smell an ancient monster and she sets off to hunt it, leaving Zoe and the other Hunter’s to head to camp with Percy (and his group). When they get to camp, Zoe is given a quest. Bianca joins the Hunters, and Nico asks Percy to protect Bianca. Percy isn’t permitted to join the quest, but he sneaks out of camp on his pegasus Blackjack.
Various run-ins, and a timing problem (Artemis needs to be found before the big meeting of the Gods on the Winter solstice which is only days away) cause some issues. The group ends up at Hoover dam where Percy meets Rachel and she saves him because she can see through the mist. In Arizona, Grover smells Pan on the wind. While at the junkyard of the Gods, Bianca sacrifices herself so the rest of the group can escape. When the group finally gets to San Francisco, where Mt. Tamalpais is – where the home of the Titans is about to be rebuilt too – they find that Atlas has tricked Artemis into holding up the sky. Annabeth is also being held here and she had to hold the sky before Artemis arrived. In order to beat Atlas and all the bad guys, Percy takes on the “Titan’s Curse” of holding the sky so that Artemis can be freed and fight the battle since she’s really the only one with the ability to even try to beat the Titan. After winning the battle, the group, including the “monster” (which was an Ophiotaurus, which had befriended Percy, and wasn’t really a monster but an innocent ancient sea creature that if sacrificed would have tremendous power and would sway the war of the Titans/Gods). The Gods reluctantly agree to not kill Percy and Posiedon agrees to build an aquarium at Olympus to protect Bessie. When the kids return to camp, Percy talks to Nico – telling him that Bianca died and Nico blames Percy. Nico runs away from camp. Percy then realizes who Nico’s father is (Hades).
Locations: Maine (where we start anyway), Camp Half Blood (Long Island, NY), Washington DC, San Francisco, New Mexico
Other Important Things to Remember Later: Grover is bent on figuring out what happened and why he got a whiff of Pan. Luke is still trying to resurrect Kronos. Luke falls off a cliff at the end, but Percy is told by Annabeth (in a comparison that Percy isn’t fond of ) that she knows Luke can’t be dead the same way Percy knew Annabeth wasn’t dead. Poseidon confirms it. Athena warned Percy that she wasn’t fond of the relationship between Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth’s father helps out in a spectacular way and seems very willing to have Annabeth live with him and his family. Grover has a girlfriend, Juniper. Luke seemed like he wanted to keep Annabeth from coming to any real harm, but it’s hard to know that for sure.
Book Series Tracker 