Imagine you are an all-powerful Greek god. You fly across the sky in your chariot, warming the earth with the sun. You drink wine, you play music, and you are immortal. Now think how you would feel if you were suddenly a regular human, stripped of your godliness. Poor Apollo is about to find out--firsthand.My name is Apollo. I used to be a god.—The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion, 2016, p. 1)
In my four thousand six hundred and twelve years, I have done many things. I inflicted a plague on the Greeks who besieged Troy. I blessed Babe Ruth with three home runs in game four of the 1926 World Series. I visited my wrath upon Britney Spears at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
But in all my immortal life, I never before crash-landed in a Dumpster.
Quick Facts
- Setting: modern times, New York City, Camp Half-Blood, and beyond
- Circumstances: Apollo, god of the sun, renown musician and archer, guardian of the Oracle at Delphi, is on the outs with his father, Zeus. As punishment, Apollo is transformed into a teenage boy, without any godly powers. If he has any hope of surviving and getting back in his father's good graces, he'll need a little help from his friends, especially from Percy Jackson.
- Genre & audience: middle grade fantasy with deep roots in mythology.
- Characters: Apollo, the god turned boy; Percy Jackson, a demi-god and son of Poseidon; Meg McCaffrey, a demi-god who befriends Apollow but who also needs help; familiar characters from the Percy Jackson universe and new people, gods, and creatures
- Thoughts: There are no ARCs (at least not for me), so I don't know much about the book. But if the excerpt is anything to go on, The Trials of Apollo promises to be full of Riordan magic.
- If you need more: You can download a very fun activity kit; follow Rick Riordan on Twitter; and search your social media sites for #TrialsofApollo (the official hashtag).
The Giveaway
To celebrate today's publication of The Trials of Apollo, Disney-Hyperion is releasing five special editions, each with a unique extra, available only at specific retailers (see the scan; click to enlarge). The special inserts are a letter from Apollo to Zeus, an illustrated map, a bumper sticker; a bookmark, and a poster. Each is available only at the indicated store.Thanks to Disney-Hyperion I can offer one of my readers (with a USA mailing address) a copy of one of these special editions. All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win is to fill out the following form. I'll pick a winner via a random number generator on May 16. Once the winner has been confirmed and his or her address has been passed along to the publisher, I'll delete all personal information from my computer. Which exclusive edition the winner will receive is a surprise! Good luck!
I've requested the Netgalley arc, as I thought this looked intriguing. My offering this week is out of this world...
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun book. This week my YA teaser comes from Even If the Sky Falls by Mia Garcia. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI love Rick Riordan - it's so great that he has made Greek mythology something kids want to know about now!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like my sister's kind of book.
ReplyDeleteNope, not a me kind of book unfortunately, although I am sure many will find it fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI tried reading another book by this author and wasn't able to get into it. But this one definitely sounds like it's worth giving him another try! Thanks or sharing! My teaser this week is from a novel by John le Carre: http://abookaddictsview.blogspot.com/2016/05/teaser-tuesday.html
ReplyDeleteThe beginnig seems humorous to me. I'm not sure its meant to be that way. This may not be a book for me.
ReplyDelete@margot: yes! It's supposed to be funny. Riordan has a great sense of humor. Regardless, may not be a book for you. But perhaps for your grandkids?
ReplyDeleteI love that cover! This one is not my usual read, but my teenage grandson loves Riordan's books. Thanks for sharing, and here's mine: “THE EXCELLENT LOMBARDS”
ReplyDeleteI love the cheeky opening. My daughter has developed a love of classical mythology from these books so they must be good. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteWell that's not one I'd usually go for but it sounds just right for a young friend of mine - thank you so much for sharing
ReplyDeleteGreat opener. Who could resist?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely devoured the Percy Jackson books and can't wait for my son to get bitten by the Riordan bug, too!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really fun! Not what I was expecting at all. Thanks for sharing that excerpt:) I might never have given this a second glance.
ReplyDeleteMy TT from Onyx Webb
I haven't read this author and it's not really a genre I read, but it does sound good.
ReplyDeleteExcited about this new series.
ReplyDeleteOMG, OMG, OMG!!!! I've been wanting to read a Rick Riordan book for the LONGEST time now, and this one sure looks AMAZING!! Besides, I've always been fascinated by Greek mythology, so this is right up my alley!!
ReplyDeleteI would love to win one of these special editions, which I would then review on my YA blog, A NIGHT'S DREAM OF BOOKS. Oh, that would be SO great!!
The opening is very funny, and it looks like there will be a lot of humor in this novel. Thanks for featuring this book, and for the giveaway!!
Thanks as well for visiting MINDSPIRIT BOOK JOURNEYS and commenting on my Tuesday Intros post!! <3 :)
Rick Riordan is such a talented writer. I always enjoy his books!
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