The Dark Prophecy is the second book in The Trials of Apollo series by Rick Riordan. It focuses on the continuing adventures of Apollo as he strives to regain his godhood. He has now traveled for six weeks with Leo Valdez and Calypso and together they have arrived in Indianapolis where they are confronted by hordes of Blemmyae. They soon find themselves in a place simply called the waystation. This is a place that was founded by Artemis and is run by a couple of former hunters who left because they fell in love with each other. This is a sentiment that Apollo struggles with at first as he had actually given one of the hunters immortality millennia ago and doesn’t understand why she would throw that away to be with someone. While there Apollo discovers that they are close to the Cave of Trophonius, yet another of the ancient oracles. This time Apollo must first help acquire the Throne of Mnemosyne before he can actually travel to the oracle. He also is tasked with helping find a young girl, the adopted daughter of the couple who run the waystation and who had disappeared not long before his arrival. In the process he discovers that Meg has escaped from Nero and is fighting against the triumvirate and that the second member of the triumvirate is Commodus, an emperor who was a lover of Apollo’s but who became cruel and vicious and was killed by Apollo millennia ago. Working together Apollo and Meg are able to accomplish everything before discovering what their next step is.
Going into this story I really thought I knew my Greek Mythology and Roman history but reading this I have to admit I really need to do more research. I had never heard of Blemmyae before and have not heard of Commodus before. Luckily I had heard of Nero, the other revealed member of the triumvirate. Much like the previous story Apollo continues to struggle against the forces arrayed against him as he strives to regain his godhood. Much like Percy before him Apollo does so with his own unique flair and penchant for sarcasm. Luckily for him he tends to not say it out loud and get himself in trouble. He does come close a few times. In fact, Apollo’s biggest issue is probably the fact that he was a god for several thousand years and thus has a lot of history with the various players on the scene, little of it positive unfortunately. I think this is also one of the biggest things that contributes to the continued growth of Apollo as a person actually. By being constantly confronted by people and stories from his past Apollo has to reconcile himself with the person he was before and has to face some rather uncomfortable truths in the process. At the end of the second book Apollo has come quite a ways but he also still has a long ways to go. I am genuinely looking forward to reading the rest of the series and catching up on what I have missed. This book gets a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
This is definitely a series that I would recommend to people, though I would also recommend reading the two previous series first to get the full background on the characters and events that are referenced at times. I know Rick Riordan is an incredible author but every time I read something new by him I am blown away by the balance between so funny you want to fall over laughing and so serious that you worry about the safety of your favorite heroes. It’s a good balance that makes the books even more enjoyable and easy to read. Now, technically this book is classified and marketed as young adult and in many ways it is just that. However, at the same time this is a series that I genuinely think could be read and enjoyed by anyone, not just young adults. The idea of struggling to figure out who you are, especially when you thought you already knew, is something that people of all ages can sympathize with. Mixed with the iconic humor of Rick Riordan makes this something that would appeal to almost everyone. I know that not everyone likes fantasy and that is fine but for those who do, even if they mostly read fantasy aimed at adults, this is still something that I genuinely think they would like. Personally, this entire series is going on my wishlist, meaning I want my own copy. If anybody else has read this series let me know what you think in the comments.