The Hidden Oracle by noted author Rick Riordan is the first book in the series, The Trials of Apollo. This is the third series in the universe first created in the popular series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It chronicles the trials and tribulations of the sun god, Apollo, after being turned mortal as a punishment from Zeus as a consequence of events during the war with Gaea. After discovering he is mortal Apollo goes through various stages of disbelief before moving onto grudging acceptance of his state. As part of his punishment he must work for a deserving demi-god. While Apollo tries to get to Percy first he ends up tied to Meg McCaffrey, a previously unknown demi-god. Together the two travel to Percy’s place where they explain what is going on and then travel together to Camp Half-Blood in an attempt to gain advice from Chiron. However, they quickly discover that there is more going on than Apollo being turned mortal, though according to Apollo that is the most important. Through the following series of events Apollo, with the occasional help of Meg and various other demi-gods, starts growing up and realizing that the world does not revolve around him, despite earth’s literal revolution around the sun.
I grew up reading Rick Riordan. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series was being published when I was a teenager. I remember waiting for The Last Olympian to be published and my absolute shock when it was revealed that there would be a sequel series and I had to wait for The Lost Hero to be published. When The Trials of Apollo were first being published I was in college and unfortunately did not have access to a public library where I could read the books. I guess now I am working on catching up. Going in I knew I would enjoy the book as I absolutely loved everything I have read previously by Rick Riordan, which was almost all of his previous children’s books. That being said I was blown away, yet again, by the entertaining and somewhat sarcastic nature that he utilizes in his stories about mythology. I am not sure who is a funnier or more sarcastic narrator, Percy or Apollo, but I enjoyed both. There is, however, a lot more detail about the nitty-gritty of Greek mythology in this work than in his previous works. Riordan really knows how to do his research. I say this because I also studied Greek mythology for fun as a teenager and know way more than the average person of my acquaintance. That being said he is referencing concepts that I was unfamiliar with. I had never heard of the grove of Dodona before so I may have to go do more research of my own as I continue the series. The thing I really though interesting and cool though was the concept that historical figures can also become functionally immortal, like the gods are, due to the power of belief. Despite having read the previous series where they go over that exact concept I have to admit that idea had not occurred to me. Now, I am really curious about what other historical figures may be resurrected to appear on the pages of future stories. I am also curious about the continuing adventures of Apollo and Meg. Apollo starts out as being more than a little self-absorbed but as the story progresses he starts to move away from that. Mind you, he still has a long way to go. It was the character of Meg that was more than a little fascinating though. In some ways she reminds me of Thalia Grace, the daughter of Zeus who later became a hunter of Artemis, but in other ways she reminds me of Luke Castellan, the son of Hermes who was a traitor and then wasn’t a traitor. Meg has that same ability to take care of herself and take nothing from no one, except her stepfather apparently, but is willing to betray Apollo for that same stepfather though reluctant to do so. I really get the feeling that eventually, due primarily to her being stuck with Apollo, that Meg will be able to feel comfortable fighting back against her stepfather. I just hope that she actually makes the right choice. That being said I was a little surprised to find out that Meg’s stepfather is Emperor Nero who is apparently the big bad of this series. I am curious how that will progress. Either way it goes I am continuing with the series and will make sure to share my thoughts as I do. This book gets four out of five stars.
I guess the big question now is would I recommend the book. As you have probably gathered from what I have already said I would indeed recommend the book, for a variety of reasons. The book is aimed at young adults and I don’t know about you but when I was that age I definitely went through a phase of not really knowing who I was as a person. This is similar to what Apollo is going through in many ways as he is having to rediscover what makes him, him. In all honesty, this is actually something that would feel familiar to people of any age as many of us probably went through something similar as an adult as well. Because of this I can also comfortably say that I would recommend the book to both young adults and adults, especially if you are the kind of person who already enjoys the fantasy genre. This book is more than just fantasy though as it is also very humorous and contains some of Riordan’s iconic humor that pervades all of his young adult works. I would recommend keeping this in mind when thinking about trying the book. Finally, I liked this book so much that it is going on my wishlist because I wish I had my own copy. If anyone would like to share their own viewpoints of this book or series feel free to do so in the comments below. I look forward to reading your thoughts.