The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan is Riordan’s first book in his new series, The Trials of Apollo, which exists in the universe of his awarding winning series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. This is his eleventh book of his Greek/Roman mythology universe and follows the god Apollo, when Zeus turns him human as punishment. The story follows Apollo, now Lester, adjusting to his new form and trying to help Camp Half-Blood when campers begin to go missing.
For those familiar with Riordan’s work, you will know that his stories have a lot of humour, a lot of action and a lot of reference to mythology and history. He amazes me by connecting all of these elements together and creating unique and compelling stories which are very character-driven. After the PJO and HoO series, I didn’t think he would continue this universe but I believe I can speak on behalf of many that when I say that good old Uncle Rick surprised us with this new series.
I loved Riordan’s decision to make his protagonist a (former) god because it gives us a different perspective. All of his previous protagonists have been, for the most part, human or at least mortal and so they have always known their limits and have never been rendered less powerful they were before. However, with Apollo, we see a character that has always been in control and has never had to fear death being thrust into a situation where everyone else it more powerful than him. With the first person narration, we get an insight into Apollo’s thoughts and see how he reacts to his new situation. The development of Apollo’s character in only this first book was a very important part of this story for me.
One of the best things about this book for me as a Percy Jackson fan was that I got to see my favourite characters again and continue to experience their journey but I also loved being able to see characters from the original series whom I skipped over and didn’t learn a lot about. The combination of new and old characters made the story very attractive to previous fans.
Overall I gave this book a 9.5 out of 10 because I loved the characters, the plot and the universe, but I might be slightly biased because I have loved this universe and Riordan’s books for so long. This is great for young teens up to young adults but I would highly recommend reading the two previous series.
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