With only days left to defeat Gaea's giants before the Earth Goddess unleashes her destructive powers upon the world, teen demigods Jason, Piper, Annabeth, Percy, Frank, Leo, Hazel, Nico, and Reyna must deal with troubles on multiple fronts. Some focus on Athens, where Gaea will rise from her sleep to destroy the world, while others protect the Athena Parthenos statue and head back to Camp Half-Blood. There, the contentious Roman and Greek demigods must unite if they hope to defeat their common enemies. Readers looking forward to the battle scenes will find plenty here, but the young heroes also rely on their wits as they dupe, charm, and negotiate their way through a series of encounters with gods, goddesses, and mythological creatures. On the last page, Riordan announces that The Sword of Summer (scheduled for a fall 2015 release) will be the first book in his upcoming Norse mythology series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. Meanwhile, fans will revel in the adventures, wit, and memorable characters found in this thundering conclusion to The Heroes of Olympus series.

The young demigods bring the series to a close in this rousing wrap-up. Quests to reconcile the warring Greek and Roman camps and to fight the giants preparing the return of the angry earth goddess Gaea conclude in a dramatic finale. The combination of wisecracking modern teens and authentic mythological characters and stories is as successful as ever. Glos.