Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

Percy Jackson’s fourth summer at Camp Half-Blood is much like his previous three—high-octane clashes with dark forces, laced with hip humor and drama. Opening with a line for the ages—“The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was blow up another school”—this penultimate series installment finds Percy, Annabeth and the satyr Grover furiously working to prevent former camp counselor Luke from resurrecting the Titan lord Kronos, whose goal is to overthrow the gods. When the heroes learn that Luke can breach Camp Half-Blood’s security through an exit from Daedalus’s Labyrinth, they enter the maze in search of the inventor and a way to stop the invasion. Along the way they encounter a lifetime supply of nightmare-inducing, richly imagined monsters. Grover’s own quest to find the lost god Pan, meanwhile, provides a subtle environmental message. Percy, nearly 15, has girl trouble, having become something of a chick magnet. One of Riordan’s strengths is the wry interplay between the real and the surreal. When the heroes find Hephaestus, for instance, he’s repairing a Toyota, wearing overalls with his name embroidered over the chest pocket. The wit, rousing swordplay and breakneck pace will once again keep kids hooked. Ages 10-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

ALA Booklist

From its attention-grabbing first line ("The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was blow up another school") to the final rumblings of trouble to come, the fourth entry in the popular Percy Jackson & the Olympians series follows 14-year-old Percy and his friends as they search the Labyrinth for its creator and battle the forces of evil. Familiarity with the earlier books first is recommended though not entirely necessary. Percy's droll narration of the headlong, nearly nonstop action will satisfy readers looking for adventure leavened with wit, while the stories' classical underpinnings will please their parents and teachers.

Kirkus Reviews

The fourth and penultimate volume of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is the best one yet. Here, 14-year-old demigod Percy must find a way to thwart Kronos's plan to reassemble his body and rally the evil forces of the underworld. Percy, quest-partner Annabeth and mortal Rachel Elizabeth Dare enter the Labyrinth and encounter all manner of wondrous beings: the vampiric empousai, snaky dracaenae, Laistrygonian giants, Calypso, the Sphinx, a Hundred-Handed One, Hephaestus, Daedalus and Kronos himself, newly transformed. Riordan keeps Percy busy falling in love with Calypso, battling evil Antaeus, causing Mount St. Helens to erupt and finding the long-lost god Pan in a crystal cave in this romp that rivals Rowling for inventive, magical storytelling. The often-philosophical tale zips along with snappy dialogue, humor and thrilling action, culminating in a climactic battle between gods and Titans. This volume can stand alone, but no reader will be able to read just one. Look no further for the next Harry Potter; meet Percy Jackson, as legions of fans already have. (Fiction. 9+)

School Library Journal (Thu May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

Gr 5-9 The battle starts, literally, with an explosion and doesn't let up. After Percy destroys the high school band room battling monsters called empousai who have taken on the form of cheerleaders, he has to hide out at Camp Half-Blood. There, Grover's searcher's license is going to be revoked unless he can find the god Pan in seven days. An entrance to the Labyrinth has been discovered, which means that Luke, the half-blood turned bad, can bypass the magical protections and invade the camp. Annabeth insists that she must follow a quest to locate Daedalus's workshop before Luke does. Percy is disturbed by visions of Nico, the son of Hades, who is summoning forth the spirits of the dead with McDonalds Happy Meals. Percy, Grover, and Percy's Cyclops half-brother follow Annabeth into the maze not knowing if they will ever find their way out. Riordan cleverly personifies the Labyrinth as a sort of living organism that changes at will, and that traverses the whole of the United States. Kids will devour Riordan's subtle satire of their world, such as a Sphinx in the Labyrinth whose questions hilariously parody standardized testing. The secret of Pan is revealed with a bittersweet outcome that also sends an eco-friendly message. Like many series, the "Percy Jackson" books are beginning to show the strain of familiarity and repetition. However, the overarching story line remains compelling, and the cliff-hanger ending will leave readers breathless in anticipation of the fifth and final volume. Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ

Voice of Youth Advocates

Half-blood Percy Jackson undertakes another perilous quest in the fourth book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The army of the evil Titan Lord Kronos, led by the traitor Luke, plans to crush Camp Half-Blood and then Mount Olympus itself. Percy and friends, including fellow half-blood Annabeth and mortal Rachel Elizabeth Dare, must brave the Labyrinth, a maze that runs beneath the United States. At the Labyrinth's center, the heroes meet Daedalus, the Labyrinth's architect, an anti-hero whose motives and true identity are surprising. Percy and his fellow campers beat back Kronos's army during a final battle at Camp Half-Blood, but the war between Kronos and the Olympians is far from over. Many story lines are left for the next book. Riordan's ingenious method of integrating Greek mythology with the modern world again creates a book replete with exhilarating action, droll humor, and captivating intrigue. Although the quest format is far from new for Riordan, he easily manages to keep the material fresh, and the reader engaged by drawing on the plethora of Greek myths at his disposal. Riordan's plots and subplots are wonderfully planned, and his host of teen fans can expect a few twists toward the book's end. Add to the above a budding love triangle among Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare and the result is a well-crafted novel worthy of this fine series. Teen readers will need to have read the first three books.-David Goodale.