LRRC Week 48
Oh god, it’s December.
Four (five?) more weeks left in the year (we’ll figure it out).
Holy crap guys.
#95: THE TOWER OF NERO by Rick Riordan
As the last book in Riordan’s Trials of Apollo series (and maybe the last of his Percy Jackson-adjacent books? I guess time will tell), I feel like there was a lot riding on this book, and I think it mostly delivered.
This book doesn’t have the same kind of big scale battle ending that either The Last Olympian or The Blood of Olympus had, but that’s kind of fitting? Trials of Apollo is in many ways a quieter, more personal story than the previous ones had been. It deals much more directly with questions of abuse and reparations and trauma.
Yes, there’s still a climax, still scenes of the characters overcoming and battling their enemies, but it feels different here. This series has always been a bit odder than the others, perhaps a bit more mature in some ways.
In any case, without getting into spoilers, I was satisfied by this ending. I thought it wrapped up all the various threads well, and I appreciated that it took the time to check in with all the various characters we’ve gotten to know over the years.
I don’t know if Riordan will write more books in this series - perhaps it would be best at this time to let it lie. I am, I know, interested in his imprints. This was a nice send-off, a nice development for it all to take. I look forward to being able to reread through the whole entire series one day.
#96: THE HOLLOW PLACES by T Kingfisher
I was a pretty easy sell for this book from early on, to be honest. When the narrative mentions the preference for a live-size statue of Mothman over more practical purchases, well, I’m here for it.
The Hollow Places tells the story of Kara, newly divorced, heading up her uncle’s weird little small town museum full of oddities while he recovers from knee surgery. In the process, she stumbles across a portal to a terrifying hell dimension.
Similar in some ways to Kingfisher’s last horror novel, The Twisted Ones, The Hollow Places is more about atmospheric cosmic horror than thrills and spooks, though it has some of those, as well. If you liked that one, you’ll probably enjoy this one, too.
The standout element of this book, aside from the characters, who are quite fun, is, obviously, the museum itself. They establish early on why the characters do not wish to merely abandon it, and I found myself agreeing.
Also, mild spoilers, but if you’re worried about the cat at any point, you’re okay. It’s fine. I felt this could be important.
NEXT WEEK’S AGENDA:
#97: The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
#98: The Science of Orphan Black by Casey Griffin & Nina Nesseth