The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo, Book 2)

The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan
Book #2: The Trials of Apollo Series
Source: Overdrive Audio/Public Library
My Rating: 5/5 stars

Lester/Apollo isn’t having the best of weeks! Ever since his father, Zeus took away his immortality, his life has been threatened at every turn, he’s had more than a

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few prophecies (oh, the irony!) to sort out, and one crazy quest to complete. Did I mention, at the end of that first quest came yet another tangled prophecy and quest? Yeah, Lester/Apollo isn’t having the best of weeks 😊

Lester/Apollo’s latest adventure finds he, Leo, and Calypso in the middle of Indianapolis trying to track down the next and darkest of the oracles! Walking into a trap doesn’t even begin to describe the situation, but as the kids have discovered, help often arrives in the nick of time and from the most surprising of sources. In this instance, Indianapolis happens to be home to a most wonderful refuge for the creatures, demigods, and deities of the world. Run and defended by two of Artemis’s former hunters, the station house is a unique, ever-changing site meant to provide shelter, healing, and, if needed, a home.

It takes just about a hot minute for things to really heat up in Indianapolis, for the second of the triumvirate to reveal himself, and for the kids to be knee-deep in sorting out one catastrophe after another. There’s a young girl who needs to be rescued and wiped of her madness, there’s Meg to find and do something with 😊, there’s the defeating of the second emperor, there’s the securing of the oracle, and there’s the ongoing defense of the refuge and its inhabitants. At every turn, there is true danger, life threatening events, the strangest of allies made, and the saddest of events unfolding. There is also Apollo’s wonderful sense of sarcasm, narcissism, humor, and reminiscing about the past.

As events unfold, Lester/Apollo is forced to face his past, his actions, the consequences of his actions/words, and his own current mortality. What he discovers is an ability to be truly saddened and shamed by some of his past exploits, a desire to right the wrongs of his past, and a sincere willingness (with some internal whining!) to make the present a far more acceptable place to be. Lester/Apollo digs deep to find what’s important to him and discovers he is interested in helping his friends/allies, old and new alike, finding creative if crazy solutions to problems, and helping those who are unable to help themselves. For a once-god only interested in his own happiness, glory, and benefit, this change of attitude is surprising to everyone, but especially Apollo.

The Bottom Line: Yet again, I was sucked into this saga and didn’t want to give up on the listening until the very end! For as much as I adore the act of physically reading a book, I think I have enjoyed this series more as an audio read. Once again, all the characters and their respective personalities simply shine through with the help of a wonderful narrator. In particular is Apollo’s voice; every bit of sarcasm, narcissism, and humor is amplified in the audio version of this book. As to the plot, everything deepened and became more complicated in this middle book of the trilogy and I enjoyed it all. Historically, the emperor in this book is one of my favorites because of his level of crazy, the big reveals and backstory are fantastic, the retrieval of Meg and Peaches is crazy awesome, and the scene in the cave of the oracle is as funny as it is sad. In all, I still wish I had read all the Percy Jackson books first (I’m working on it!) but am still able to follow along and thoroughly enjoy this trilogy. Book three is already on hold with library and I can’t wait to see or hear how this one ends!

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Meh...I'm just not caring at all for Apollo. His character growth is pleasing, but it means little when I genuinely don't GAF about him.

Am I getting used to Rick Riordan's magic? Because that is just sad :(( It was an okay book for me. The usual formula: doomed heroes in a seemingly impossible mission, big baddies, and an expected chaos in the end.

I enjoyed reading about the characters from the previous series who made cameo

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appearances though. It's like seeing old friends and catching up with them. And some new characters have potential to be my favorites, too. :)

Still banking on this series. I'll see this through, Rick, but please surprise us more!

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I really like Apollo. Not as much as he likes himself, but enough. The wait for the third book is going to be a long one.

Here's a haiku in the honor of my favorite Olympian God (right after Poseidon)
Amazing adventures
God of music
Gotta love Apollo

At this point I don't think any review should be necessary for uncle Rick's books, people should just know it would be a great book by looking at the author's name.
As

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expected, I loved this book, I love Apollo, he's funny and sassy and witty which is just AMAZING

I'm so excited for the next book It has Grover in it!!!!

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Riordan's second Trials of Apollo book, The Dark Prophecy, sparks the search for the next oracle, and a confrontation with another of the Triumvirate. Apollo, Meg, Leo and Calypso find themselves in Indianapolis looking for the Cave of Trophonius. Unfortunately for them, this is the seat of power

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for the emperor calling himself the New Hercules, and the city is filled with blemmyae- impeccably polite monsters whose faces are in their chests. It's going to take the help of some new friends to reach the oracle, and not everyone is going to survive.

I loved this continuation of the series! I tried guessing this emperor, but didn't get it before they announced it. Ironic since about a week before reading this I watched a movie featuring said emperor. Now I'm 99% sure I know who the last one is!

The story behind Trophonius being the oracle, and why he doesn't like Apollo, was so sad! I kinda don't blame him at all. Apollo is continuing to grow and evolve, against his wishes for sure. I can only imagine how hard things might be going forward. He's got a lot of poor godly choices to reckon with it seems.

****This book was purchased and read for my own enjoyment

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You would think the whole Greek demigod thing would get old after a while but I'm still enjoying these books. Lots of surprises as far as what Rick is up to with his characters (old and new) and I like the shift in tone in this series. Apollo/Lester is an interesting and humorous narrator and I'm

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looking forward to reading the next book!

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Apollo, still appearing to be Lester, a puny 17 year old boy with bad skin is continuing to search for the oracles that have been absent and reeking havoc on the communications between the Gods and demigods. Apollo comes across the Waystation where he meets Jo and Emmie as Apollo he had made

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immortals, but now he finds that they gave up their divinity and immortality for love. Unusual for Apollo he tends to understand why they did instead of being angry that they wasted his gift. Since he has lost his own divinity, he seems to be growing into a more compassionate being.
During this search, Apollo is concerned about freeing Jo and Emmie's daughter while retrieving the oracle's chair with its magical healing abilities.

Apollo continues to struggle with the shortcomings of being human but that doesn't stop him from putting up a good fight with his friends.

Great fun!

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This series honestly seems like a step back in quality. I realize we're following Apollo, an immature god, but it seems far more juvenile than the other series and it's in a way that I find a bit obnoxious.

TW/CW: Death, fantasy violence, mild language, injury, mentions of child abuse

RATING: 4/5

REVIEW: The Dark Prophecy is the second book of Rick Riordan’s Trials of Apollo series. The series follows the god Apollo, who has been changed into a gawky human teenager, as he attempts to fulfil his quest

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to restore all the oracles.

This book takes place in Indianapolis, and as a born Hoosier I couldn’t help but enjoy that part. It made it easier for me to follow the action, which was great.

This book also introduces interesting new characters and brings back some old favorites, as well as introducing the reader to interesting parts of Greek mythology.

This book is also LGBTQIA+ friendly and shows several non-heterosexual relationships.

I recommend this book to fans of YA Fantasy and of Riordan’s other books and series.

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B

Engaging, with the Riordan humor and sheer crazysauce. However, Aopllo is extremely annoying. It was fun seeing him experience humanity, but nothing gives him humility. You would think that after two books, he would be brought down a peg or two.

More action oriented than I typically enjoy. The ending made me excited for the next in the series!