Demigod Diaries

Overall impression of this collection: The whole lot was fun. It was a quick and easy read, entertaining. I'll give a brief review of each short story. The Diary of Luke Castellan: This one was interesting, a glimpse back before the original Percy Jackson novels. It gives a certain intensity and makes the innate danger of being a half-blood much more real. Seeing these Luke and Thalia when they're literally living hand-to-mouth trying to survive monsters was a nice addition. Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes: Another fun aside. This one allows us to see a glimpse between the end of the last Percy Jackson book and the first Heroes of Olympus. It gives us a story where Percy and Annabeth are a couple. And they're fun, having to fix the problems of careless gods and still very much themselves. Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford: This was my least favorite of the collection, although you get to see Piper, Leo and Jason (before he disappears). Another sort of zany adventure that demonstrates Riordan's creativity. The Maenads annoyed me and I'm not as fond of this trio as I am the original one. Still good. Son of Magic: This is the clincher. Actually written by his son, Haley, this is the only one that actually adds substance to the universe, rather than amusing interludes and it's the one that pushes this book to 5 stars. This story had me entranced. The characters were well-built, the detail wonderful and the insights into the world and how things work and some of the fall-out for the losing side of The Last Olympian were fantastic. If this kid can write like this at 16, I want to read more of his stuff when he gets older. The others were cute fluff, this one could be the base of a book. Heck, I want it to be the base of a book. I want more Alabaster. I want to know him and go on a journey with him. While the other shorts made me smile, this one made my fingers itch for the next book of the series. So, overall, mostly fluffy additions to the series with a true gem at the end.

Confession: I was a bit irked when the description said there were stories with Luke Castellan's point of view, Percy and Annabeths date-turned-mission, and especially about the powers of a son of Hecate. But when I got the book, I was instantly hooked. "The Diary of Luke Castellan" was actually pretty amazing and sad at the same time. It showed us one of the dangers that Thalia and Luke encountered before meeting Annabeth (which Rick Riordan did add, at the end of the story). Nonetheless, I did start liking Luke more than I did in PJO (and now it makes me sad to think about how he died). Then came "Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes", where it starts out with Percy and Annabeth enjoying a picnic when Hermes crashes in and gives them a mission (to retrieve his lost caduceus, obviously). We get to meet a new enemy-giant (who's obsessed with stealing "worthy fakes") and read in Percy's ever-lasting humorous point of view. And the ending was really sweet. :) The third story by Rick Riordan was "Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford". Mild spoiler: Leo has a runaway table called Buford who plays a key role in the story. And Leo finds himself surrounded by psychotic (but pretty) nymphs, who he finds a shame that he can't flirt with. And it was refreshing to know that Jason and Piper are OFFICIALLY a couple. Lastly, we get to read a story by Ricks son, Haley. It was a surprising feeling; I actually really enjoyed it! Told in third person, it tells of an arrogant mortal who came upon a monster-daughter and demigod-son of Hecate and how he ends up helping. I hope to see Haley Riordan as part of the New York Times #1 Best-Selling Authors list soon! In between the stories, we get a rather amusing interview with George and Martha (Hermes' snakes), the first-ever portrait of Thalia (and she looked just like what I imagined), and some pretty easy puzzles and quizzes and the official list of the seven demigods in the prophecy. The book was great and a satisfying "appetizer" until "The Mark of Athena". Definitely worth the money.

Riordan's "The Demigod Diaries" is like an "interlude book" between or supplementing larger, more significant works. Evanovich does it with her popular Stephanie Plum series. For us, it is much like JK Rowling's "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" or "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"; these are several of Rowling's books to supplement the Potter series. Riordan's "The Demigod Diaries" is a short, quick read. Although it consists of four short stories plus original art, character interviews, and some games and puzzles, it is still well written and brings enjoyment and interesting information about our Greek and Roman campers. If you have enjoyed Riordan's books so far, then I strongly recommend this delightful book! These short stories provide interesting and/ or vital information to the "Heroes of Olympus" and the Percy Jackson stories. The first story was Luke's story, "The Diary of Luke Castellan," which was my favorite. Luke, certainly one of the more interesting and complex characters from Camp Half-Blood, is featured here; the story is told from his point of view which provides and interesting change. We are now given an interesting glimpse into Luke's character before he betrayed the camp and the gods (which is prophesied in this story). Additionally, it was interesting to see Luke and Thalia fighting together, and then later finding a young, lost Annabeth and making her a part of the group. The second story is "Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes," in which Percy and Annabeth are celebrating their one month anniversary of dating. Of course, this anniversary is more important to one than the other, and does Percy feel on the spot. This uneasiness is interrupted by Hermes who just happens to need help as the Caduceus (his staff) has been stolen. It is a little weaker, but still an interesting story. Third, "Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford," provides the reader with a great look at the inventiveness of Leo, who made a delightful appearance in "The Lost Hero." It is a delightful story filled with surprising events, including a magic table named Buford, and eggnog drunk nymphs. The last story was "The Son of Magic" written by Riordan's son, Haley. I was a bit surprised that the tone of the story was certainly a darker tone than the other stories; perhaps I just expected something lighter, with a bit more humor for a young writer's first major attempt. However, that was from my expectation; young Haley's story still made an impact and made you think! See what you think!

you didn't pay attention to the very first Percy Jackson book where Chiron says that he wasn't sure if there was a God beyond the Gods. it's not too fare fetched. and if anything i thing it rose even more questions. about this world. as far as it feeling 'too real' i think it was perfect. we here all about Percy and his misadventures. and how he miraculously manages to save the day nearly every book. we heard nothing about how many people actually died during the great war. and the effects of the war had on the rest of the gods and the demigods that managed to survive the war. I like the fact that it brought in the fact that it brought in a mortal as the main focus instead of another demigod. it made it feel like... "if you were in this situation, how would you feel? what would you do?" I liked the fact that Son of Magic was more Adult. it forces children to remember that this fantasy world isn't all fun and games. a world without consequences. it made you remember that Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus isn't supposed to feel like some far off place that doesn't exist. the opening of the first book he tells you flat out that there is a world beyond the world you know. as 'regular mortals' only know that when they look out their window another parade float blew up, the world of Percy Jackson says that parade float was a monster that had died. the fact Son of Magic had a more real turn out made me remember the fact that there was a war and that there might be some people who are still rather bitter about it. it kept the this imgainary world from seeming too much like there was nothing but happy endings. and it doesn't send a bad message that Hecate is 'worshiping a christian god' the way i see it, the Greek-Roman Gods were put here as a form of protection for the mortals. and it raises the question that was brought up in one of the other books that was only brushed upon 'when the gods are in trouble, who do they pray to?' and don't forget Iris in Son of Neptune was 'Dabbling in Taoism'. they never stated that they were the supreme power... and to assume that God (in anysense of the word Islamic, Christian, Judaism,) doesn't exist in this 'reality' when all of the Greek gods exist, is like saying that... Air isn't real because it is apart of the sky and that is Zeus' domain so if zeus didn't exist, we would all suffocate. reading Haley's part of the story sent tingles down my spine raising so many more questions for me. i want to know more about this world than just the Adventures of Percy and his friends. what about the Mortals who can see through the mist i'm sure there are more than they let on like in the first book how the woman was talking about the chimera. is it weaker on children than it is on adults? and what about the people affected by all of this. mortal or demigod. if you ask me, this was a far better piece to the book than some give it credit.

Riordan gives fans of his Greek and Roman series some great new material in the four stories presented here. In the first, Luke and Thalia must find a way to escape from a trap set for demigods. Or else they will be dinner. And how did they get into this trap? Lured by a goat. A goat who can dispense ice and Pepsi products! Hilarious! Percy just wants to spend time with his girlfriend Annabeth. But he is coopted into finding Hermes' lost staff. Stolen by a monster of course. A monster who is intent on making profits off of knock-offs rather than stealing originals. Hilarity ensues. At the center of the third tale is a table who ran away because he was polished with Windex rather than Lemon Pledge. And now maybe the entire laboratory will explode because the Argo II needs its syncopator. Unless Jason and Piper can help Leo find Buford, the run-away table - who happens to have the syncopator in one of its drawers. Along the way they encounter drunk underage maenads intent on finding Lord Dionysus. More hilarity ensues. The final tale asks the question, what happened to the demigods who fought on the side of Kronos after the events of The Last Olympian? The story gives good answers about Mist and why monsters can smell heroes. Written by Riordan's son 16yo son, it doesn't contain the same sense of humor or whimsy as the other stories. And while it's not a bad story, it doesn't make one smile like the other stories do. The tale is about an internecine battle between two children of Hecate. Still, it does not draw away from the awesomeness of the other three stories.

I'm a fan of the Percy Jackson series, and have liked Heroes of Olympus even more. This "filler" book reaches into both stories, including a story of how Luke became both the villain and the hero he became in the first series. I hadn't known that the origin of the stories was as bedtime stories told by Rick Riordan to his child who had been diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD (two signs of being a demigod, in the stories). His son has grown and is now writing his own books, and added a marvelous story of what happened to the halfbloods who served Kronos - and what happens when he is caught up in Gaea. I know other reviewers didn't care for it, but I found it very moving. Like The Demigod Files, this is a series of filler stores, don't carry the major story forward, and some of the filler like interviews with George and Martha (the snakes on Herme's caduceus) get silly. But there are four really great stories, well worth the price.

I did read that some of the comments were based off of Haley's section of the book because people thought his fighting was a little to realistic and I have to agree with them but looking at the description of the characters the plot and the dialogue between the characters I thought it was great the only complaint about Harley's section of the book was that it was sometimes hard to understand what character was being viewed at which time but I understand how hard it is when it comes to transitioning between characters because like Haley his father's books inspired me to write my own books. At this point in time I am 15 and working hard on making my book understandable easy to relate to and entertaining for the reader and I do have trouble transitioning between characters and because of that I believe that Haley has an amazing career in his future if he decides to write books like his father so to Rick I say "you have raised your son well and hope to see his own books on stores later on."

Before my actual review, I have something important to say, because I skimmed other reviews before posting this, and I was laughing so hard. This book has a rough cut edge, also known as a deckled edge. This is INTENTIONAL. That means the paper is not going to look like it's cut all neat and clean. That is INTENTIONAL. It's a choice the publisher made ON PURPOSE. I will include some images of what that looks like. Rating system: 1 star = did not like 2 star = it was okay 3 star = liked it 4 star = really liked it 5 star = it was amazing I'll get the artwork and activity stuff out of the way first. There are various artwork images throughout the book. I don't have much to say about those, except for specific thoughts about two character portraits. -Luke's portrait makes him look dead inside. -Jason's portrait creeps me out. I don't like his face. The activities are so easy you can guess the solutions without having to actually do the puzzles. The only one that might take any effort would probably be the word search. The Diary of Luke Castellan 3/5 This is an entry from Luke's journal about how Thalia acquires Aegis, and how how they found Annabeth. It was weird seeing an innocent version of Luke where he had just as much potential to be a hero as anyone else. He reminded me a lot of Annabeth, except he actually has special powers to back up some of his wit. Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes 3/5 Percy and Annabeth go on a quest to retrieve the caduceus. I'm not a fan of Annabeth, but she didn't seem as insufferable in this story. George and Martha are always fun, and they don't get many appearances in the series. Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford 3/5 No comments about this one. I liked it well enough. Buford is a table. That's about it. Son of Magic 3.5/5 I think this one was the best story in the book. It was actually written by Rick Riordan's son as a clever lore dump.I don't remember if Alabaster was a character actually mentioned in PJO or not, but this story explains the mist, and a gist of what happened to demigods who sided with Kronos. Alabaster's opinions seemed misguided, because acceptance of lesser gods and their children at camp half-blood was one of the major things those demigods wanted, and they got it, so he seemed to have different reasons for everything. He definitely glorifies Kronos' side of the war even though they lost. He seems like a redeemable character.