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Description edit see section history

Percy Jackson isn't expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse.

In this book, time is running out and war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord... read more

Summary edit see section history

After being attacked by a vampire cheerleader at his new school, Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood and learns about the Labyrinth; a maze in the palace of King Minos in Crete that was designed by Daedalus. He also meets the camp's new sword master, Quintus. During a battle drill giant scorpions... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

After being attacked by a vampire cheerleader at his new school, Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood and learns about the Labyrinth; a maze in the palace of King Minos in Crete that was designed by Daedalus. He also meets the camp's new sword master, Quintus. During a battle drill giant scorpions at the camp, Annabeth and Percy accidentally find an entrance into the Labyrinth. Percy soon learns that Luke has used this entrance before and will try and lead his army through the Labyrinth straight into the heart of Camp Half-Blood.

Using the Labyrinth, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson must find Daedalus so that Luke cannot get Ariadne's string, which would guide him through the labyrinth. Percy and his friends encounter Kampe, a half woman, half-dragon monster, and free hexjdhfvdjkzr prisoner, Briares the Hekatonkheires (Hundred-Handed One), who is Tyson's idol, but disappoints him by being too scared to help them. After an encounter with the goddess Hera and a battle on the farm of Geryon, the group are reunited with Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, who blames Percy for the death of his sister Bianca, but is convinced to put it behind him by the ghost of his sister.

Next, by order of the Greek god Hephaestus, Percy travels to Mt. St. Helens. There he finds telekhines, also known as "sea demons". He is discovered by the telkhines, who attack him. Once Percy found Annabeth and they have a short argument during which Percy tells Annabeth to flee. Percy gets a kiss from Annabeth and she disappears. In an attempt to escape the telekhines, Percy causes Mt. St. Helens to erupt, pushing him out of the volcano, draining his energy in the process.

When he awakens after the eruption of Mount Saint Helens, he finds himself in the mythical island inhabited by Calypso. After being treated for burns by Calypso and returning to the mortal world, Percy gets the help he needs from a mortal girl named Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who is able to see through the Mist, the magical veil that makes mortals see things differently than demigods. Grover finally finds Pan, but the god of the wild is dying and wants Grover to tell the other satyrs that they must save the natural world themselves. His spirit passes into all present, the satyr in particular, when he dies.

They finally discover that Quintus, the mysterious new sword instructor at Camp Half-Blood, is actually Daedalus, who has attained extended life by putting his life-force, his animus, into a robot body — and that Kronos has gained enough strength by Luke. He also possess Luke, using his body as a starter form. Kronos finds out that Nico di Angelo is a son of Hades and that he could be the child of the great prophecy, which states that a child of "Big Three" (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) would decide the fate of the gods. Luke has already reached Daedalus and attained Ariadne's string; using the magical instrument, he sends out Kronos's army to take Camp Half-Blood via the Labyrinth.

While fighting a losing battle, the entire camp is either injured or killed, and Daedalus and Briares come out of the Labyrinth to help fight the battle and destroy Kampe. Grover rescues Camp Half-Blood by causing a Panic, to scare away the enemy. After the battle, Daedalus sacrifices himself to close the Labyrinth, which is tied to his life. The camp say good bye to the dead, Nico leaves the camp, Grover doesn't go to exile, and Percy leaves for his 15th birthday and Nico comes by to give him a proposal for his upcoming battle with Kronos.The end

Characters edit see section history

  • Perseus "Percy" Jackson: The main character and son of Poseidon. Percy has black hair and green eyes, and a knack for getting into trouble. He is best friends with Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase, and would do anything to save them.
  • Grover Underwood: A satyr. Best friend of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. On a quest to search for the Lost God, Pan. Cares tremendously about 'being green' and the state of nature and the wild. He's awesome.
  • Luke Castellan: He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He has a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash. He is a son of Hermes. He works for Kronos to overthrow the gods.
  • Quintus: He is a gray haired guy in his fifties and owns a huge hellhound...named Mrs. O'leary he is son of Athena and is the new sword instructor at camp half blood....he is known for in awesome inventions and bright ideas.
  • Chiron: He is a centaur and the activities director at camp half blood.
  • Nico di Angelo: He is Bianca's little brother. He has a dark silky hair and olive skin. He is the son of Hades.
  • Telekhines: They are sea demons who has a dog's face, with black snouts, brown eyes and pointy ears. Their bodies were sleek and black like sea mammals, with stubby legs that were half flipper, half foot, and human-like hands with sharp claws.
  • Tyson: He is Percy's half-brother. He is six-foot-three and built like the Abominable Snowman, but he cried a lot and was scared of just about everything. He is a Cyclops. He works in the Cyclopes' forges.
  • Clarisse LaRue: She is a big girl with a big, husky voice. She is a daughter of Ares. She owns an electrified spear as her weapon.
  • Briares: An ancient creature.
  • Mrs. O'Leary: She is the pet hellhound of Daedalus/Quintus.
  • Mr. Geryon: He is a guy with a normal head. His face was weathered and brown from years in the sun. He had a slick black hair and a black pencil mustache like villains have in old movies. He has three bodies. He is a son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe and grandson of Medusa, was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia of the mythic Hesperides in the far west of the Mediterranean.
  • King Minos: He is the one who imprisoned Daedalus in the maze. He is the king of Crete.
  • Kelli: She is an African-American with dark curly hair like Medusa's. She is a cheerleader but she is actually an empousai.
  • Paul Blofis: He is Sally's new boyfriend and soon to be husband.
  • Bianca di Angelo: She is Nico's sister. She has a silky hair and olive skin. She is the daughter of Hades. She was killed in book 3 in the desert while she was on a quest.
  • Ethan Nakamura: He has an eye-patch. He is a half-blood son of Nemesis.
  • Kampe: She is the jailer of the Cyclopes in the bad years. They fear her. Kampe was set by Kronos to guard the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes in Tartarus after Kronos had imprisoned them there. She was killed by Zeus when he rescued the Cyclopes for help in the battle with the Titans. Kampe was a dragon with a woman's head and torso and a scorpion-like tail.
  • Tammi: She is the blonde cheerleader and friend of Kelli. She is also an empousai.
  • Chris Rodriguez: He is a half-blood that is mentally ill.
  • Zeus: He is the Lord of the gods and the ruler of Mount Olympus. He is one of the sons of Kronos and Gaia and he is one of the twelve Olympians. He had a well-trimmed beard, marbled gray and black like a storm cloud. His face was proud and handsome and grim, his eyes rainy gray.
  • Dede: The dodo bird in Pan's cave. Enjoys humming.
  • Dionysus: He is a small, porky guy. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He is the Camp Director. He is the God of Wine.
  • Ariadne: She is Dionysus's beautiful wife. She was a mortal girl, rescued and promised to Theseus, but was abandoned by him and rescued by Dionysus.
  • Poseidon: He is the God of the sea. He is the stormbringer, earthquakes, and he created the horses. He is one of the sons of Kronos and Gaia and he is one of the twelve Olympians. His skin was deeply tanned, his hands scarred like an old-time fisherman's. His hair was black. His face had that same brooding look like a rebel. He has sea-green eyes that were surrounded by sun-crinkles that stand as proof that he smiles a lot. He is the father of Percy.
  • Perdix: He is Daedalus's young, intelligent nephew.
  • Calypso: She had almond eyes and caramel-color hair braided over one shoulder. Her singing voice can heal. She is a daughter of Atlas. She was a nymph in Greek mythology, who lived on the island of Ogygia, where she detained Odysseus for a number of years.
  • Eurytion: He is a son or Ares. He was a huge guy with stark white hair, a straw cowboy hat, and a braided white beard.
  • Sally Jackson: She is Percy's mother. She works in Sweet on America, a candy shop.
  • Peleus: He is the guardian dragon of Camp Half-Blood and the golden fleece.
  • Travis Stoll: He is Connor's twin brother. He is skinny, with mops of brown hair that hung in his eyes. He is a son of Hermes and he is one of those who lead his father's cabin.
  • Connor Stoll: He is Travis's twin brother. He is skinny, with mops of brown hair that hung in his eyes. He is a son of Hermes and he is one of those who lead his father's cabin.
  • Silena Beauregard: One of the nicer girls of Aphrodite's cabin. She leads her mom's cabin. She is good at Pegasus Riding and she teaches it as well.
  • Silenus: He is an old satyr and he is known as one of the members of the Council of Cloven Elders. He was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. Silenus was described as the oldest, wisest and most drunken of the followers of Dionysus, and was said in Orphic hymns to be the young god's tutor.
  • Maron: He is an old satyr and he is known as one of the members of the Council of Cloven Elders.
  • Leneus: He is an old satyr and he is known as one of the members of the Council of Cloven Elders.
  • Juniper: She is Grover's girlfriend. She is a tree nymph.
  • Charles Beckendorf: Son of Hephaetus, and head counselor of the cabin.
  • Lee Fletcher: He is the leader of Apollo's cabin.
  • Argus: He is a husky, blonde dude, like a surfer. He had blue eyes and a dozen of them on his body. He is the camp's head of security.
  • Malcolm: He is one of Annabeth's half-brothers. He is also a son of Athena.
  • Kronos: He was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky. He overthrew his father and ruled during the mythological Golden Age, until he was overthrown by his own sons, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, and imprisoned in Tartarus. Kronos was usually depicted with a sickle or scythe, which was also the weapon he used to castrate and depose Uranus, his father.
  • Theseus: One of the old Greek heroes. A demigod son of Zeus who slayed the Minotaur in the Labyrinth.
  • Janus: He is the god of doorways, beginnings, endings and choices. He is two-faced.
  • Hera: She is a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers. She was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. She is the mother of Ares, Enyo, Hebe, Eileithyia, Hephaestus and Eris. She is the Queen of Heaven.
  • Icarus: He is the son of Daedalus, the builder of the Labyrinth.
  • Orthrus: It is a two-headed dog.
  • Sphinx: It has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face and breast of a woman. She is treacherous and merciless: those who cannot answer her riddle suffer a fate typical in such mythological stories: they are gobbled up whole and raw, eaten by this ravenous monster.
  • Hephaestus: He is a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. He is the Lord of the Forges. He is the son of Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of the Gods. He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. Like other mythic smiths but unlike most other gods, Hephaestus was lame, which gave him a grotesque appearance in Greek eyes.
  • Cocalus: He is a red-headed king with three daughters. He was a king of Kamikos in Sicily.
  • Aelia: She is the oldest daughter of Cocalus.
  • Antaeus: He is a very big monster. He is the host of the gladiator of monsters. He was half-giant. He is the son of Poseidon and Gaia, whose wife was Tinjis.
  • Robert: He is the chauffeur of the black Lexus.
  • Pan: He is the god of the wild. He is an old satyr. He has blue eyes. His curly hair was white and so was his pointed beard.
  • Blackjack: He is a black pegasus who always helps Percy when he is in need. He used to work for Luke. Percy saved Blackjack from Luke in the Sea of Monsters book, and now Blackjack it totally loyal to him.
  • Guido: One of Blackjack's pegasi friends.
  • Porkpie: One of Blackjack's pegasi friends.
  • Castor: He is one of the blonde twin sons of Dionysus.
  • Pollux: He is one of the blonde twin sons of Dionysus.
  • Annabeth Chase: She is a pretty blonde girl whose hair curled like a princess's and she has gray eyes like her mother. She is the daughter of Athena. She is also Percy's friend. She wants to be an architect.
  • Rachel Elizabeth Dare: She is a red-headed girl who can see through the mist. She nailed Kronos in the eye with a plastic hairbrush
Show all 61 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “I’m calm, every time I’m around you, some monster attacks us. What’s to be nervous about?”
    Rachel Elizabeth Dare
  • “My dad was a nice guy. He’s never asked me for a Father’s day card much less somebody’s skull.”
    Percy Jackson
  • “I am nice! I simply ooze niceness, Perry Johansson. Haven’t you noticed?”
    Mr. D
  • “New lesson, class," I announced. "Most monsters will vaporize when sliced with a celestial bronze sword. This change is perfectly normal, and will happen to you right now if you don't BACK OFF!”
    Percy Jackson
  • “'But gods can't die' Grover said.'They can fade' Pan said 'when everything they stood for is gone. When they cease to have power, and their sacred placed disappear.'”
    Grover/Pan
  • “Sometimes small things can become very large indeed.”
    Dionysus
  • “I hope the dead like root beer.”
    Eurytion
  • “Left walls are mean.”
    Tyson
  • “But underground smells like that. Monsters and dead milk people.”
    Tyson
  • “Meat is good! Baths are bad!”
    Flesh eating horses
  • “We won't eat you! Please, lord! No more salty baths!”
    Flesh eating horses
  • “There were a lot of answers I might’ve given, from 'I knew that' to 'LIAR!' to 'Right, and I’m Zeus.'”
    Percy
  • “"You hit the lord of the titans in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush."”
    Percy
  • “"Fish ponies!"”
    Tyson
  • “Sometimes it is better to have someone you mistrust close to you, so that you can keep an eye on him.”
    Chiron
  • “Things were better left as mysteries.”
    Percy Jackson
  • “Be careful of love. It'll twist your brain around and leave you thinking up is down and right is wrong.”
    Hephaestus
  • “As I sailed onto the lake I realized the Fates really were cruel. They sent Calypso someone she couldn't help but love. But it worked both ways. For the rest of my life I would always be thinking about her. She would always be my biggest what if.”
    Percy Jackson
  • “Maybe it's okay to still be a kid once in a while.”
    Percy Jackson
  • “But remember, boy, that kind act can sometimes be as powerful as a sword.”
    Dionysus
  • “I was glad to be with her, but it also kind of hurt, and it hurt when I wasn't with her, too.”
    Percy Jackson
  • “And lose a love to worse than death.”
    Annabeth Chase
  • “I wanted to tell Annabeth that I didn't really want to be so distant from her.”
    Percy Jackson
  • “Enchiladas”
    Grover
  • “"'YAY!' he said " Now we can eat peanut butter and sandwiches and ride fish ponies! We can fight monsters and see Annabeth and make things go BOOM!'"”
    Tyson
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • Annabeth glared at me like she was going to punch me. And then she did something that surprised me even more. She kissed me.
    Highlighted by 697 Kindle customers
  • “Percy, lesser beings do many horrible things in the name of the gods. That does not mean we gods approve. The way our sons and daughters act in our names . . . well, it usually says more about them than it does about us. And you, Percy, are my favorite son.”
    Highlighted by 435 Kindle customers
  • “You shall rise or fall by the ghost king’s hand,” Annabeth said, “the child of Athena’s final stand.”
    Highlighted by 417 Kindle customers
  • OPEN WITH CARE. TRIPLE G RANCH IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE, MAIMING, OR EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL DEATHS.
    Highlighted by 355 Kindle customers
  • You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze . . .” We waited. “The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.”
    Highlighted by 338 Kindle customers
  • “Percy Jackson,” the god said. “I know what you have seen today. I know your doubts. But I give you this news: when the time comes, you will not be ruled by fear.”
    Highlighted by 332 Kindle customers
  • “I’m Janus,” both faces said in harmony. “God of Doorways. Beginnings. Endings. Choices.”
    Highlighted by 323 Kindle customers
  • “Something about . . . Destroy with a hero’s final breath.”
    Highlighted by 298 Kindle customers
  • “I know you believe you cannot make amends,” he said. “But you are just as important as your father.”
    Highlighted by 292 Kindle customers
  • “You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,” I remembered. “The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.
    Highlighted by 262 Kindle customers
Show all 35 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

New York, San Francisco
  • Goode High School: It is located on East 81st. It is a big brownstone building overlooking the East River.
  • Labyrinth: It is a large, underground, magical maze with many entrances. People that enter usually go insane or die. It was created by Daedalus.
  • Camp Half- Blood: It is a place where demigods spend much of their time, training and getting to know the others like them. Only half-bloods can enter on their own; anyone else needs permission. Run by Dionysus as a punishment to him.
  • River Styx: A river in the Underworld.
  • Mount St. Helens: Volcano with the forge of Hephaestus.
  • Tartarus: Deepest darkest part of Hades
  • Daedalus's workshop: It is located in the heart of the Labyrinth.
  • Triple G Ranch: It is located in Texas. It is also known as the Demon Ranch.
  • Garden of the gods: It is the Colorado Springs.
  • Zeus's Fist: It is a huge pile of boulders in the middle of the west woods. It was a natural landmark where campers often rendezvoused on hunting expeditions. Also Zeus's fist is an entrance into the Labyrinth.
  • Alcatraz: Often referred to as The Rock, the small island early-on served as a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison until 1963.
  • Hephaestus's Workshop: This is where Hephaestus creates his new inventions. It is his comfort zone. It is also known as the Forge of Hephaestus.
  • Ogygia: It is Calypso's phantom island.
  • Times Square: It is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets.
  • Java Moose: It is a coffee shop located at West 43rd.
  • Marriott Hotel: One of the renown hotels.
  • Western Museum of Mining & Industry: It is a museum about mining.
  • Mount Othrys: It is the mountain fortress of the Titans.
  • Carlsbad Caverns: It is located in New Mexico.
  • Mount Olympus: It is where most of the major gods live.
Show all 20 settings

Organizations edit see section history

  • Titan Army: Led by Kronos. Plan to take over Olympus and the gods
  • Camp Half-Blood: Camp full of demigods, children of the gods of Olympus

First Sentence edit see section history

The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was blow up another school.

Table of Contents edit see section history

1. I Battle the Cheerleading Squad
2. The Underworld Sends Me a Prank Call
3. We Play Tag with Scorpions
4. Annabeth Breaks the Rules
5. Nico Buys Happy Meals for the Dead
6. We Meet the God with Two Faces
7. Tyson Leads a Jailbreak
8. We Visit the Demon Dude Ranch
9. I Scoop Poop
10. We Play the Game Show of Death
11. I Set Myself on Fire
12. I Take a Permanent Vacation
13. We Hire a New Guide
14. My Brother Duels Me to the Death
15. We Steal Some Slightly Used Wings
16. I Open a Coffin
17. The Lost God Speaks
18. Grover Causes a Stampede
19. The Council Gets Cloven
20. My Birthday Party Takes a Dark Turn

Glossary edit see section history

Errata edit see section history

On page 351 Annabeth says "You'd better getting going." She should have said "You'd better get going."

On page 216 - Percy is talking to Calypso and he says, "And then I starting telling her about the time Grover..." When it should have been "And then I started telling her about the time Grover..."

On page 161, Annabeth says to Nico, "That wasn't Percy fault." When it should be "That wasn't Percy's fault."

On page 97. 'Briars wiped his nose with five or six hands' should say 'Briares wiped his nose with five or six hands'

On page 139. '"Enough Mions" Nico commented' should say '"Enough Minos"' Nico commented.

On age 162. "I want to know who dates to invade my territory". Should say: "I want to know who dares to invade my territory"

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 4 of 8 in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. (standard series)

Preceded by The Titan's Curse, and followed by The Last Olympian.

This is book 160 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)
This is book 4 of 8 in Modern Olympians. (universe)
This is book 89 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 83 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 11 of 216 in Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 (2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 102 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Rick Riordan (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. John Rocco (Illustrator)
  2. Christine Kettner (Designer)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Hyperion
Country: United States
Publication Date: 2008
ISBN: 9781423101468
Page Count: 361

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Recommend for children 10+. For all fantasy or adventure enthusiasts.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Cupid's Academy: The Miseducation of Mergatroyd, Love god in Training
  • Oh. My. Gods.
  • Goddess Boot Camp
  • Mythology
  • Mythology

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • The Lightning Thief
  • The Sea of Monsters
  • The Titan's Curse
  • The Demigod Files
  • Demigods and Monsters

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