Book Review: "The Chalice of the Gods" by Rick Riordan

4/5 stars

*Spoiler alert!*

What a sweet, nostalgic return to the Percy Jackson universe The Chalice of the Gods is! 

After saving the world on multiple occasions, Percy just wants to go to college with Annabeth and live a normal-ish life. Alas, the Olympian gods are standing in his way. To get into New Rome University, he must secure three letters of recommendations from gods or goddesses via completing various quests for them.  

Percy:

The first Greek deity to reach out to him is Ganymede, cupbearer to Zeus. Someone has stolen the Chalice of the Gods, a magical artifact that can grant whoever drinks out of it the gift (or curse) of immortality. Something you do not want in the wrong hands. Percy is to find it before Zeus hosts another party and smites Ganymede for misplacing the chalice.

“It was like a job requirement for them: 1) become a god, 2) get a cool magic thing, 3) lose it, 4) ask a demigod to find it.” 

In addition to Ganymede, The Chalice of the Gods introduces some other minor gods and goddesses that do not normally get the spotlight in Greek mythology, in particular, Iris (messenger goddess), Hebe (goddess of eternal youth), and Geras (god of old age).  

While visiting Hebe’s domain results in near-death by chicken (long story), Iris requests that Percy cleans her ancient messenger staff in the river Elisson as a price for her information-gathering. The catch being that the cleanest river around hates being taken advantage of. Oh, and snakes like to bathe in it. Lots of them. But this mini quest yields a cute Percabeth gem: 

“Find someone who loves you the way my girlfriend pushes me off a cliff. Without hesitation. With full confidence in your abilities, with the rock-steady belief that your relationship can handle it, and with complete faith that when you come out of the water, assuming you survive, you will totally forgive them for the push. Almost certainly forgive them. Probably. Bonus points if you find someone with enough chutzpah to say bon voyage while they do it.” 

(One of many cute and funny Percabeth gems.) 

Percy comes to realize how much he values his future with Annabeth and his best friend, Grover, when he is then wrestling Geras to get the Chalice of the Gods back.

“I imagined Annabeth with silver hair and wrinkles, chuckling as she called me Seaweed Brain for the four millionth time in our lives.” 

However, Riordan is a master of inserting deep life lessons into books for children (or former children who read the original five books of the “Percy Jackson” series), highlighting the pitfalls of nostalgia to embracing aging by using your mortality as inspiration for living a long, fulfilling life with the ones you love.  

Oh, and that Zeus is an irredeemable slime-ball. I had not heard the story of Ganymede before, but it is just gross. Kidnapped by Zeus as a teenager he is forced to become the immortal cupbearer and another of a long string of Zeus’ lovers. (Riordan does not come out and explicitly say the latter part, but it is mentioned repeatedly his exceptionally good looks. Zeus at one point even remarks about it to his brunch guests, incensing Hera.) Talk about one of the most unequal balances of power in a relationship ever. I would argue it is a very toxic relationship, not unlike the one between Zeus and Hera that made them the King and Queen of Olympus, respectively.  

Thankfully, we get another book in follow-up to this one, ostensibly another book about Percy doing another quest in exchange for a college recommendation letter. I am excited to see where this more adult Percy Jackson series goes and wonder what minor gods and goddesses make an appearance next.

 

Happy reading! 

--BookOwl