The Viper's Nest- Book Review

I started and completed The 39 Clues: Viper's Nest. The book was so interesting that I just couldn't stop reading it. I really like the series, because the series is a collaboration of different examples. What I mean is that different authors write each book. The author, Peter Lerangis did a splendid job of reveling the branch that Amy and Dan are a part of. I recommend this series to anyone who can follow through history, because there are several historical figures that are present in each of the series. For example, in the Viper's Nest, it talks about Shaka. Shaka was the military commander of the Zulu Kingdom, which reigned a lot of central Africa during the Age of Imperialism. The thing that I really like about the series is that it uses a lot of allusions that can be quite popular among those who are really good at history or even those who completed World History. Here is a brief summary of the book.

After Irina Spasky dies while saving Dan and Amy from the fire that Isabel Kabra set on their uncle's cabin, Dan and Amy decode the last words of Irina and that directs them to Pretoria, South Africa. When they venture into Pretoria, they are given a postcard that suggests a connection with Shaka. As they unravel the history of Shaka, they must penetrate the Tomas base, where they will find a very important clue. Then they encounter their fellow family, the Kabras. And the book then ends with a family secret.

Now, that is all that I will tell you for the rest will be full of action and suspense. The rest of the book is just building up to the very end where you will learn about Amy's and Dan's family branch. Though the book is quite an easy read, it contains several literary elements. For example, on page 2 of The Viper's Nest, it states, "Isabel Kabra had done it.She had burned down their house in Massachusetts all those years ago, and Dan and Amy's parents hadn't been able to escape all those years ago. Now Isabel was finishing her job." The last sentence was the key clue to tell that the Kabras will, again, try to kill Amy and Dan again in this book. I think that the author gave too much information in that sentence. If Peter Lerangis would have just said something like "And now she tried to burn Uncle Alistair's cabin" or something along that line, it wouldn't have told that much. But the fact that she said "finishing her job" established that the role of the Isabel Kabra is to kill or attempt to kill Dan and Amy. 

The picture was found on the following URL:

https://gatheringbooks.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/teaser-tuesday-2-graphic-novel-ya-love-and-poetry/

Cliffhangers

As I finish reading The Mark of Athena, I am just puzzled by the ending of the book. Rick Riordan completely blows my mind with the plots twists that he fuses into the story. For those who have not read or completed reading The Mark of Athena, first read the book and then read this post.

ATTENTION SPOILER ALERT!!!

So as you know, if you have actually read the book and have not decided to read this post without reading the book, that the ending of The Mark of Athena is a cliffhanger. The best thing about the cliffhangers that Rick Riordan implements is that the demigods or demigod, in some of his books, complete(s) the quest and makes it look like a happy little princess-like ending, but then with his evil thought, yet making good twists, he fabricates a never-ending suspenseful until the next book comes out. In The Mark of Athena, he concocts a ending where the demigods successfully succeeds their quest in finding Athena's Parthenos, a statue that went missing for thousands of years, and they rescue Nico and Rome. Then, of course, Rick Riordan doesn't stop there, he forges the plot structure of House of Hades with the ending of the book and makes Annabeth and Percy fall into Tartarus. If you think of this technique, cliffhangers, in a more broader view, you will realize a similarity between the books in the series and a typical essay.

One similarity between the Heroes of Olympus series and an essay is that the first book acts as an introduction in the "essay". But, after The Lost Hero introduces the long-term objective of the demigods, which is to stop Gaea from waking up, and states the objective clearly, which is like the thesis of the essay, Rick Riordan writes the "first body paragraph" that describes the first step to reach the long-term objective. Then eventually uses a transition that makes it easy for the reader to transition from the first book to the second book by using a cliffhanger. Then at the beginning of the second book he then states the quest in the second "paragraph". And then this structure continues on until the last book, which has the first part containing the last paragraph and the last part having the conclusion that ends "essay".

Though I do not enjoy reading cliffhangers, as a writer, I must comply with this strategy in order to keep the reader engaged throughout my writing. The cliffhanger will induce a emotion in the reader that is the goal of the writer. The emotion that it sparked in the reader will coax them to reader the writing further and will have a greater lasting impact on the reader.

I think that Rick Riordan did create an extremely suspenseful ending in the book, because I just couldn't stop thinking about how Percy and Annabeth would survive in Tartarus, which contains the most dangerous of the most dangerous monsters, if that makes sense.

My future plans in reading, would be to get hold of The House of Hades, but if I can't I will continue reading a series that I started last year- The 39 Clues, until I get the book.

Ghosts

By the title, you might be thinking that this blog will pertain to ghosts- well you are partially right. Yes, this post talks about ghosts; however, not necessarily the scary and supernatural ghosts that everyone thinks about, but the Ghost of Ravenclaw and the ghost in The Mark of Athena.

First things first, the ghost of Ravenclaw from the last book of the Harry Potter series had known a secret about the Ravenclaw diadem, which was lost for hundreds and hundreds of years. She helped Harry find the diadem, which was a Horcrux to defeat Voldemort.And on the other hand, there is the ghost The Mark of Athena. A group of three demigods, Annabeth, Hazel, and Piper are venturing to the White Point Gardens to find out about the ghost who apparently can help them.

Now, this is a straight out prediction, but I think that there is a connection between these events in two separate books, which are very similar as I have mentioned in my earlier posts. I think that Annabeth will find out a secret to help her find the stolen item of Athena. Just like in the case of the lost diadem, the stolen item of Athena will be revealed by the ghost. Though this prediction is not so well supported, I believe that there will be a connection between the last book of the Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hollows, and The Mark of Athena.

Surprise, Surprise

I previously predicted that Phorcys would help the demigods fight against the twin giants. BUT I WAS WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! I underestimated the relationship between Phorcys and Gaea. Since Phorcys didn't help the demigods; it seems as if he still has a touching edge or a somewhat decent relationship with his mother despite the problems between them both. I really like that element that Rick Riordan includes in the book, he makes Phorcy really despise his mother, but at the end of the day, Phorcy still is on her side. This really surprised me and made me realize that the readers who give the biggest surprise tend to become really good authors.

Now, I have revised my prediction on what is going to happen next in the book. I assume that Percy, Jason, and the group will go to Charleston as they planned and meet Bacchus again. I predict that this time though, Bacchus will help the demigods out after he is given the tribute he asked for before. Though Bacchus is asking for tribute to help the demigods, the demigods should be getting a favor for help saving the world. I think that Piper's dream of Bacchus foreshadows that Bacchus has a significant role in their quest. I also think the mention of him here and there kind of foreshadows that. The rest of the predictions that I have made seem to work and hopefully they are true. I am hoping to finish my book soon, so that I can dive into the House of Hades, which might be one of Rick Riordan's best books. I think that in that book, it is going to involve a lot of Hazel and Nico, but still be based around the demigod group.