Books: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Another mythology novel! Actually, after reading The Song of Achilles, I've been reading another book... Essays in Love by Alain the Botton. But suddenly September become such a storm in my work life and I hardly find a proper time to read the book. By the time October rolls, The Mark of Athena is released and honestly, I prioritize to read this book first because, well, I can finish it in a very short time, like... 8 hours straight.

The Percy Jackson series target the teenager audience and it is feel every bit teenager as a teenager book should be. For those who are following the the Heroes of Olympus series, we already know that the first two books (The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune) set as the introductory stories that led to the quest in The Mark of Athena. This is when finally two-powerful culture entity collide, different value clash and loyalty tested. 

Starting in the very moment after Percy Jackson raise as praetor in the previous book, the ship Argo II sail from Half Blood Hill and arrive at New Rome with diplomatic mission, to unite Greek and Roman and fulfill the New Great Prophecy/Prophecy of Seven.

The highlight of this book is Percy and Annabeth together again! I love it for that. I love how the author intensify the bonding between Percy and Annabeth, and how importance that development to the flow of the story. The scene when Percy and Annabeth meet the first time in New Rome after months of separation is every bit as I imagine it could be. Annabeth reaction is so good but not unexpected judging by how she and Percy relationship like. 

Annabeth has the hardest path in this story. Bearing a personal quest that has been trusted to the children of Athena for centuries, bring Athena back home. Putting the transformation conflict between Athena's Greek personality to Roman's Minerva as the main driver of the story is brilliant. It means that the author also understand the conflict that once happened eons ago. The story develop more adult and serious vibe because of it, and it also lead to the key to end the Greek-Roman feud.

On the not so nice side, there are 7 POVs in this book, and honestly, it's too crowded. I like the 'Percy Jackson and The Olympians' format much better (with just one POV - Percy), 3 is fine, but 7? it's quite confusing and the emotional exploration of each character feel a little bit so-so. 

I'm also hope that there are some personality/morality clash between Percy and Jason, to think that they are very powerful demigod and a leader from different spectrum of culture. But the main ripple of the group is more like 'love-line' problem between Frank-Hazel-Leo which I found a little bit boring. I love the bromance and competition-to-protect between Percy and Jason, but still, having their bonding so smooth is quite a disappointment for me to think that Percy even had quite a clash with his sister Thalia in The Titan's Curse before.

In my conclusion, this is a better development than the previous 2 books in the series. It set another path to more complicated task ahead and ultimately to the main issue, fulfilling the prophecy. Rick Riordan has stated in his website that the next book will be released at fall next year and the title will be 'The House of Hades'. There are 2 children of Hades/Pluto in this story, and the fact that the story is about the Door of Death, I think it will be interesting. More truth to come in the next book and I'm really looking forward to it.

Books: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Myth -greek and roman- has always be in my list of interest. But I never really seek for a book that directly told about the myth itself, I've just read the modern adaptation or else.

The Song of Achilles is beyond my expectation. Trojan War is a bloodbath. Men sailed to Troy with the promise of glory in the packaging of bring back the most beautiful woman in the world. If I've ever hate a person in greek mythology, that person would be Helen, and thank God that this book is not about her. Told from the point of view of Patroclus, a close companion and most beloved of Achilles, the greatest warrior of them all. Madellne Miller beautifully interpret the relationship of Achilles and Patroclus: they are friends, comrades, and lovers. The story stretch from the self introduction of Patroclus, to his exile to the kingdom of Phtia where he meet Achilles, they are just 9 then. And then the goes to the span of 18 years their time together, the time in Phtia, to mount Pelion, Scyros and of course the sail and battle of Troy. Madeline miller build a love story around one of the most well-known war in the world. She mold the story of Iliad creatively to support her interpretation and I love it. I finished reading this book in 3 days. Eagerly trying to reach the end, cut short my beauty sleep to just 4 hours in those days and it all worth it.

I highly recommend this book, especially to all myth-geek out there. I hope Miller will write other interpretation of Greek/Roman mythology, Odyssey can be next, but I really hope it would be Heracles. So many people told the story of Heracles but I never found one interesting, too much embellishment. Maybe if miller write the story it will be refreshing to the character. I'll wait for it.

On The Road

With all the buzz around Cannes film festival and the release of film adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, I take the bait. I want to read the book and just bought the digital version of On the Road.

Dubbed as one of the best English-language novel of the 20th century, On the Road always said to be a story that define a generation, to be specific American youngster in the 50s. Honestly, I don't really have interest about USA post WW II. All the things that I've read that comes from before 90s -except the classic literature- is history related, this is the first. I've read the first chapter, and not really impressed, maybe after I read further... we'll see. My goal is to finish the book before I watch the movie, and maybe if it's good enough I'll write some review... we'll see. 

I've betrayed my own reading list by reading this one, I should have read Partikel first. but I'm in sinister mood, so it's better to read something more psychological and morally challenging that factually challenging like Partikel. Next one maybe.

Nova Supernova

I got my order of Supernova series by Dee from kutukutubuku.com yesterday. Dee just launched the 4th installment of Supernova series, titled Partikel (in english: particle). It's thicker that the previous books, nearly 500 pages, almost twice Petir. I've opened the book and scan to the connection plot to the previous book, Petir, which is on the last chapter. And it's not so much describing the connection. It means that Dee actually mean it when she said that the connection of all Supernova books will be clear in the last episode: the 6th book - Inteligensi Embun Pagi. To consider that it takes 6 years from Petir to Partikel, I think I have to endure another 10 years until Supernova series completed. Oh God, I hope it won't be that long!

I really prefer buying books online than go to bookstore these days, part because it's cheaper (they gave me 15% discount) and part because I don't like crowded bookstore on the weekend. I'm still reading One Click, an unauthorize biography about Amazon.com and Jeff Bezos, and in the book, Bezos said that those two reasons above is exactly why people like to shop books online. Well, actually it's because we don't have to wear books, so that online book shopping will give you nearly zero unsatisfactory level.

The Hunger Games

Image via Wikipedia

It was around 2006 when I watched this Japanese movie titled Battle Royale, the one with all that post-war near apocalyptic world, where the government will be crazy and desperate enough to throw a full game of setting teenager out in secluded island and kill each other until only one remain and declare as winner. Fast forward to the beginning of 2012, with all the commotion about the upcoming movie, The Hunger Games, I force myself to read the novel with a pang of underestimate feeling caused of its similarity to Battle Royale.

Set in the alternate future of what today is North America, is the country of Panem. With its 12 districts that enslaved by the all and mighty Capitol. Each of Panem's districts is said to has specific characteristic that distinct one to another, which is also the characteristic that been assumed by most of the population of the district itself, from the fact that every character's ability  in the books is being defined by which district they comes from. On the other hand, all that districts share the same characteristic : poor, enslaved and dictated by the capitol, and has a life quality that maybe seems similar to what it's been told about the life in North Korea today.

New book to read : In the Plex

New book on my book-to-read-list : In the Plex, How Google Thinks, Works, and Shape our Lives by Steven Levy. This is the second book about Google that I read, after Googled by Ken Auletta. I read Googled last year, and got a brief history and understanding of the internet giant, from the idea and project of two Stanford graduate students, to a realization of multibillion company that become our main source of looking for information. 

In the Plex is said to be written with cooperation of Google exec, with detail under the hood information about the development of Google culture and business. I found that some blogger using this book as trusted reference to understand Google strategy today. I just googled the book and decided to  read it as soon as I finish Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson which is still in progress. It means I push the Heroes of Olympus series, and The Hunger Games series down to the bottom of the list. Well, I have little time for fiction and the moment, which is still makes me feel uneasy for being a little too busy than usual.