The Tyrant’s Tomb is a wonderfully composed novel entailing the struggles of mortal Apollo in the modern world. He travels to Roman camp called Camp Jupiter and prepares for a last stand against the powerful triumvirate of ancient Rome. Previously in the last 3 books in the series, Apollo and Meg have faced countless mythological adversaries the emperors have thrown at them. As implied in the title, the main characters venture into the tomb of a forgotten roman emperor seeking for answers to their problems. Thousands of years old prophecies and oracles shed light on reality, but that may not necessarily be a good thing.
The plot of this book never let you rest for a minute, even when the main characters were sleeping. It was always a perilous journey, and risky situations were scattered all throughout the story. There was also a good climax and the book followed a satisfying plotline. One cool aspect that I enjoyed about the characters was their emotional development from start to finish. This was especially seen in Apollo because he used to be an egotistical Greek God, but being mortal made him more appreciative of human life. Humor was all over the story and I enjoyed how Riordan integrated serious events with it, however, I think it should be toned down a little to make the book more realistic.
One memorable thing about the book is how it brought back nostalgia from reading Rick Riordan books in the past. Everything in the book never contradicted any other books that Riordan wrote, which made it a good addition to his universe of mythological gods. I also liked the way he started and ended each chapter with a surprising statement.
Reviewed by Arnav, Glen Allen Library
HCPL TeenScene's Read + Review 