Follow TV Tropes

Following

History Literature / TheTrialsOfApollo

Go To

OR

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Hardsplit from the cutlisted TheXOfY.The Camp Half Blood Series

Added DiffLines:

* TheXOfY:
** The series title, ''The Trials of Apollo''.
** The installment ''The Tower of Nero''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Literally, in this case. ''The Dark Prophecy'' reveals that ever since his famous battle with Python, Apollo has had a phobia of "scaly reptilian creatures", and can barely even tolerate the snakes George and Martha on Hermes' caduceus.

to:

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Literally, in this case. ''The Dark Prophecy'' reveals that ever since his famous battle with Python, Apollo has had a phobia of "scaly reptilian creatures", and can barely even tolerate the snakes George and Martha on Hermes' caduceus. Must make it awkward around his son Asclepius and the snake on his staff.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** Apollo stated in ''The Hidden Oracle'' that children of Demeter weren't particularly powerful and had powers limited to making plants grow and keeping bacterial fungi at bay and Meg was regarded as being unusually strong for a Demeter kid, but way back in ''The Last Olympian'', members of Demeter's cabin were powerful enough to have turned the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel "into a jungle" when defending the area. He had been busy fighting Typhon while this was happening, so he might not have noticed in the first place.
** Apollo went through a "revelation" that Thalia is his half-sister after trying to flirt with her even though years before in ''The Titan's Curse'', one the ''first'' things he says to Thalia is "So you're a daughter of Zeus? That makes you my half-sister."

to:

** Apollo stated in ''The Hidden Oracle'' that children of Demeter weren't particularly powerful and had powers limited to making plants grow and keeping bacterial fungi at bay and Meg was regarded as being unusually strong for a Demeter kid, but way back in ''The Last Olympian'', members of Demeter's cabin were powerful enough to have turned the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel "into a jungle" when defending the area. He had been busy fighting Typhon while this was happening, so he might not have noticed in the first place.
place. It’s also possible it was a group effort, so each individual could have been weak.
** Apollo went through a "revelation" that Thalia is his half-sister after trying to flirt with her even though years before in ''The Titan's Curse'', one of the ''first'' things he says to Thalia is "So you're a daughter of Zeus? That makes you my half-sister."
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* SeriesContinuityError:
** Apollo stated in ''The Hidden Oracle'' that children of Demeter weren't particularly powerful and had powers limited to making plants grow and keeping bacterial fungi at bay and Meg was regarded as being unusually strong for a Demeter kid, but way back in ''The Last Olympian'', members of Demeter's cabin were powerful enough to have turned the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel "into a jungle" when defending the area.

to:

* SeriesContinuityError:
SeriesContinuityError: Justified, as becoming mortal took a toll on Apollo’s memory.
** Apollo stated in ''The Hidden Oracle'' that children of Demeter weren't particularly powerful and had powers limited to making plants grow and keeping bacterial fungi at bay and Meg was regarded as being unusually strong for a Demeter kid, but way back in ''The Last Olympian'', members of Demeter's cabin were powerful enough to have turned the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel "into a jungle" when defending the area. He had been busy fighting Typhon while this was happening, so he might not have noticed in the first place.

Added: 762

Changed: 363

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: Apollo explains how the Sun can still function despite him, a solar deity, being bound to mortal form by explaining that "Many different belief systems powered the revolution of the planets and stars." Solar gods from other pantheons, like [[Literature/TheKaneChronicles Ra]] and [[Myth/AztecMythology Tonatiuh]], and even scientific laws will take over for him.

to:

* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve:
**
Apollo explains how the Sun can still function despite him, a solar deity, being bound to mortal form by explaining that "Many different belief systems powered the revolution of the planets and stars." Solar gods from other pantheons, like [[Literature/TheKaneChronicles Ra]] and [[Myth/AztecMythology Tonatiuh]], and even scientific laws will take over for him.him.
** It's also discussed that the Egyptian figure Har-pa-khered was misinterpreted by the Greeks during their occupation of Egypt as a God of Silence, thus inducting him into their pantheon as Harpocrates. Harpo is aware that he is only among the Greek gods due to said misinterpretation. Given the state of Egyptian gods in the shared universe of the Kane Chronicles this raises a lot of questions.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
duplicate


* CrossoverCosmology:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Simplified for clarity and to more closely fit the trope description. Artemis is not an example as no specific ships with her are brought up in the book.


** ''The Dark Prophecy'' utterly destroys any ships within the Hunters of Artemis. Turns out all the Les Yay is accidental courtesy of being a female-only group and all members are required to be celibate and remain romantically unencumbered. And any LGBT interpretations of Artemis are completely torpedoed, it is made clear she is asexual and aromantic.

to:

** ''The Dark Prophecy'' utterly destroys sinks any ships within the Hunters of Artemis. Turns out all the Les Yay is accidental courtesy Artemis, as it's clarified that their oaths forbid romantic relationships of being a female-only group and all members are required to be celibate and remain romantically unencumbered. And any LGBT interpretations of Artemis are completely torpedoed, it is made clear she is asexual and aromantic.kind, including those with each other.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Added Series Continuity Error.

Added DiffLines:

* SeriesContinuityError:
** Apollo stated in ''The Hidden Oracle'' that children of Demeter weren't particularly powerful and had powers limited to making plants grow and keeping bacterial fungi at bay and Meg was regarded as being unusually strong for a Demeter kid, but way back in ''The Last Olympian'', members of Demeter's cabin were powerful enough to have turned the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel "into a jungle" when defending the area.
** Apollo went through a "revelation" that Thalia is his half-sister after trying to flirt with her even though years before in ''The Titan's Curse'', one the ''first'' things he says to Thalia is "So you're a daughter of Zeus? That makes you my half-sister."
K

Changed: 142

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** Apollo and Rachel are horrified when the prophecy is finally given... in a ''limerick''! Apparently, only the worst prophecies are in the form of limericks. Which leaves something to be said when the next prophecy comes in the form of a...''Shakespearean sonnet in iambic pentameter''! Which is way worse!

to:

** Apollo and Rachel are horrified when the prophecy is finally given... in a ''limerick''! Apparently, only the worst prophecies are in the form of limericks. Which leaves something to be said when the next prophecy comes in the form of a...''Shakespearean sonnet in iambic pentameter''! Which is way worse!worse! And then the worst of all is the final prophecy in ''terza rima'', which is three-line stanzas with an interlocking three-line rhyme scheme.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** Even magical weapons are useless against the ''tauri sylvestres'' (forest bulls) that Apollo and his companions encounter in ''The Tower of Nero''. They shrug off arrows from a god-level bow, swords made from imperial gold and even being at ground zero of a collapsing mansion.

Added: 131

Removed: 128

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
trope merge with TALIK


* JerkToNiceGuyPlot: The overarching plot of the series centers around Apollo growing out of his self-centeredness and maturing.


Added DiffLines:

* TookALevelInKindness: The overarching plot of the series centers around Apollo growing out of his self-centeredness and maturing.

Changed: 451

Removed: 150

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome is commented out because as far as we are aware of, blemmyae are fictional


** Apollo says ''“I’d witnessed Queen Clytemnestra turn homicidal, killing her husband Agamemnon just because he made one little human sacrifice to me. Demigods are an unpredictable bunch.”'' The “little sacrifice” is their daughter, Iphigenia, who Agamemnon sacrifices and Clytemnestra later avenges. However, in the myths/plays, it’s Artemis that Agamemnon offends and sacrifices Iphigenia to. However, given how Artemis in this series is much [[AdaptationalHeroism nicer]] than in the myths, Rick likely thought this was a cheeky way of adding a joke about Apollo’s lack of empathy.
*** One of the Hunter’s names is Iphigenia. In some versions of the story, Artemis rescued Iphigenia on the altar and made her one of her attendants. Riordan appears to be going with this.

to:

** Apollo says ''“I’d says, "I'd witnessed Queen Clytemnestra turn homicidal, killing her husband Agamemnon just because he made one little human sacrifice to me. Demigods are an unpredictable bunch.”'' " The “little sacrifice” "little sacrifice" is their daughter, Iphigenia, who Agamemnon sacrifices and Clytemnestra later avenges. However, in the myths/plays, it’s it's Artemis that Agamemnon offends and sacrifices Iphigenia to. However, given how Artemis in this series is much [[AdaptationalHeroism nicer]] than in the myths, Rick likely thought this was a cheeky way of adding a joke about Apollo’s Apollo's lack of empathy.
*** One of the Hunter’s Hunters' names is Iphigenia. In some versions of the story, Artemis rescued Iphigenia on the altar and made her one of her attendants. Riordan appears to be going with this.



** Rhea says she divorced Kronos, burned her apodesmos, and “got liberated”. Apodesmos was sort of like an Ancient Greek bra, so this is a cheeky reference to the bra-burning feminists of the 1960s.
*** It’s worth noting that women never actually burned their bras at the 1968 Miss America pageant, the event that triggered the term “Bra-burning feminist”.
** Apollo claims to be proud of his son Augustus/Octavian, the first Emperor. In real life, there were rumors that the actual Augustus, the first emperor, was the son of Apollo. It’s likely Augustus started the rumors himself as propaganda.
*** Before Augustus, Apollo was a relatively unimportant god in Roman religion. Augustus caused Apollo to be a much more principal figure in Roman religion. Is Apollo’s goodwill due to him being the first emperor or due to him increasing Apollo’s status?
** Apollo says this about Percy and Calypso’s awkward hug, implying that Patroclus and Achilles were lovers:
---> I hadn’t witnessed such a tense greeting since Patroclus met Achilles’s war prize, Briseis.
** Apollo’s quip about the Hessian soldiers:
---> You could not create a race less sympathetic to an attractive, multitalented god like me. (And believe me, Ares had tried. Those eighteenth-century Hessian mercenaries he cooked up? Ugh.)
** Apollo says that Herophile was painted by Michelangelo because: ''”Apparently, she was being celebrated for some obscure prophecy long ago, when she’d predicted the birth of Jesus the Nazarene.”''

to:

** Rhea says she divorced Kronos, burned her apodesmos, and “got liberated”."got liberated". Apodesmos was sort of like an Ancient Greek bra, so this is a cheeky reference to the bra-burning feminists of the 1960s.
*** It’s worth noting that women never actually burned their bras at the 1968 Miss America pageant, the event that triggered the term “Bra-burning feminist”.
'bra-burning feminist'.
** Apollo claims to be proud of his son Augustus/Octavian, the first Emperor. In real life, there were rumors that the actual Augustus, the first emperor, was the son of Apollo. It’s It's likely Augustus started the rumors himself as propaganda.
*** Before Augustus, Apollo was a relatively unimportant god in Roman religion. Augustus caused Apollo to be a much more principal figure in Roman religion. Is Apollo’s Apollo's goodwill due to him being the first emperor or due to him increasing Apollo’s Apollo's status?
** Apollo says this about Percy and Calypso’s Calypso's awkward hug, implying that Patroclus and Achilles were lovers:
---> I hadn’t --->I hadn't witnessed such a tense greeting since Patroclus met Achilles’s Achilles's war prize, Briseis.
** Apollo’s Apollo's quip about the Hessian soldiers:
---> You --->You could not create a race less sympathetic to an attractive, multitalented god like me. (And believe me, Ares had tried. Those eighteenth-century Hessian mercenaries he cooked up? Ugh.)
** Apollo says that Herophile was painted by Michelangelo because: ''”Apparently, "Apparently, she was being celebrated for some obscure prophecy long ago, when she’d she'd predicted the birth of Jesus the Nazarene.”''"



*** Although the joke here is more that Apollo doesn’t seem to know who Jesus is, the most important figure to Western Civilization in the past 2,000 years.
** Apollo says this about Caligula: ''“I had to believe that if these mercenaries truly understood whom they were serving, they too would throw down their arms. Surely humans would not blindly follow such an evil man of their own free will—I mean, except for the few hundred exceptions I could think of from human history….But not Caligula!”'' Caligula was assassinated by the Praetorian guard for his behavior, so at least, if we take the historical sources at their word, he was assassinated because they couldn’t stand working for someone so evil.
** Apollo says he caused the Spartan Earthquake of 464BC. Apollo gives his only reason as being that he never liked Spartans all that much. People who know a little Greek history know the immediate consequence of the earthquake is that the Spartans were in such shambles the Helots were able to stage a major rebellion and escape. Throughout the book, Apollo goes on and on about how he hates slavery. Rather than just flippantly killing Spartans for fun, it probably means he was helping the helots.

to:

*** Although the joke here is more that Apollo doesn’t doesn't seem to know who Jesus is, the most important figure to Western Civilization in the past 2,000 years.
** Apollo says this about Caligula: ''“I "I had to believe that if these mercenaries truly understood whom they were serving, they too would throw down their arms. Surely humans would not blindly follow such an evil man of their own free will—I mean, except for the few hundred exceptions I could think of from human history….history… But not Caligula!”'' Caligula!" Caligula was assassinated by the Praetorian guard for his behavior, so at least, if we take the historical sources at their word, he was assassinated because they couldn’t couldn't stand working for someone so evil.
** Apollo says he caused the Spartan Earthquake of 464BC.464 BC. Apollo gives his only reason as being that he never liked Spartans all that much. People who know a little Greek history know the immediate consequence of the earthquake is that the Spartans were in such shambles the Helots were able to stage a major rebellion and escape. Throughout the book, Apollo goes on and on about how he hates slavery. Rather than just flippantly killing Spartans for fun, it probably means implies that he was helping the helots.



** In ''The Tower of Nero'', [[spoiler:it is revealed that some of Apollo's children inherited parts of his ability. Specifically, Will, who uses this gift to help the heroes navigate the lair of the troglodytes. Notably, this makes him an exact opposite of his boyfriend, Nico, whose gift is CastingAShadow]].

to:

** In ''The Tower of Nero'', [[spoiler:it is revealed that some of Apollo's children inherited parts of his ability. Specifically, Will, who uses this gift to help the heroes navigate the lair of the troglodytes. Notably, this makes him an exact opposite of his boyfriend, Nico, whose gift is CastingAShadow]].CastingAShadow.]]



* MagicMusic: Any time Apollo plays it’s enchanting. Even when he’s just playing scales. Leading to this humorous moment when Apollo first plays.
--> I adjusted the pitch, but stopped when I realized Valentina was sobbing.
--> “That was so beautiful!” She wiped a tear from her cheek. “What was that song?”
--> I blinked. “It’s called tuning.”

to:

* MagicMusic: Any time Apollo plays it’s plays, it's enchanting. Even when he’s he's just playing scales. Leading to this humorous moment when Apollo first plays.
--> I
plays in ''The Hidden Oracle''.
-->I
adjusted the pitch, but stopped when I realized Valentina was sobbing.
--> “That
sobbing.\\
"That
was so beautiful!” beautiful!" She wiped a tear from her cheek. “What "What was that song?”
-->
song?"\\
I blinked. “It’s "It's called tuning.
"



** ''The Hidden Oracle'' compared to pretty much every book in the whole Riordan universe. The events are mostly confined in a single location (Camp Half-Blood) with little adventures and more interaction between established characters, fewer mythological beings/monsters present, and the theme is more grounded and humanistic compared to the CosmicDeadline-prone fantasy of previous books. It even features a human being, albeit now a de facto minor god, as the main villain.

to:

** ''The Hidden Oracle'' compared to pretty much every book in the whole Riordan universe. The events are mostly confined in a single location (Camp Half-Blood) with little adventures and more interaction between established characters, fewer mythological beings/monsters present, and the theme is more grounded and humanistic compared to the CosmicDeadline-prone fantasy of previous books. It even features a human being, albeit now a de facto ''de facto'' minor god, as the main villain.



* MistakenAge: When Nanette first meets Leo, Calypso, and Apollo, she says “Aren’t you children cute?” Apollo, offended, insists they’re not children. It’s really because both he and Calypso are [[Really700YearsOld several thousand years old]]. However, he sounds like a normal teen who’s offended to be called a child.

to:

* MistakenAge: When Nanette first meets Leo, Calypso, and Apollo, she says “Aren’t says, "Aren't you children cute?” cute?" Apollo, offended, insists they’re they're not children. It’s It's really because both he and Calypso are [[Really700YearsOld several thousand years old]]. However, he sounds like a normal teen who’s who's offended to be called a child.



* NarrativeProfanityFilter:
** There are a few places in the books where someone says something inappropriate in another language and Apollo decides to not directly translate it.

to:

* NarrativeProfanityFilter:
**
NarrativeProfanityFilter: There are a few places in the books where someone says something inappropriate in another language and Apollo decides to not directly translate it.



--->''The sorceress muttered another Minoan curse, naming a part of Zeus’s body that I did not want to think about.''

to:

--->''The --->The sorceress muttered another Minoan curse, naming a part of Zeus’s Zeus's body that I did not want to think about.''



--->''She cursed in ancient Colchian, calling into question my mother's past romantic relationships.''
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: In book 2, Apollo meets a Hunter of Artemis named Hunter Kowalski. When he frowns and says "A Hunter named Hunter?", she responds with "Yeah, I have heard ''that'' a million times."

to:

--->''She --->She cursed in ancient Colchian, calling into question my mother's past romantic relationships.''
relationships.
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: In book 2, Apollo meets a Hunter of Artemis named Hunter Kowalski. When he frowns and says "A Hunter named Hunter?", she responds with with, "Yeah, I have heard ''that'' a million times."



** The blemmyae are all unfailingly AffablyEvil with a [[CreativeSterility a severe lack of imagination.]]

to:

** The blemmyae are all unfailingly AffablyEvil with a [[CreativeSterility a severe lack of imagination.]]imagination]].



** ''The Dark Prophecy'' takes this up a notch, as apparently a prophecy in iambic pentameter is way worse than a limerick. Combined with the Shakespearean sonnet, and we get one big massive OhCrap from the god of prophecy himself. These are also given rarely, as every character who has heard a prophecy at least once in their life time--including former Titaness Calypso (who is older than Apollo)--react in surprise at the sheer length of it.

to:

** ''The Dark Prophecy'' takes this up a notch, as apparently a prophecy in iambic pentameter is way worse than a limerick. Combined with the Shakespearean sonnet, and we get one big massive OhCrap from the god of prophecy himself. These are also given rarely, as every character who has heard a prophecy at least once in their life time--including lifetime -- including former Titaness Calypso (who is older than Apollo)--react Apollo) -- react in surprise at the sheer length of it.



* ProphecyTwist: Python's twisted prophecy states that Apollo will fall. [[spoiler:There's nothing to indicate that "fall" means die, instead of [[ExactWords a literal fall]]. Also, there's nothing limiting Apollo from rising again]].

to:

* ProphecyTwist: Python's twisted prophecy states that Apollo will fall. [[spoiler:There's nothing to indicate that "fall" means die, instead of [[ExactWords a literal fall]]. Also, there's nothing limiting Apollo from rising again]].again.]]



* RashPromise: In the first book, Apollo - er, [[EmbarrassingFirstName Lester]] [[EmbarrassingLastName Papadoupolos]] - swears on the River Styx that he will not use a bow or a musical instrument until he's a god again (and it is extremely bad for you if you break a swear on the River Styx). He made this vow in a moment of anger, and broke it later.

to:

* RashPromise: In the first book, Apollo - -- er, [[EmbarrassingFirstName Lester]] [[EmbarrassingLastName Papadoupolos]] - -- swears on the River Styx that he will not use a bow or a musical instrument until he's a god again (and it is extremely bad for you if you break a swear on the River Styx). He made this vow in a moment of anger, and broke it later.



* RoyallyScrewedUp: The emperors, notably Nero and Caligula, are ancestors of Augustus. Also, Apollo’s, the Olympians. Also, Apollo himself.

to:

* RoyallyScrewedUp: The emperors, notably Nero and Caligula, are ancestors of Augustus. Also, Apollo’s, Apollo's, the Olympians. Also, Apollo himself.



** One of the lines in the haiku chapter titles of ''The Tower of Nero'' is "[[{{Theatre/Hamilton}} Not throwing away my shot]]".
* ShownTheirWork: The historical events referenced in the book are usually accurate, unless they’re changed for comedic effect. For example, Commodus’s death is much more accurate than [[Film/{{Gladiator}} other]] portrayals. Apollo also references musicians, for example, that had a significant impact on music that aren’t commonly remembered by today’s audience.
* SideBet: During the Tower of Nero it's revealed that the Olympians were taking bets on ''when'' Apollo would succeed at best and ''if'' he would succeed at worst.

to:

** One of the lines in the haiku chapter titles of ''The Tower of Nero'' is "[[{{Theatre/Hamilton}} "[[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} Not throwing away my shot]]".
* ShownTheirWork: The historical events referenced in the book are usually accurate, unless they’re they're changed for comedic effect. For example, Commodus’s Commodus's death is much more accurate than [[Film/{{Gladiator}} other]] portrayals. Apollo also references musicians, for example, that had a significant impact on music that aren’t aren't commonly remembered by today’s today's audience.
* SideBet: During the ''The Tower of Nero Nero'', it's revealed that the Olympians were taking bets on ''when'' Apollo would succeed at best best, and ''if'' he would succeed at worst.



* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Subverted when Calypso punches a blemmyae in the face and cradles her hand. At first, the reader thinks this happened because, well, punching people in the face hurts a lot more than the movies usually show, and this is what will actually happen if someone punches another person in the face, especially if they're untrained. However, it turns out that, according to the story, she's only cradling her hand because the blemmyae's disguises are ''literally'' MadeOfIron.

to:

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: %%* Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Subverted when Calypso punches a blemmyae in the face and cradles her hand. At first, the reader thinks this happened because, well, punching people in the face hurts a lot more than the movies usually show, and this is what will actually happen if someone punches another person in the face, especially if they're untrained. However, it turns out that, according to the story, she's only cradling her hand because the blemmyae's disguises are ''literally'' MadeOfIron.



* TerribleTrio: The Triumvirate

to:

* %%* TerribleTrio: The TriumvirateTriumvirate.



** ''The Dark Prophecy'' is a bit of a reprieve for him until the end. In the end, however, he drinks from the Lethe and Mnemosyne, causing him to temporarily lose all memory and sense of self, and then his son’s oracle [[MindRape mind-rapes]] him, and he breaks his arm.
** ''The Burning Maze'' alone has an insane amount of traumatic events for Apollo. First, racking up his usual amount of injuries, he’s badly burned. However, it really starts to go bad for him after being captured by Caligula. In order to save the others, he attempts suicide by ''stabbing himself in the heart''. He [[spoiler:watches his half-brother die, still while very badly injured from stabbing himself in the chest after failing to save his brother and the others.]] He also blames himself for his [[spoiler:brother’s death, and his new friend Piper also blames him, too]]. He also watches his new friend Crest die. He is then chained up and tortured by being ''flayed and burned alive''. The purpose of the torture is to erase him from existence, so he loses his sense of self and starts to lose his [[DespairEventHorizon will to live]] during the torture, from pain and MindRape. Pretty [[NightmareFuel dark]] for a [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids kid’s book]]. It’s hard not to feel sorry for him when he starts crying on the plane at the end of the book. Who wouldn’t break down after all that?
* TrueCompanions: Apollo and Meg.

to:

** ''The Dark Prophecy'' is a bit of a reprieve for him until the end. In the end, however, he drinks from the Lethe and Mnemosyne, causing him to temporarily lose all memory and sense of self, and then his son’s son's oracle [[MindRape mind-rapes]] him, and he breaks his arm.
** ''The Burning Maze'' alone has an insane amount of traumatic events for Apollo. First, racking up his usual amount of injuries, he’s he's badly burned. However, it really starts to go bad for him after being captured by Caligula. In order to save the others, he attempts suicide by ''stabbing himself in the heart''. He [[spoiler:watches his half-brother die, still while very badly injured from stabbing himself in the chest after failing to save his brother and the others.]] He also blames himself for his [[spoiler:brother’s [[spoiler:brother's death, and his new friend Piper also blames him, too]]. He also watches his new friend Crest die. He is then chained up and tortured by being ''flayed and burned alive''. The purpose of the torture is to erase him from existence, so he loses his sense of self and starts to lose his [[DespairEventHorizon will to live]] during the torture, from pain and MindRape. Pretty [[NightmareFuel dark]] dark for a [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids kid’s kids' book]]. It’s It's hard not to feel sorry for him when he starts crying on the plane at the end of the book. Who wouldn’t wouldn't break down after all that?
* TrueCompanions: Apollo and Meg.Meg's relationship evolve into this as the series goes on.



* WhamEpisode: ''The Burning Maze''. [[spoiler:Jason Grace is killed at the hands of Caligula]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Piper gives one to Apollo after [[spoiler:Jason dies.]] She claims he doesn’t care about them (Piper and Jason), that nothing that happens in his journey will impact his life, and that he’s just using them. Piper is right that Apollo has used heroes that way while he was a god. On the other hand, Apollo had just [[spoiler:attempted suicide]] in a bid to save Jason, Piper, and Meg, so clearly Apollo doesn’t see them that way anymore. Piper and Apollo later reconcile.

to:

* WhamEpisode: ''The Burning Maze''. [[spoiler:Jason Grace is killed at the hands of Caligula]].
Caligula.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: Piper gives one to Apollo after [[spoiler:Jason dies.]] dies]]. She claims he doesn’t doesn't care about them (Piper and Jason), that nothing that happens in his journey will impact his life, and that he’s he's just using them. Piper is right that Apollo has used heroes that way while he was a god. On the other hand, Apollo had just [[spoiler:attempted suicide]] in a bid to save Jason, Piper, and Meg, so clearly Apollo doesn’t doesn't see them that way anymore. Piper and Apollo later reconcile.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* AbusiveParents: Both Nero and Zeus are this to their respective children. ''The Tower of Nero'' draws sharp similarities between the two, pointing out how they both belittle, use threats and violence to control their children, and how they are both [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bastards]] that employ WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou while being blatantly in the wrong. The end of Meg and Apollo's CharacterDevelopment journeys are finding two different ways to remove their AbusiveParents' influence: confronting Nero for Meg and ignoring Zeus for Apollo.

to:

* AbusiveParents: Both Nero and Zeus are this to their respective children. ''The Tower of Nero'' draws sharp similarities between the two, pointing out how they both belittle, use threats and violence to control their children, and how they are both [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bastards]] {{Manipulative Bastard}}s that employ WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou while being blatantly in the wrong. The end of Meg and Apollo's CharacterDevelopment journeys are finding two different ways to remove their AbusiveParents' influence: confronting Nero for Meg and ignoring Zeus for Apollo.



* CannotSpitItOut: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]]. Apollo has connected the dots on ''numerous'' occasions, but because he's stuck as a human, he no longer has access to his divine knowledge and mentions that his mind appears to be muddling at the worst possible occasions.

to:

* CannotSpitItOut: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]].{{Justified|Trope}}. Apollo has connected the dots on ''numerous'' occasions, but because he's stuck as a human, he no longer has access to his divine knowledge and mentions that his mind appears to be muddling at the worst possible occasions.



* {{Crossover}}: Aside from the obvious ones, Apollo at one point mentions meeting "[[Literature/MagnusChaseandtheGodsofAsgard a hot god and his talking sword.]]"

to:

* {{Crossover}}: Aside from the obvious ones, Apollo at one point mentions meeting "[[Literature/MagnusChaseandtheGodsofAsgard "[[Literature/MagnusChaseAndTheGodsOfAsgard a hot god and his talking sword.]]"



* DiscontinuityNod: Leo makes a comment about the battle with Gaea taking "forty seconds", a reference to the fact that some dissatisfied fans felt the final battle of Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus was anticlimactic.

to:

* DiscontinuityNod: Leo makes a comment about the battle with Gaea taking "forty seconds", a reference to the fact that some dissatisfied fans felt the final battle of Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' was anticlimactic.



*** Before Augustus, Apollo was an relatively unimportant god in Roman religion. Augustus caused Apollo to be a much more principal figure in Roman religion. Is Apollo’s goodwill due to him being the first emperor or due to him increasing Apollo’s status?

to:

*** Before Augustus, Apollo was an a relatively unimportant god in Roman religion. Augustus caused Apollo to be a much more principal figure in Roman religion. Is Apollo’s goodwill due to him being the first emperor or due to him increasing Apollo’s status?



--> I hadn’t witnessed such a tense greeting since Patroclus met Achilles’s war prize, Briseis.

to:

--> ---> I hadn’t witnessed such a tense greeting since Patroclus met Achilles’s war prize, Briseis.



--> You could not create a race less sympathetic to an attractive, multitalented god like me. (And believe me, Ares had tried. Those eighteenth-century Hessian mercenaries he cooked up? Ugh.)

to:

--> ---> You could not create a race less sympathetic to an attractive, multitalented god like me. (And believe me, Ares had tried. Those eighteenth-century Hessian mercenaries he cooked up? Ugh.)



** Percy refers to Peaches only saying his own name as [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy 'grooting']].

to:

** Percy refers to Peaches only saying his own name as [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014 'grooting']].



* ShownTheirWork: The historical events referenced in the book are usually accurate, unless they’re changed for comedic effect. For example, Commodus’s death is much more accurate than [[Film/Gladiator other]] portrayals. Apollo also references musicians, for example, that had a significant impact on music that aren’t commonly remembered by today’s audience.

to:

* ShownTheirWork: The historical events referenced in the book are usually accurate, unless they’re changed for comedic effect. For example, Commodus’s death is much more accurate than [[Film/Gladiator [[Film/{{Gladiator}} other]] portrayals. Apollo also references musicians, for example, that had a significant impact on music that aren’t commonly remembered by today’s audience.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* CrossoverCosmology:

Added: 1780

Changed: 30

Removed: 1780

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* AllMythsAreTrue:
** Apollo mentions a few other sun gods that'll pick up his slack while he's in human form (plus the scientific working of things), including one that we've never had mentioned before (the Aztecs).
** In ''The Dark Prophecy'', he complains about having to swerve the sun chariot to avoid running into Chinese celestial dragons and references a past trip to find a type of curry with Indra of Hindu lore.
** Jimmy (a.k.a. Olujime) is a demigod from a different godly pantheon originating from Africa tied to the Yoruba people.
** The Samnite and Babylonian pantheons are mentioned in ''The Burning Maze''. Apollo mentions in a flashback that among the gods who had to back away by the Romans' expansion was Marduk, the Babylonian god of water.
** Apollo mentions how Herophile was painted by Michelangelo for predicting the birth of Jesus the Nazarene.
*** Then again, Apollo calls this ‘some obscure prophecy,’ so it implies he doesn’t know much about who Jesus was.
** ''The Tyrant's Tomb'' mentions Nang Kwak, the Thai goddess of household, at one point.
** Though [[Literature/TheKaneChronicles Egyptian mythology]] is canon in TheVerse and has crossed over in spinoffs, ''The Tyrant's Tomb'', which features the Egyptian-Greek god of silence, Harpocrates, marks the first time an Egyptian deity actually pops up in the main series.
** In ''The Tower of Nero'', Luguselwa implies that the Gaulish pantheon that she presumably worshiped had been gone for a long time.
** Persian mythology is dabbled a bit in the last book, ''The Tower of Nero''. Nero's fasces is guarded by the Leontocephaline, protector of Mithra, who was worshiped by the Romans during Nero's time. And Nero's contingent plan in case his Greek fires are sabotaged is [[spoiler:poisoning his tower with Sassanid gas]].

to:

* AllMythsAreTrue:
** Apollo mentions a few other sun gods that'll pick up his slack while he's in human form (plus the scientific working of things), including one that we've never had mentioned before (the Aztecs).
** In ''The Dark Prophecy'', he complains about having to swerve the sun chariot to avoid running into Chinese celestial dragons and references a past trip to find a type of curry with Indra of Hindu lore.
** Jimmy (a.k.a. Olujime) is a demigod from a different godly pantheon originating from Africa tied to the Yoruba people.
** The Samnite and Babylonian pantheons are mentioned in ''The Burning Maze''. Apollo mentions in a flashback that among the gods who had to back away by the Romans' expansion was Marduk, the Babylonian god of water.
** Apollo mentions how Herophile was painted by Michelangelo for predicting the birth of Jesus the Nazarene.
*** Then again, Apollo calls this ‘some obscure prophecy,’ so it implies he doesn’t know much about who Jesus was.
** ''The Tyrant's Tomb'' mentions Nang Kwak, the Thai goddess of household, at one point.
** Though [[Literature/TheKaneChronicles Egyptian mythology]] is canon in TheVerse and has crossed over in spinoffs, ''The Tyrant's Tomb'', which features the Egyptian-Greek god of silence, Harpocrates, marks the first time an Egyptian deity actually pops up in the main series.
** In ''The Tower of Nero'', Luguselwa implies that the Gaulish pantheon that she presumably worshiped had been gone for a long time.
** Persian mythology is dabbled a bit in the last book, ''The Tower of Nero''. Nero's fasces is guarded by the Leontocephaline, protector of Mithra, who was worshiped by the Romans during Nero's time. And Nero's contingent plan in case his Greek fires are sabotaged is [[spoiler:poisoning his tower with Sassanid gas]].
CrossoverCosmology:



** At her family's compound in Brooklyn, Rachel mentions that [[Literature/TheKaneChronicles the mansion next door has "lots of weird goings-on", including penguins waddling around on the back deck]]

to:

** At her family's compound in Brooklyn, Rachel mentions that [[Literature/TheKaneChronicles the mansion next door has "lots of weird goings-on", including penguins waddling around on the back deck]]deck]].
** Apollo mentions a few other sun gods that'll pick up his slack while he's in human form (plus the scientific working of things), including one that we've never had mentioned before (the Aztecs).
** In ''The Dark Prophecy'', he complains about having to swerve the sun chariot to avoid running into Chinese celestial dragons and references a past trip to find a type of curry with Indra of Hindu lore.
** Jimmy (a.k.a. Olujime) is a demigod from a different godly pantheon originating from Africa tied to the Yoruba people.
** The Samnite and Babylonian pantheons are mentioned in ''The Burning Maze''. Apollo mentions in a flashback that among the gods who had to back away by the Romans' expansion was Marduk, the Babylonian god of water.
** Apollo mentions how Herophile was painted by Michelangelo for predicting the birth of Jesus the Nazarene.
*** Then again, Apollo calls this ‘some obscure prophecy,’ so it implies he doesn’t know much about who Jesus was.
** ''The Tyrant's Tomb'' mentions Nang Kwak, the Thai goddess of household, at one point.
** Though [[Literature/TheKaneChronicles Egyptian mythology]] is canon in TheVerse and has crossed over in spinoffs, ''The Tyrant's Tomb'', which features the Egyptian-Greek god of silence, Harpocrates, marks the first time an Egyptian deity actually pops up in the main series.
** In ''The Tower of Nero'', Luguselwa implies that the Gaulish pantheon that she presumably worshiped had been gone for a long time.
** Persian mythology is dabbled a bit in the last book, ''The Tower of Nero''. Nero's fasces is guarded by the Leontocephaline, protector of Mithra, who was worshiped by the Romans during Nero's time. And Nero's contingent plan in case his Greek fires are sabotaged is [[spoiler:poisoning his tower with Sassanid gas]].

Added: 641

Changed: 812

Removed: 662

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ForeignQueasine: To the troglodytes, skink soup is treated like a dish prepared with truffles, caviar, and edible gold. To everyone else not named Meg, it's disgusting.



* ForbiddenFruit: It is revealed in ''The Tyrant's Tomb'' that Apollo was barred by Venus from pursuing a relationship with Reyna sometime ago. Naturally, he began to lust after her, who up to that point was under his radar. [[spoiler:Turns out Venus did it for Reyna's well-being; with Apollo, a god, wooing her, Reyna realizes that she has been measuring her worth through other people and decides to live a life free of romantic love, joining the Hunters of Artemis.]]
* ForeignQueasine: To the troglodytes, skink soup is treated like a dish prepared with truffles, caviar, and edible gold. To everyone else not named Meg, it's disgusting.



* ForbiddenFruit: It is revealed in ''The Tyrant's Tomb'' that Apollo was barred by Venus from pursuing a relationship with Reyna sometime ago. Naturally, he began to lust after her, who up to that point was under his radar. [[spoiler:Turns out Venus did it for Reyna's well-being; with Apollo, a god, wooing her, Reyna realizes that she has been measuring her worth through other people and decides to live a life free of romantic love, joining the Hunters of Artemis.]]
* FormerlyFit: Played with. Apollo as Lester complains that he became "fat" for the entire beginning of the series, pointing out repetedly his fat and love handles. However it turns out he is mostly exaggerating as other people point out he is "average", not "fat" and that having a perfect six-pack all the time as he did when he was a god is ''not'' something natural for human: he perceives himself as fat merely because he has been used to a body with zero percent fat in it for millenia.

to:

* ForbiddenFruit: It is revealed in ''The Tyrant's Tomb'' that Apollo was barred by Venus from pursuing a relationship with Reyna sometime ago. Naturally, he began to lust after her, who up to that point was under his radar. [[spoiler:Turns out Venus did it for Reyna's well-being; with Apollo, a god, wooing her, Reyna realizes that she has been measuring her worth through other people and decides to live a life free of romantic love, joining the Hunters of Artemis.]]
* FormerlyFit: Played with. Apollo as Lester complains that he became "fat" for the entire beginning of the series, pointing out repetedly repeatedly his fat flab and love handles. However it turns out he is mostly exaggerating as exaggerating: other people point out he is "average", not "fat" "fat", and that having a perfect six-pack all the time as he did when he was a god is ''not'' something natural for human: he a human. He perceives himself as fat merely because he has been used to a body with zero percent fat in it for millenia.



** Also played with with Frank Zhang who in ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', thanks to the Blessing of Mars, lost all his extra-fat and had his muscles and height, going from heavyset and ababy-faced wrestler/sumo-like boy to a solid, bulky, broad-shouldered young man described as a cross between a grizzly and a linebacker. Upon his return in ''The Tyrant's Tomb'', it is revealed that his natural weight caught up with the "magical growth spurt/magical testosterone" that was the divine blessing - he returned to being a "big and girthy" guy, and regained his "chubby baby cheeks", while still looking larger and more muscular than before.

to:

** Also played with with in the case of Frank Zhang who in ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', thanks to the Blessing of Mars, lost all his extra-fat and had his muscles and height, height augmented, going from a heavyset and ababy-faced wrestler/sumo-like baby-faced boy to a solid, bulky, broad-shouldered young man described as a cross between a grizzly and a linebacker. Upon his return in ''The Tyrant's Tomb'', it is revealed that his natural weight caught up with the "magical testosterone growth spurt/magical testosterone" that was the divine blessing spurt" - he returned to being a "big and girthy" guy, and regained his "chubby baby cheeks", while still looking larger and more muscular than before.

Added: 141

Changed: 1

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* HealingSerpent: In ''The Tyrant's Tomb'', the head healer at Camp Jupiter, Pranjal, reveals that he's a son of [[TropeCodifier Asclepius]].



** Meg is pretty badass for the daughter of a agriculture goddess.

to:

** Meg is pretty badass for the daughter of a an agriculture goddess.

Top