History YMMV / TheTrialsOfApollo

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped:
** Without getting into anything age-inappropriate, Apollo makes it absolutely crystal clear that not only is he attracted to men as well as women, but that he's perfectly happy about it. He's also perfectly happy that his son is in a relationship with another boy, so long as his son is happy. He's also perfectly happy to have children with another man. One need look no further than ''The Hidden Oracle's'' One-Star Amazon reviews to see the kind of prejudice [=LGBT=]+ individuals can be subjected to, so while Apollo might be going a little out of his way to emphasize non-heterosexuality is nothing to be ashamed about, it's also very timely. Several fans have expressed hope that [=LGBT=]+ youth will be able to see themselves represented in the books.
** To a lesser extent, Apollo's brief paragraph while he's attempting his HeroicSacrifice suicide where he explains that self-harm and suicide is ''not'' a good idea. While it's probably mainly meant as a DontTryThisAtHome disclaimer, given how common self-harm and suicide are in the US (having been on a steady increase for ''years'' now, as of this writing) it's safe to say that this is one anvil that ''definitely'' needs to be dropped.
** The last book is filled to the brim with how to deal with domestic abuse and abusers that it's a borderline AuthorTract. Nevertheless, given how real the problem is, that anvil definitely needs to be dropped.

** Piper's sexuality at the end of the series. Some love it and see it as more representation while other see it as coming out of nowhere and as pandering. Others still are ambivalent over it.

** Apollo's memories offer further perspective of the relationship between individual gods, it is debatable if Apollo is just looking through them with rose tinted glasses or not. Both with or without this perspective on Apollo's perspective, the bits and pieces leads one to consider the possibility the Greek Gods are a lot closer to each other overall than we first thought, with their worst behaviors coming from a single ToxicFriendInfluence: Zeus, or possibly Aphrodite (or both).
** Hades using the helmet of darkness to spook Apollo, frequently, can lead one to wonder if he always as withdrawn and distant as we saw him in the series, or if something (like Maria di Angelo's death) drew him to become a ''lot'' more distant and withdrawn. Like his own son's views on the matter, it becomes a question of just how much of an outcast he ever was, and if it only really applies to certain members of the family (like Zeus, Demeter, and Hera) who particularly dislike him.
* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** A slight one for a goof in the first book of the franchise: but Apollo's comment about having a kid with a mortal man offers an explanation on why Grover would suggest Percy was the kid of Sally and the goddess Nemesis.
*** Although, it's not like HomosexualReproduction is outside the realm of possibility for gods. Percy has a half-brother conceived from such a relationship. It had simply not been confirmed to be the case in the Riordanverse yet.
** The references to other series in the verse with Ra, Frey, and Annabeth being in Boston for family reasons are appreciated by those who felt like ''Heroes'', ''Kane Chronicles'' and ''Gods of Asgard'' felt disconnected from each other.
** Artemis's reaction to her brother regaining his godhood. Many fans were pleased at her showing affection to her brother and showing that she does not hate men and is capable of platonic friendship wih males
** ''The Burning Maze'' could be considered by some who took issue with Jason and Piper getting romantic after being falsely led to believe they had already been so. [[spoiler: This is implied to be part of why Jason and Piper have broken up by the events of the third book.]]

** On the villains being [[spoiler: the emperors of Rome]]. Some feel like it's an AssPull, adding more characters when the Doors of Death plot has been done already (though these characters haven't explicitly ''died''), and others feel that while a bit sudden, it follows Riordan's usual ShownTheirWork quite well on something ''considerably'' less well-known. (spoilers on note) [[note]]Historically, the emperors of Rome were considered gods in certain ways. If the Imperial Cult was right, some of the emperors received divinity through the Senate (it's complex, let's just say that 'worthy' caesars were voted into divinity). The numerous mystery cults (such as the Cult of Iris, the Gnostics, the Imperial Cult, the bacchic rites, the Dionysus mysteries, and (originally) Christianity) were a major part of the Roman Empire's religious landscape in the late BC to 312 AD.[[/note]]

** [[spoiler: Jason's death has led to many a flame war on the internet, with some calling out Rick for the supposed DarknessInducedAudienceApathy, along with people defending the death of such a "flat character".]]
*** [[spoiler: Similarly, Frank's survival after his apparent death has also divided people, with some people regarding it as a cheap fake-out driven by the negative response to Jason's death, and others being glad that Rick didn't kill off another major character. Yet more people also argue that Frank should have died and Jason should have lived, because Frank's death scene was more dramatic and fit his character arc better.]]
** Piper's sexuality at the end of the series. Some love it and see it as more representation while other see it as coming out no where and as pandering. Others still are ambivalent over it.
* CaptainObviousReveal:
** It's rather obvious to the reader that Meg's divine parentage is most likely [[spoiler: Demeter]] simply because of the [[GreenThumb weaponised plant matter]] and the appearance of Peaches, a [[spoiler:Karpoi/Grain Spirit]]. In-universe, nobody seems to be able to connect the dots.
*** [[FridgeBrilliance Of course, take a look at who would witness her powers - most people would either not know (Percy) or be too muddled to connect the dots (Apollo).]] By the time it becomes revealed in-universe, the people who see it are of course, people who haven't seen those powers before.

** Most readers figured out that the third emperor was [[spoiler: Caligula]]. That does, however, not make him any less effective.

* MemeticBadass: As a few comments on the Riordan wiki have noted, the third emperor, [[spoiler: Caligula]], [[HeroKiller did the thing that Gaea and the Giants couldn't successfully do]]. As a mortal, he scared a god so much just by meeting him that said god, Apollo, did not return to the empire for decades.
* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped:
** Without getting into anything age inappropriate, Apollo makes it absolutely crystal clear that not only is he attracted to men as well as women, but that he's perfectly happy about it. He's also perfectly happy that his son is in a relationship with another boy, so long as his son is happy. He's also perfectly happy to have children with another man. One need look no further than ''The Hidden Oracle's'' One-Star Amazon reviews to see the kind of prejudice [=LGBT=]+ individuals can be subjected to, so while Apollo might be going a little out of his way to emphasize non-heterosexuality is nothing to be ashamed about, it's also very timely. Several fans have expressed hope that [=LGBT=]+ youth will be able to see themselves represented in the books.
** To a lesser extent, Apollo's brief paragraph while he's attempting his HeroicSacrifice suicide where he explains that self harm and suicide is ''not'' a good idea. While it's probably mainly meant as a DontTryThisAtHome disclaimer, given how common self harm and suicide are in the US (having been on a steady increase for ''years'' now, as of this writing) it's safe to say that this is one anvil that ''definitely'' needs to be dropped.
** The last book is filled to the brim with how to deal with domestic abuse and abuser that it's a borderline AuthorTract. Nevertheless, given how real the problem is, that anvil definitely needs to be dropped.

** ''The Burning Maze'' takes this up another notch by [[spoiler: killing off a major character mostly to emphasise the cost of war. Jason Grace was a POV character and is the first major character to die in a Riordan book (excluding Magnus Chase, who comes back as an einherjar about five minutes later).]]
* WinBackTheCrowd: Many Grover fans were complaining about his status as DemotedToExtra in ''Heroes of Olympus'', [[spoiler: but at the end of ''The Dark Prophecy'', he returns and becomes a major character in ''The Burning Maze''.]]

* TakeThatAudience: In ''The Tyrant’s Tomb'', Reyna talks about being force shipped with various characters, and other people in New Rome going “oh date so and so” making fun of the shippers who constantly discuss who Reyna should date despite her being shown to be perfectly happy on her own.
* ValuesDissonance: In-universe. Nico and Will sit at the same table at camp and are pretty obviously a couple. Apollo doesn't find them dating weird at all - instead he notes that Nico is sitting at ''his'' table and not at the ''Hades table''. Apollo, however, completely understands why they would be so close to one another and doesn't find this odd at all - after all he does mention that he had a lot of boyfriends over the years.

** The references to other series in the verse with Ra, Frey, and Annabeth being in Boston for family reasons are appreciated by those who felt like Heroes and Kane Chronicles felt disconnected from each other.

** The Burning Maze could be considered by some who took issue with Jason and Piper getting romantic after being falsely led to believe they had already been so. [[spoiler: This is implied to be part of why Jason and Piper have broken up by the events of the third book.]]

* CaptainObviousReveal: It's rather obvious to the reader that Meg's divine parentage is most likely [[spoiler: Demeter]] simply because of the [[GreenThumb weaponised plant matter]] and the appearance of Peaches, a [[spoiler:Karpoi/Grain Spirit]]. In-universe, nobody seems to be able to connect the dots.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Of course, take a look at who would witness her powers - most people would either not know (Percy) or be too muddled to connect the dots (Apollo).]] By the time it becomes revealed in-universe, the people who see it are of course, people who haven't seen those powers before.
** Borders on CannotSpitItOut. Apollo tries several times to connect the dots and thinks he has a good idea, but can't confirm it as his mortal brain is cut off from all of his immortal knowledge. He does surmise Chiron figured it out.

** Jimmy as well from book 2 - a Yoruban Demigod who catches the eye of Apollo and is shown to be a good fighter.

* TakeThatAudience: In ‘’The Tyrant’s Tomb’’, Reyna talks about being force shipped with various characters, and other people in New Rome going “oh date so and so” making fun of the shippers who constantly discuss who Reyna should date despite her being shown to be perfectly happy on her own.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Oh man. Oh man, oh man. Where to start. Well, first we've got Emperor Nero, AKA The Beast, AKA the least-likely-to-win-the-father-of-the-year award, because he is very explicitly abusive. Next we have the fact that that same emperor, in the first book, tied a bunch of '''kids''' to wooden stakes and intended to burn them along with the sacred oracle he wanted destroyed. And in another, Apollo attempts to commit suicide to stop the BigBad of that book from getting what he wants. Why isn't this series in the YA section again?
** The Burning Maze takes this up another notch by [[spoiler: killing off a major character mostly to emphasise the cost of war. Jason Grace was a POV character and is the first major character to die in a Riordan book (excluding Magnus Chase, who comes back as an einherjar about five minutes later).]]

** Apollo's memories offer further perspective of the relationship between individual gods, it is debatable if Apollo is just looking through them with rose tinted glasses or not. Both with or without this perspective on Apollo's perspective, the bits and pieces leads one to consider the possibility the Greek Gods are a lot closer to each other overall than we first thought, with their worst behaviors coming from a single ToxicFriendInfluence: Zeus.

** Apollo's memories offer further perspective of the relationship between individual gods, it is debatable if Apollo is just looking through them with rose tinted glasses or not. Both with or without this perspective on Apollo's perspective, the bits and pieces leads one to consider the possibility the Greek Gods are a lot closer to each other overall than we first thought, with their worst behaviors coming from a single ToxicFriendInfluence: Zeus.

** the fact that the seven go their separate ways has divided fans who see it as a disservice to their friendship while others point out that the seven were never that close to each other and that their relationship is closer in fanon than canon

* JustHereForGodzilla: a lot of people like the series for nico and will being in itmore than Apollo even if they play a minor role only. There are also others who read the series to see how Percy and the others are doing

** the fact that the seven go their separate ways has divided cans who see it as a disservice to their friendship while others point out that the seven were never that close to each other and that their relationship is closer in fanon than canon

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Without getting into anything age inappropriate, Apollo makes it absolutely crystal clear that not only is he attracted to men as well as women, but that he's perfectly happy about it. He's also perfectly happy that his son is in a relationship with another boy, so long as his son is happy. He's also perfectly happy to have children with another man. One need look no further than ''The Hidden Oracle's'' One-Star Amazon reviews to see the kind of prejudice [=LGBT=]+ individuals can be subjected to, so while Apollo might be going a little out of his way to emphasize non-heterosexuality is nothing to be ashamed about, it's also very timely. Several fans have expressed hope that [=LGBT=]+ youth will be able to see themselves represented in the books.
** To a lesser extent, Apollo's brief paragraph while he's attempting his HeroicSacrifice suicide where he explains that self harm and suicide is ''not'' a good idea. While it's probably mainly meant as a DontTryThisAtHome disclaimer, given how common self harm and suicide are in the US (having been on a steady increase for ''years'' now, as of this writing) it's safe to say that this is one anvil that ''definitely'' needs to be dripped.

** while Rick has always put pop culture references in his book. However in this series some feel that Rick has gone overboard with putting very specific references. Some still love it while others feel it dates the books

** Piper's sexuality at the end of the series. Some love it and see it as more representation while other see it as coming out no where and as pandering. While others are ambivalent

* LGBTFanbase: Started with the previous series, but Apollo being bisexual and showing that, in-universe, they are actually ''accepted'' and oftentimes even treated as normal is another big step. The fact that Nico di Angelo and Will Solace are the franchise's first LGBT OfficialCouple also helps.

* TakeThatAudience: In ‘’The Tyrant’s Tomb’’, Reyna talks about being force shipped with various characters, and other people in New Rome going “oh date so and so” making fun of the shippers who constantly discuss who Reyna should date.
* ValuesDissonance: In-universe. Nico and Will sit at the same table at camp and are pretty obviously a couple. Apollo doesn't find this weird at all - instead he notes that Nico is sitting at ''his'' table and not at the ''Hades table''. Apollo, however, completely understands why they would be so close to one another and doesn't find this odd at all - after all he does mention that he had a lot of boyfriends over the years.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Oh man. Oh man, oh man. Where to start. Well, first we've got Emperor Nero, AKA The Beast, AKA the least-likely-to-win-the-father-of-the-year award, because he is really, really damn abusive. Next we have the fact that that same emperor tied a bunch of '''kids''' to wooden stakes and intended to burn them along with the sacred oracle he wanted destroyed. And of course, in the most latest book, Apollo attempts to commit suicide to stop the BigBad of that book from getting what he wants. Why isn't this series in the YA section again?

* FandomRivalry: a mild one sided one seems to have occured between Harry Potter. This is strange since the two randoms usually get along. This comes as a result of trials of Apollo having more diversity than harry potter and Rowling's attitude about her universe. Many fans of trials of appllo and Riodans works in general often talk down on the harry potter series for not being as diverse as Percy Jackson and even criticizing harry in comparison to Percy. Fans also criticize how Jk Rowling writes diversity in her books in comparison to Riordan and point out that Riordan puts his money where is mouth is while jk Rowling does it for attention. However, there are fans of both series in both fandoms

** Apollo's speech in the first book about sexuality has divided fans who see it as succinct and appropriate given Apollo's tendency for tangents, to those who see it being forceful and uncalled for.
** This series along with the Magnus Chase series has divide fans into three camps. Those who don't want Rick Riordan to put any LGBT characters in children's books and see his usage as preachy and unnecessary, to those whose complaint is not that he's including LGBT characters but that he's doing so in a sloppy manner, ie, many queer fans feel the LGBT characters fall into a number of harmful stereotypes and/or that he's trying to hard. And then there are those who find it progressive and even brilliant. This fight can even be seen on Amazon where various books of Riordans have complaints about the lgbt characters
** In addition while Riordan has always given attention to various social issues in his works. This series along Magnus Chase has divided the fandom between those that love him for representing and showing various issues and fans who feel that it comes off as preachy and wish he could keep his opinions to himself and focus on the story.

** Jaime as well from book 2 - a Yoruban Demigod who catches the eye of Apollo and is shown to be a good fighter.

* FandomRivalry: a mild one sided one seems to have occured between Harry Potter. This is strange since the two randoms usually get along. Many fans of Riodans works often talk down on the harry potter series for not being as diverse as Percy Jackson and even criticizing harry in comparison to Percy. Fans also criticize how Jk Rowling writes diversity in her books in comparison to Riordan and point out that Riordan puts his money where is mouth is while jk Rowling does it for attention. However, there are fans of both series in both fandoms

** This series along with the Magnus Chase series has divide fans into three camps. Those who don't want Rick Riordan to put any LGBT characters in children's books and see his usage as preachy and unnecessary, to those whose complaint is not that he's including LGBT characters but that he's doing so in a sloppy manner, ie, many queer fans feel the LGBT characters fall into a number of harmful stereotypes and/or that he's trying to hard. [[TakeAThirdOption And then there are those who find it progressive and even brilliant, and very welcome so that kids don't grow up with]] InternalizedCategorism [[TakeAThirdOption or as a]] HeteronormativeCrusader.

* ValuesDissonance: In-universe. Nico and Will sit at the same table at camp and are pretty obviously a couple. Apollo doesn't find this weird at all - instead he notes that Nico is sitting at ''his'' table and not at the ''Hades table''. [[BiTheWay Apollo, however, completely understands why they would be so close to one another and doesn't find this odd at all - after all he does mention that he had a lot of boyfriends over the years]].

** This series along with the Magnus Chase series has divide fans into three camps. Those who don't want Rick Riordan to put LGBT issues in children's books and see his usage as preachy and unnecessary, those that view his inclusion of LGBT characters as brilliant and progressive; to those whose complaint is not that he's including LGBT characters but that he's doing so in a sloppy manner, ie, many queer fans feel the LGBT characters fall into a number of harmful stereotypes and/or that he's trying to hard. [[TakeAThirdOption And then there are those who find it progressive and even brilliant, and very welcome so that kids don't grow up with]] InternalizedCategorism [[TakeAThirdOption or as a]] HeteronormativeCrusader.

** Apollo's speech in the first book about sexuality has divided fans who see it as appropriate and those who see it being forceful and uncalled for.
** This series along with the Magnus Chase series has divide fans into three camps. Those who wish that Rick Riordan would stop forcing LGBT issues on fans and see his usage as preachy and unnecessary, those that view his inclusion of LGBT characters as brilliant and progressive; and those whose complaint is not that he's including LGBT characters but that he's doing so in a tone-deaf manner, ie, many queer fans feel the LGBT characters fall into a number of harmful tropes and worn-out, overdone plotlines. Needless to say debating LGBT issues in the fandom starts many heated discussion.

** The Burning Maze takes this up another notch by [[spoiler: killing off a major character mostly to emphasise the cost of war. Jason Grace was a POV character and is the first major character to die in a Riordan book (excluding Magnus Chase).]]