as a huge fan of PJO that grew up with the series, this just felt like a disappointing cash grab. the nostalgia was so strong though and i was grinning so hard at these characters and their dynamics, and this was definitely very easy and fun to read. however, my biggest gripe with this book is that it should not have been marketed as the sixth book. this should have been a novella or a series of novellas because it's clear that not a lot of effort was put into this book.

the fact that there are 3 separate novels for each side quest is just insanity. everything was so low stakes and i hated how self depreciating percy was in this. he kept calling himself as not that strong and smart and this was not the percy that i know. the tone also did not read like a 17 year old that survived tartarus, and even 12 year old percy seemed more mature than this. it was also funny because i've seen him survive hell so him battling a random minor god just doesn't hold up in comparison.

also why were there pop culture references? tiktok and shallow from a star is born were mentioned from the top of my head, and there was a whole page about boomers that absolutely no one asked for. this made the series lose its timeless appeal, since there were very limited pop culture references in the original series. also the lightning thief came out in 2005 when percy was 12, so canonically it should be 2010 in this book. seeing the term "GodTok" was so jarring and i understand that it's to market to the younger generation but it just ruined the sanctity of the book to me.