Like in the previous books, in 'The Tyrant's Tomb', Riordan expands upon the importance of recognizing & accepting the consequences of our mistakes. He also goes deeper into the inner struggle & bravery it takes to seek redemption. Almost every new character in this book was once wronged by Apollo. As a god, Apollo didn't realize nor care about how badly he treated others. However, his time as a mortal has changed him & now he is deeply ashamed of his past actions. But, has he changed enough to swallow his pride & ask for forgiveness? And, is he even worthy of it?
The book also briefly explores themes of independence, identity, duty & sacrifice. However, the main theme is death & the hardships of moving on. Instead of creating a new conflict that distracts Apollo & Meg from the events of the previous book, Rick created a new villain and Oracle that serve as a reminder of all the allies that they've lost during their quest to save & free the Oracles. Therefore, Apollo will not be able to use his quest as a distraction from his loses anymore. While finally facing all he has lost, Apollo struggles to understand why death must happen & why would someone choose to die.
Like always, the plot and both, new & old characters, were fun, heartfelt & interesting. However, like in the first couple of books, I had some trouble with the pacing. The beginning of this book was very slow. It felt like the first book of a series instead of a fourth. A lot of time was wasted developing new characters & Camp Jupiter (something already done in 'The Son of Neptune'), instead of picking up with the high we left off in the previous book. BUT, once the action starts, this book gets really good. The final chapters were amazing!
I would recommend this book to any fans of Riordan's previous work, mythology lovers & middle-grade readers.
“Have you completely made up for all the bad things you've done? No. But you keep adding to the good things column. That's all any of us can do.”
“I forgive you. Not because you deserve it. Not for your sake at all. But because I will not go into oblivion carrying hate when I can carry love.”
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