Books are everywhere in our lives. They can be found in schools, stores, classrooms, and at home. Every year authors spew out new books for their readers to dive into and enjoy. In May of 2023, well known mythology author Rick Riordan published his new book, The Sun and The Star, and co-authored with non-binary author Mark Oshiro.
The Sun and The Star is a story taking place in the world of Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan’s most famous series. The book focuses on demigods Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. They both spend the majority of their time at Camp Half-Blood, a camp for demigod children of the Greek gods
Nico di Angelo is a son of Hades, the Greek god of the Underworld. Nico went to Camp Half-Blood at the age of 12. He had a rough start to settling in at camp, but did eventually. In Rick Riordan’s series The Trials of Apollo, which takes place the summer before The Sun and The Star, Nico begins to date Will Solace.
Will Solace is a demigod son of Apollo. He is the head of medicine at the camp, and Nico’s boyfriend. Before discovering he was a demigod, he traveled the United States with his mother Naomi Solace, a singer. Will lives at the camp full time after the original Percy Jackson series ended.
The book begins with Nico and Will sending off the last campers to visit their families. Chiron, the camp’s director, tells them they can stay or go visit friends. Both boys decide to stay at camp longer. As Nico is settling in for bed in his cabin, he is haunted by a nightmare of someone calling him to Tartarus, where all monsters are created and where they reform after they die. He suspects it is Bob, a titan they befriended and had to leave in Tartarus. When he wakes up, the camp Oracle, Rachel O’Dare, is in the doorway of his cabin with Chiron and Will. Rachel spews out a prophecy that has been haunting her for weeks. Nico decides he needs to pursue this prophecy and Will insists on going with him. Will and Nico leave the next day for the Underworld, which they need to pass through before getting to Tartarus. They approach the Doors of Orpheus, one of the only remaining entrances to the Underworld, and Will unlocks it by singing. They walk down the stairs for what feels like hours. Nico sees the boat that crosses one of the rivers, and turns to Will to tell him, but Will sees nothing. Nico turns back to see nothing but a darkened stairwell leading down.
I adored this book so very much. One of the classic Rick Riordan traits in this book was the switching perspective between Will and Nico. I really enjoyed the casual humor Riordan continues to throw in during serious moments. This book gave background to both Nico and Will, filling in gaps in their past and fleshing out the characters more. It gave more detail as to how they both process and think about information too, and as a writer myself, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the small details and characteristics about them. It gives each person in the book more life.
All in all, The Sun and The Star was an amazing book, and it was relatively cheap to buy as well. At Target in Red Wing they sell hardcover copies for $14, which is cheap for a hardcover book. I know so many people who have enjoyed it or are looking forward to reading it. Between the announcement date for the book in October of 2022, and the release of the book in May this year, the quality of the book was absolutely amazing. It was obvious while reading the book the amount of care and dedication both Oshiro and Riordan put into this book. This is my favorite book Riordan has written, and I highly recommend anyone of any age read it.
