The Heroes of Olympus, #2
The Son of Neptune
by Rick Riordan
Contents
I Percy
Overview
Percy Jackson, exhausted and amnesiac, is cornered on a Berkeley hill by the immortal Gorgon sisters. He confirms his unusual durability, learns Gaea is reviving monsters, and that an ominous Feast of Fortune is coming. Exploiting a distraction, Percy incapacitates the Gorgons and leaps downhill using a metal tray to escape toward a tunnel.
Summary
Exhausted and filthy after days of pursuit, Percy Jackson reaches a Berkeley hilltop, unable to permanently kill the two Gorgons hunting him. Despite repeated deaths, they reform within hours, while Percy survives thanks to unusual toughness. He senses his quest’s destination lies beneath the hill, likely via a highway tunnel.
Cornered above an apartment complex and roadway with no safe descent, Percy readies his sword, Riptide. The Gorgons arrive: Stheno, ever offering indestructible poisoned samples, and Euryale, intent on revenge for Medusa. They reveal Percy bears the “mark of Achilles,” explaining his near-invulnerability with a hidden weak spot.
Keeping them talking, Percy learns their patron is the goddess Gaea, who is reviving monsters and preparing a southern advance culminating at a “Feast of Fortune.” As Euryale berates Stheno, Percy seizes Stheno’s platter, slices Euryale in half, and weaponizes the tray to disorient Stheno with her reflection.
While Euryale begins to reform from dust and Stheno reels, Percy knocks Stheno out with the tray. With no other escape, he uses the metal platter as a makeshift sled, praying to any Roman god listening, and launches off the hillside toward the highway and tunnel below.
Who Appears
- Percy JacksonAmnesiac demigod pursued by Gorgons; displays Achilles-like resilience; improvises an escape by sledding on a metal tray.
- EuryaleGorgon sister leading the hunt; reveals Gaea as patron and Percy’s Achilles mark; is bisected but begins reforming.
- SthenoGorgon sister posing as a store greeter; offers poisoned samples; is knocked out with her own platter.
- LupaShe-wolf who trained Percy; her lessons guide his instincts and sense of destination under the hill.
- GaeaEarth goddess reviving monsters; her impending awakening and armies threaten Percy’s unseen allies.
- AnnabethGirl Percy vaguely remembers and seeks; associated with San Francisco in his fractured memories.