After viciously devouring "The Son of Neptune" in less than 24 hours, I moved on to the Mark of Athena, the 3rd book in the Heroes of Olympus series.
Naturally, I need to catch up on blog posts and I saw the perfect opportunity to talk about setting right at the beginning. Riordan describes the Roman demigod camp, "Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake" (7).
Not only did Riordan use many action verbs to make the scene appealing, he later goes on to describe it with detail that actually plays a part later on in the story. Not to mention there's an official map for Camp Jupiter.
I mean dang. An author with that much dedication to scenery deserves at least one admiring blog post. Riordan hasn't yet fallen into the dark pit of continuity errors in all of the scenery he describes, which is super awesome. Seriously, if you were writing an epic battle scene, would you be concerned on the effects on the surrounding area? The author doesn't get carried away and often incorporates realistic effects to things not so realistic, such as a war between giants and kids who are half god. This is just one of the components of writing Riordan wields to his advantage. He recognizes that when you're reading of a new universe, scenery matters, and I cannot thank him enough for this thought and effort into setting.
Naturally, I need to catch up on blog posts and I saw the perfect opportunity to talk about setting right at the beginning. Riordan describes the Roman demigod camp, "Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake" (7).
Not only did Riordan use many action verbs to make the scene appealing, he later goes on to describe it with detail that actually plays a part later on in the story. Not to mention there's an official map for Camp Jupiter.
I mean dang. An author with that much dedication to scenery deserves at least one admiring blog post. Riordan hasn't yet fallen into the dark pit of continuity errors in all of the scenery he describes, which is super awesome. Seriously, if you were writing an epic battle scene, would you be concerned on the effects on the surrounding area? The author doesn't get carried away and often incorporates realistic effects to things not so realistic, such as a war between giants and kids who are half god. This is just one of the components of writing Riordan wields to his advantage. He recognizes that when you're reading of a new universe, scenery matters, and I cannot thank him enough for this thought and effort into setting.
