The Son of Neptune

“Adult demigods. Demigods who could live without fear, get married, raise a family. Percy couldn’t quite wrap his mind around that. It seemed too good to be true.”

Confronted with the city of New Rome built beside Camp Jupiter, Percy marvels at demigods who survived to adulthood. Although he has no memories of his past life, he knows it is unique for the demigods to have reached the age of maturity and aged out of the camp. It offers him hope for the future and highlights the violence and lack of stability he left behind in the Greek camp.

“Hazel felt like she’d just introduced two nuclear bombs. Now she was waiting to see which one exploded first.”

Hazel has just introduced her half-brother, Nico di Angelo, to Percy Jackson. Her reaction makes it clear that Nico and Percy have a history with one another, but Percy cannot recall it and Nico refuses to admit to it. This interaction foreshadows Nico’s continued suspicious behavior, accumulating and withholding information, adding mystery and suspense to his character.

“Poor child. You were born too soon. I cannot see your future clearly, but someday you will find your place. A descendant of Neptune will wash away your curse and give you peace. I fear, though, that is not for many years....”

Pluto speaks these words to Hazel on her 13th birthday. His sympathy foretells Hazel’s death and her return to the mortal world. Her father’s prophesy about a descendant of Neptune washing away her curse immediately links Hazel to Percy. However, Frank is later revealed to be a descendant of Neptune as well, highlighting the fact that the two were destined to meet.

“She handed the box to him. He opened the lid with trembling fingers. Inside, cushioned in velvet lining, was a terrifying, life-altering, incredibly important…piece of wood.”

This moment represents a significant moment in Frank’s journey as he comes face to face with his own mortality. Though he was unaware of his demigod identity, this moment begins Frank’s journey to accept his family’s legacy so that he may also accept the gifts passed down to him. As Frank confronts the piece of wood linked to his life, he also confronts the reality that he will someday die.

“Mars was his father. The god of war was sending him to Alaska. Frank had been handed more than a spear for his birthday. He’d been handed a death sentence.”

Frank’s characterization is highlighted as he realizes how his life has evolved in the few moments his father claims him, hands him a spear, and sends him on a quest to Alaska. His tone of disbelief reinforces his disappointment at the news that he was not fathered by Apollo, who he had hoped was his father due to his passion for archery. Learning he is the son of Mars only makes him more insecure about himself, sparking the beginnings of self-discovery and character growth he will endure.

“‘If you don’t succeed,’ Mars had warned, ‘there won’t be any camp left to return to. Rome will be overrun, its legacy lost forever.’”

This quote, as Percy recalls it, is what Mars said to the Twelfth Legion after giving Frank his orders to go on the quest. This sets a level of suspense, underscoring how important the quest is not only for Frank, Percy, and Hazel, but for all the Roman demigods.

“At night, Marie Levesque would transform. The Voice took over, giving Hazel orders, putting her to work on their horrible project.”

Hazel describes the changes she witnessed as her mother, as it is later revealed, was possessed by Gaea. This passage is highlighted by a sense of foreboding and terror that illustrates Hazel’s paralysis in acting against her own mother’s direction. It also emphasizes Hazel as a child, fearful and unsure of how to stand up to the only parental figure she had in her life. Additionally, this is the source of Hazel’s guilt that is not resolved until she successfully kills Alcyoneus.

“Maybe you can’t escape fate. Someday that piece of wood will burn. I foresee that you’ll be holding it when it happens, and your life will end—[…]—but that just makes your life more precious! You don’t have to be what your parents and your grandmother expect. You don’t have to follow the war god’s orders, or Juno’s. Do your own thing, Frank! Find a new path!”

Iris gives Frank a chance to turn away from the quest and choose his own path, like Juno’s offer to Percy. Frank turns her down, demonstrating his sense of loyalty as he insists he cannot abandon his friends and his fellow legionnaires. Frank proves himself to be trustworthy and strong by choosing to continue with the quest.

“Frank could call on Gray twice more. But he’d sensed malevolence in the skeleton. It was no pet. It was a vicious, undead killing force, barely controlled by the power of Mars. Frank got the feeling it would do what he said—but if his friends happened to be in the line of fire, oh well. And if Frank was a little slow giving it directions, it might start killing whatever was in its path, including its master.”

Frank reacts to the entity contained in the spear his father gave him. The gift reveals the violence his father is capable of as the god of war, and by extension, the violence Frank himself is capable of. In his struggle to accept his family’s legacy, he rejects this extension of himself in disgust as he reflects on the spear’s abilities. 

“The guy in the bathrobe was old and fat. He was mostly bald, with scars across his forehead and a rim of stringy white hair. His bathrobe was spattered with ketchup, and he kept stumbling around in fuzzy pink bunny slippers, swinging his gas-powered weed whacker at the half-dozen harpies who were hovering over his picnic table.”

Phineas is introduced through Percy’s eyes and does not give a positive first impression. He is a dirty, slovenly kind of person who is clearly blind and desperate to keep the harpies at bay. Percy’s description demonstrates how he and the other demigods see the world around them in a much richer, knowledgeable way.

“‘You started this whole thing!’ Phineas had said. ‘If it weren’t for you, Alcyoneus wouldn’t be alive!’”

Hazel is already filled with guilt knowing that Alcyoneus has risen from his earthly grave, so when Phineas makes this statement in front of Percy and Frank, it adds to her sense of guilt. However, it also encourages her to finally come clean to her friends about her past and reveal all her secrets. This is the first step in Hazel freeing herself of her guilt and it shows trust between her and her friends.

“‘But if you somehow overpowered the guards and freed your friends…if, for instance, you took one of the guards’ Amazon cards—’

A moment of humor lightens the tone of urgency as Hazel, Percy, and Frank tumble through Amazon headquarters in Seattle, located within the Amazon.com building. The queen’s willingness to help the three escape using Amazon cards continues the irony and provides a sense of silliness to the action sequence as the three race through the building to escape.

“‘War is duty,’ Mars continued. ‘The only real choice is whether you accept it, and what you fight for. The legacy of Rome is on the line—five thousand years of law, order, civilization. The gods, the traditions, the cultures that shaped the world you live in: it’s all going to crumble, Frank, unless you win this. I think that’s worth fighting for. Think about it.’”

Contrary to his aggressive Greek counterpart in Ares, Mars succinctly advises Frank about the paths ahead of him in a logical manner. This interaction provides the support Frank needs to gain his own sense of self-confidence as he learns to accept his family’s legacy. Mars’s words add tension to the plot of the novel as it outlines exactly what it is Frank, Percy, and Hazel are fighting for. His words also show that Mars is not characterized by mayhem. He cares about what happens to the world and his son who lives in it.

“Hazel whistled under her breath. ‘The lost Sibylline books that outlined the entire destiny of Rome. If Ella actually read a copy somehow, and memorized it—’

‘Then she’s the most valuable harpy in the world,’ Frank said.”

Ella has been an addition to the quest since Portland. She is a harpy who was valuable to Phineas for reasons Percy, Frank, and Hazel did not understand. However, this moment in the novel illustrates Ella’s importance and why she must be protected. The Sibylline books contain prophecies that speak on the Prophecy of Seven and the quest Frank is leading. If Ella told what she knew to someone who could use those prophecies against the demigods, it could be trouble. The moment also serves as another example of the demigods protecting lesser mythical creatures in the face of a larger impending threat.

“He should’ve been depressed. He was stuck in Alaska, the giant’s home territory, out of contact with his old friends just as his memories were coming back. He had seen an image of Polybotes’s army about to invade Camp Jupiter. He’d learned that the giants planned to use him as some kind of blood sacrifice to awaken Gaea. Plus, tomorrow evening was the Feast of Fortuna. He, Frank, and Hazel had an impossible task to complete before then. At best, they would unleash Death, who might take Percy’s two friends to the Underworld. Not much to look forward to.”

Percy reflects on what lies ahead for him and his friends. Percy’s thoughts add to the tension in the story by observing their circumstances in stark detail. They are very close to running out of time and the odds seem almost impossible. Yet, Percy does not feel defeated, referring to his previous experiences as a demigod, his bravery, and his determination to fight until the end.

“Gaea wasn’t a gentle goddess. Percy had heard what she planned to do. She wasn’t like the Mother Earth you might read about in a children’s fairy tale. She was vengeful and violent. If she ever woke up fully, she’d destroy human civilization.”

Percy describes just how much damage Gaea is capable of as he encounters Alaska for the first time. The thoughts serve to underscore the importance of their roles as demigods and the quest, and future quests, ahead of them.

“Next to that was a photo of Sammy at the carnival. He was frozen in time with his crazy grin, his curly black hair, and those beautiful eyes. If Gaea was telling the truth, Sammy had been dead for over forty years. Had he really remembered Hazel all that time? Or had he forgotten the peculiar girl he used to go riding with—the girl who shared one kiss and a birthday cupcake with him before disappearing forever?”

Like Percy and Frank before her, Hazel is tested to see if she would give up on the quest to go back in time and live the life she should have lived. She also chooses to continue the quest. After seeing Sammy’s picture, Hazel becomes incredibly sad with curiosity of what her life might have been like and demonstrates her strength in turning her back on something she wanted so intensely.

“Beautiful was the right word for Thanatos—not handsome, or hot, or anything like that. He was beautiful the way an angel is beautiful—timeless, perfect, remote.”

Thanatos, the god of death, is characterized as angelic, shocking the demigods by his appearance. His appearance serves to communicate the truly foreign nature of death, its appeal to humanity, and its role in the cycle of life.

“He finally understood his mother’s choice, saving her comrades at the cost of her own life. He got what Mars had been trying to tell him—Duty. Sacrifice. They mean something.”

As Frank finds himself faced with the possibility of sacrificing his own life for the greater good, he finally understands why serving in the military was so important to his mother and why she sacrificed her life for her fellow soldiers. Frank experiences his own character development as he fully realizes Mars’s lesson and grows closer to his mother and grows in maturity at his realization.

“Then he slammed Riptide into the ice at his feet. The entire glacier shuddered. Ghosts fell to their knees. Behind Percy, a wave surged up from the bay—a wall of gray water even taller than the glacier. Water shot from the chasms and crevices in the ice. As the wave hit, the back half of the camp crumbled. The entire edge of the glacier peeled away, cascading into the void—carrying buildings, ghosts, and Percy Jackson over the edge.”

In his own moment of sacrifice, Percy seems to take himself down with the ghost legion in a fulfillment of Ella’s prophesy that a son of Neptune would drown. Percy’s actions serve to embody the expectations of the demigods—that they sacrifice their lives for the greater good and to save the world.

“Just before Alcyoneus smashed into him, Frank changed. He’d always felt too big and clumsy. Now he used that feeling. His body swelled to massive size. His skin thickened. His arms changed to stout front legs. His mouth grew tusks and his nose elongated. He became the animal he knew best—the one he cared for, fed, bathed, and even given indigestion to at Camp Jupiter.”

Frank literally embodies his family’s gift as he shifts from his body into elephant form to battle the giant. After fully accepting his family’s legacy of sacrifice and duty, Frank is finally able to reach deep into himself and use it.

. “Here’s a tip, Alcyoneus. Next time you choose the biggest state for your home, don’t set up base in the part that’s only ten miles wide. Welcome to Canada, idiot.”

Frank proves his skills as a tactician when he uses Arion to drag Alcyoneus out of Alaska where he cannot be injured or killed and into Canada. Frank believed himself to be weak and useless for most of the novel, but this moment shows that he is stronger than he ever believed. It is a moment of great character growth for both Frank and Hazel, as Hazel finally redeems herself and kills Alcyoneus.

“Pluto can’t visit me or even talk to me without acknowledging I’m alive. Then he’d have to enforce the laws of death and have Thanatos bring me back to the Underworld. I think my dad is turning a blind eye. I think—I think he wants me to find Nico.”

In a moment of maturity and clarity, Hazel sees the events of the last few months through her father’s eyes and understands that his silence is to protect her. This realization shows great growth and understanding of the workings of the world around her, another example of character growth for Hazel.