May 5, 2023
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
The basics
Title: The Last Olympian
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5
- The Lightning Thief (June 2005) - The Sea of Monsters (April 2006) - The Titan's Curse (May 2007) - The Battle of the Labyrinth (March 2008) - The Last Olympian (May 2009) Spin-off series: Heroes of Olympus
Add it: Goodreads
Goodreads Summary:
All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos's army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan's power only grows. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it's up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time. In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy's sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.
Read a full summary of The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan below. If you can’t remember what happened in The Last Olympian and you need a refresher, then you’re in the right place.
What happened in The Last Olympian?
- Percy and Rachel drive to look at the ocean. Rachel tells Percy that her father wants her to go to Clarion Ladies Academy, a finishing school for rich kids. She isn’t keen on this idea.
- Blackjack lands on the car. He has brought Charles Beckendorf with him. Beckendorf tells them that it’s time for them to take out Princess Andromeda, a ship that Luke is on.
- Rachel kisses Percy for good luck. Or for feels, I guess.
- Percy and Rachel sneak onto the ship and are able to put some explosives in the engine room before Percy is captured.
- Percy is taken to Luke, who is still possessed by Kronos. They fight, and Kronos lets slip that there’s a spy in the camp.
- Beckendorf shows up and stalls while he waits for the explosives to detonate. Percy doesn’t want to leave Beckendorf but he is left with no choice. The ship blows up as Percy jumps off the ship.
- Percy is knocked unconscious and he dreams of being at Mount Olympus. He overhears Krios and Hyperion plot to destroy Olympus. Percy spots Nico listening in too.
- Percy wakes up in Poseidon’s kingdom. Tyson is there with him, and he takes him to see Amphitrite and Triton. Poseidon tells Percy that he’s battling Oceanus.
- Poseidon confirms that Beckendorf is dead. He tells Percy to return to Camp Half Blood.
- Percy returns and tells everyone what happened on the Princess Andromeda. The war council tells Percy and Annabeth to retrieve the prophecy from the Oracle. They do so, and when they get back the council is in chaos and arguing.
- Percy reads the prophecy and realises he’ll die.
- Percy tells the others about the spy in camp. Everyone starts accusing each other.
- Chiron reveals that Typhon is free and making his way to Olympus.
- Percy dreams of Rachel and her drawings. The first picture is of a young Luke, and the second is of Olympus in the middle of a battle.
- Grover has completely disappeared at this point and his link to Percy is weakening.
- Percy bumps into Nico, Leneus, and Juniper talking about Grover in the woods. Percy tells Leneus he must help Grover.
- Percy and Nico decide to travel to Connecticut to speak to Luke’s mother. They learn that Luke ran off to protect his mother from monsters, and she gave him her blessing for Kronos to use Luke’s body.
- Hestia shows up and gives Percy and Nico lunch. She tells them she will be the last Olympian. She sends them to Percy’s house to speak to Sally about their plan. They then travel to Central Park to head into the Underworld.
- Percy is able to feel Grover’s presence, and awakens him from a deep sleep. Grover then falls out of a tree nearby.
- Grover says he was spreading news about Pan’s death when he was knocked out by a man who seemed to have sleep powers. Nico realises this is Morpheus, the god of dreams.
- Grover plays a song for Nico and Percy to enter the Underworld. He leaves the other two behind to go and find Juniper.
- Nico and Percy reach the River Styx. Nico hands Percy over to the Furies. Percy tries to fight Nico but it’s pointless because the Furies intervene. Nico says he struck a deal with his father in return for turning Percy in.
- Hades arrives and says he sent Nico and his sister to a hotel to protect them. Hades plans to let the Titans take over Olympus and then strike them as they’re weakened.
- Percy dreams of Rachel and her family on vacation. The dream switches to Typhon fighting the gods.
- Nico shows up again and helps Percy escape. Percy speaks to Achilles at the River Styx, who tells Percy to bathe in the river to make him invincible.
- Percy fights off Hades and his minions.
- Percy heads to the Empire State Building and calls Annabeth. He tells her to get the campers to him.
- They all head up the Empire State Building and get to the throne room. Hestia is there, and she shows Percy a vision of Luke meeting Hermes.
- Hermes shows up with a message from Athena, telling Percy and Annabeth to defend Manhattan.
- Everyone in Manhattan has been put to sleep by Morpheus.
- Hecate and Kronos seem to be slowing down time.
- Percy tells the campers to guard various tunnels and bridges. Thalia and the Hunters will guard the Lincoln Tunnel from invasion.
- Annabeth, Percy, and the Apollo campers defend the bridge and drive the enemy back into Brooklyn.
- Kronos’ forces arrive on the bridge and Percy is almost stabbed in his weak point. Annabeth protects him. Percy breaks the bridge to stop Kronos’ forces from entering Manhattan.
- Percy dreams of Nico trying to summon the ghost of his mother. Nico gets a vision of Hades in WW2 instead. He’s arguing with Nico’s mother, Maria, about taking the children to the Underworld where it’s safe. Maria wants the children to live a normal life. Zeus kills Maria, although he intended to kill Nico and Bianca instead due to the Great Prophecy.
- Hades sent the children to the Lotus Hotel after wiping their memories. Hades also curses the Oracle while he’s at it.
- Still in the dream, Percy sees Rachel head back to Manhattan.
- Percy wakes up and heads to Central Park to speak to Prometheus, who has come to negotiate. Prometheus tells the demigods to surrender, and shows Percy more of Luke’s past. He sees Luke and Hermes arguing.
- Prometheus gives Percy Pandora’s box, which contains the Spirit of Hope.
- Percy next dreams of Poseidon’s palace, where there’s another battle happening.
- Percy fights Hyperion in Central Park and he and his friends are able to trap him.
- Dionysius summons Percy and tells him to keep Pollux safe and to win the battle.
- Rachel arrives on a helicopter. Rachel tells Percy that he’s not the hero.
- Percy and the group go to defeat the drakon, which attacks Clarisse on her chariot. They realise it’s not really Clarisse but Silena who was attacked. Silena reveals that she is the spy for Luke because he was kind to her before he started blackmailing her. Silena dies.
- Leneus is killed and reincarnates into a laurel.
- The group head up in the elevator to Olympus. Hestia appears when Percy is alone with Rachel, and Percy gives her Pandora’s box to keep safe.
- Percy communicates with his father using the throne, and asks Poseidon to fight for Olympus.
- Hades shows up with his undead army but is cut off by Kronos.
- Kronos arrives in Olympus and starts to destroy it.
- The final battle takes place in the throne room. Percy fights Ethan and wins him over, but Kronos kills him. Annabeth attempts to bring Luke back to his right mind.
- Kronos traps Percy and Annabeth and is showing them a vision of Typhon when the other gods appear in the vision. Poseidon sends Typhon to Tartarus.
- Luke regains control of his body after Kronos hurts Annabeth.
- Luke tells Percy that Kronos can be slain by his own hand. Percy takes Annabeth’s knife and hands it to Luke. Luke stabs himself and defeats Kronos. Luke’s body is taken by the Fates.
- Tyson is promoted to General. Annabeth is given a job as official architect. Grover is put on the Council of Cloven Elders.
- The gods offer Percy immortality, but like Hercules in the Disney movie, Percy decides he wants to stay on Earth as a demigod. He asks the gods instead to claim their sired demigods as soon as they reach the age of thirteen. He also asks that the children of the minor gods get cabins at camp.
- Nico tells Percy that Rachel has escaped back to Camp. Percy, Annabeth, and Nico follow. Rachel has chosen to take the spirit of the Oracle, and is able to speak her first prophecy.
- Percy and Annabeth officially get together.
- The campers are able to welcome new demigods to camp and build more cabins for future campers.
Terminology
Olympians: The ruling Greek gods.
Titans: Parents of the Olympians, who were defeated by the Olympians in the Titan war. They have been rotting in the Tartarus (the darkest place of the Underworld) since, and in this book it is revealed that their leader, Kronos, wants revenge.
Camp Half-Blood: The secret summer camp / training facility where demigods go to train for fighting monsters.
Centaur: Half human, half horse. Example: Chiron.
Demigod (or hero): Half human, half Greek god.
Satyr: Half human, half goat. Example: Grover.
Iris message: A message communicated via rainbows between gods or demigods.
The Mist: A magical “cloud” that keeps humans from seeing what’s really there. For example, when humans would come near Camp Half-Blood, they would see nothing.
Greek Gods:
- Zeus: king of the gods, god of the sky and thunder (brother of Poseidon and Hades, husband of Hera)
- Poseidon: god of the sea and earthquakes (brother of Zeus and Hades, Percy’s father)
- Hades: god of the Underworld (brother of Zeus and Poseidon)
- Hera: queen of the gods, goddess of marriage and family (wife of Zeus)
- Ares: god of war
- Athena: goddess of war strategy and wisdom (Annabeth’s mother)
- Aphrodite: goddess of love (wife of Hephaestus)
- Dionysus: god of wine, Camp Half-Blood leader
- Demeter: goddess of agriculture and nature
- Apollo: god of light, music, poetry, prophecy and the sun (twin of Artemis)
- Artemis: goddess of hunt, animals and the moon (twin of Apollo)
- Hephaestus: god of blacksmiths (husband of Aphrodite)
- Hermes: god of thieves, messenger of the gods (Luke’s father)
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