''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' is an American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

adventure novel Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the Introduction to the ''Encyclopedi ...

based on

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

written by

Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million co ...

. It is the fourth novel in the ''

Percy Jackson & the Olympians ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' is a series of five fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the '' Camp Half-Blood Chronicles''. The novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st centu ...

'' series. The novel was first published in the United States on 6 May 2008 by Hyperion Books for Children, an

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

Disney Publishing Worldwide Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints inclu ...

. It has been published in

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

ebook An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

, and

large-print Large-print (also large-type or large-font) refers to the formatting of a book or other text document in which the typeface (or font) are considerably larger than usual to accommodate people who have low vision. Frequently the medium is also increa ...

editions. To date, ''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' has been translated into 29 languages from its original English. The book follows the adventures of modern-day fifteen-year-old demigod

Percy Jackson Perseus "Percy" Jackson is a fictional character, the title character and narrator of Rick Riordan's ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. He is also one of seven main protagonists of the sequel series ''The Heroes of Olympus'', appearing ...

, the son of a mortal woman and the

Greek god The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

. Percy and his friends

Annabeth Chase A description of most characters featured in various mythology series by Rick Riordan. Overview List indicator(s) * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to ...

Grover Underwood A description of most characters featured in various mythology series by Rick Riordan. Overview List indicator(s) * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to ...

, Rachel Dare and

Tyson Tyson is a male given name of old French origin meaning 'high-spirited', 'fire'. It is from this that a surname arose 'son of Tyson'. Surname *Alan Tyson (1926–2000), British musicologist *Barbara Tyson (born 1964), Canadian actress *Bill Tyso ...

attempt to stop

Luke Castellan A description of most characters featured in various mythology series by Rick Riordan. Overview List indicator(s) * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to ...

and his army from invading Camp Half-Blood through

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, an ...

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

by trying to prevent the

Ariadne's string Ariadne's thread, named for the legend of Ariadne, is solving a problem by multiple means—such as a physical maze, a logic puzzle, or an ethical dilemma—through an exhaustive application of logic to all available routes. It is the particular me ...

from falling into his hands. ''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the storyline, humor and action present in the novel. The novel was on the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

Children's bestseller list and

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

Facts and Figures bestseller list. It was also the runner-up for the 2010

Indian Paintbrush Book Award American children's literary awards Awards established in 1986 1986 establishments in Wyoming Wyoming education-related lists Wyoming culture 100101010101101010101010 ...

Plot

attends freshman orientation at Goode High School, where he sees

Rachel Elizabeth Dare A description of most characters featured in various mythology series by Rick Riordan. Overview List indicator(s) * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to ...

, a mortal who can see through the Mist. She helps him fight two empousai and escape. Percy travels to Camp Half-Blood, where he learns

Grover Grover is a blue Muppet character on the popular PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a blue monster who rarely uses contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was original ...

is in trouble with the Council of Cloven Elders for not having found Pan. During a competition organized by the new sword instructor

Quintus Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is an English masculine given name and ...

and Percy accidentally find an entrance into the

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

, which presents a possible invasion route for Luke Castellan. Annabeth is given leadership of a quest to find

and convince him not to give the

to Luke, which would help him navigate the Labyrinth. She chooses Grover, Percy, and

to accompany her. Before leaving, Percy learns that

Nico di Angelo A description of most characters featured in various mythology series by Rick Riordan. Overview List indicator(s) * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to ...

plans to bring back his late sister,

Bianca Bianca is a feminine given name. It means "white" and is an Italian cognate of Blanche. Variants * Blanche: French * Bianca: Italian * Bianka (Polish, Hungarian, Slovak, German, English, French, Icelandic, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, Co ...

(with help from

King Minos In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten ...

) by exchanging her soul for someone who has cheated death – like Percy. In the maze, Percy and his friends face a number of trials, including meeting Briares and

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...

, before arriving at the ranch of

Geryon In Greek mythology, Geryon ( or ;"Geryon"
''

Hephaestus Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter Burk ...

' help. After speaking to him, they part ways; Tyson and Grover search for Pan, while Annabeth and Percy go to the God's forge in the volcano

Mount St. Helens Mount St. Helens (known as Lawetlat'la to the indigenous Cowlitz people, and Loowit or Louwala-Clough to the Klickitat) is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United St ...

. In the forge, Percy is almost killed by Kronos's smiths, but escapes by causing an earthquake that ejects him from the

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

. When Percy awakens, he finds himself on the island

Ogygia Ogygia (; grc, Ὠγυγίη, Ōgygíē , or ''Ōgygíā'' ) is an island mentioned in Homer's ''Odyssey'', Book V, as the home of the nymph Calypso, the daughter of the Titan Atlas. In Homer's ''Odyssey'', Calypso detained Odysseus on Ogy ...

with Calypso, a daughter of the Titan

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

. Calypso tells Percy she is cursed to fall in love with every hero that lands on her island, but the hero can never stay. After Hephaestus tells him of events in the mortal world, Percy realizes that he too must leave. Back at Camp Half-Blood, Percy and Annabeth go to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

to find Rachel, who should be able to navigate the Labyrinth. Despite being captured by Luke's minions, they eventually reach Daedalus's workshop and learn that Quintus is actually the ancient inventor, living as an

automaton An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...

. He informs them that, believing they could not withstand a Titan assault, he has already helped Luke. The group is discovered by Nico, who tells them Minos has been planning to exchange Daedalus's soul for his own. The four teenagers fight to escape while the betrayed Daedalus remains in the maze with his hellhound. The quartet later discover the Titan fortress at

Mount Othrys Mount Othrys ( el, όρος Όθρυς – ''oros Othrys'', also Όθρη – ''Othri'') is a mountain range of central Greece, in the northeastern part of Phthiotis and southern part of Magnesia. Its highest summit, ''Gerakovouni'', situated on ...

, and learn that Luke has been somehow

possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

by Kronos. They run into Grover and Tyson, and discover the resting place of Pan, who speaks to them and passes part of his fading spirit into each of them. The group, minus Rachel, then heads back to Camp Half-Blood to fight. The Titan army floods out of the Labyrinth and appears to be winning until Daedalus arrives with Mrs. O’Leary and Briares, who kill Kampê. Grover scares off the remaining Titan forces by causing a

Panic Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reactio ...

. After the battle, Nico helps Daedalus pass on and die, hence destroying the Labyrinth. After a memorial service for the dead campers, Percy leaves camp for the school year. On his fifteenth birthday at summer's end, Percy receives a visit from his father

, who gives him a sand dollar, advising him to "spend it wisely". Nico later appears to tell Percy his plan to defeat Luke once and for all.

Characters

is the 15-year-old son of Poseidon. He is the series' narrator. He joins Annabeth in her quest to go into the Labyrinth to find Daedalus' workshop. *

is the 15-year-old daughter of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

, and one of Percy's closest friends. She gets the quest to navigate the Labyrinth. Her feelings for Percy start to show, but she is confused because of her lingering feelings towards Luke. *

is a mortal who can see through the Mist. Her father is a wealthy businessman who buys the undeveloped land of the wild and builds developments upon it. Percy had previously met her at the

Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on Se ...

in ''

The Titan's Curse ''The Titan's Curse'' is an American literature, American fantasy literature, fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology written by Rick Riordan. It was released on May 1, 2007, and is the third novel in the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympian ...

'', where she helped him get away from undead warriors. *

is a

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, :wikt:σάτυρος, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, :wikt:Σειληνός, σειληνός ), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears ...

and Percy's best friend. His life's ambition is to find Pan, the lost god of the Wild. Grover, Tyson, Percy, Annabeth, Nico and Rachel find Pan inside

Carlsbad Caverns Carlsbad Caverns National Park is an American national park in the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. The primary attraction of the park is the show cave Carlsbad Cavern. Visitors to the cave can hike in on their own via the natura ...

along with some extinct animals. He gave all of them except Nico words of wisdom, and then died. When he died, his essence entered all of the characters' mouths (except Nico), meaning a piece of the wild remained in their hearts. He gave Grover the famous battle cry,

, which Grover used to scare off the intruders in Camp Half-Blood. The word Panic is named after Pan, because in the Titan war, he let out a horrible cry that drove away all their enemies. *

is Percy's

cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

half-brother. He now works for his father in Poseidon's palace, under the oceans, in the Cyclopes' forge. Tyson enjoys forging, and nicknaming mythical creatures they come across. He joins Percy and his friends in the Labyrinth. *

is an 11-year-old son of

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

. Upset that his sister Bianca died, he is slightly unstable, and attempts to trade

' soul for that of Bianca. He has a sword made of Stygian iron. *

is a 22-year-old son of

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...

and traitor to the Olympians. His body becomes possessed by the spirit of Kronos. * Daedalus/Quintus was the creator of the Labyrinth and son of

, and has made a total of five automatons in order to cheat death. He becomes the new swordsman at Camp Half-Blood under the name Quintus, but only to see if Camp Half-Blood is worth saving. During the intrusion of Camp Half-Blood, he is stabbed, but instead of blood coming out of the wound, golden oil leaks from his automaton body. He has a murderer's mark on his neck (a partridge), a brand that appears on all of his bodies as a curse from Athena, because he killed his nephew,

Perdix ''Perdix'' is a genus of Galliform gamebirds known collectively as the 'true partridges'. These birds are unrelated to the subtropical species that have been named after the partridge due to similar size and morphology. Taxonomy The genus ''Pe ...

. He owns a

hellhound A hellhound is a mythological hound that embodies a guardian or a servant of hell, the devil, or the underworld. Hellhounds occur in mythologies around the world, with the best known examples being Cerberus from Greek mythology, Garmr from Nor ...

named Mrs. O'Leary. After his death, he was assigned to build overpasses and bridges to help control traffic in the

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

and according to Nico, he is happy with this job. Before he dies, he gives Annabeth a laptop containing all of the works he never had time to complete, as well as many of his ideas and theories.

Composition and marketing

''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' was initially referred to as ''Percy 4'' until the title was officially revealed. The novel was teased by Rick Riordan behind the pages of its predecessor, ''

''. It was based on the Greek myth of the

, where the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

was supposedly kept. In his book, Riordan made the labyrinth grow to cover the entire undergrowth of United States. On 4 October 2007, ''

'' revealed the book's title along with the cover art by

John Rocco Christopher John Rocco (born July 9, 1967), simply known as John Rocco is an American illustrator of book covers and children's books. He is best known for illustrating the covers of books in the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. He ...

. A preview of the book was read out for kids to judge, and the reactions were "unbelievable", according to the author. Riordan went on a tour to promote the book. He revealed that he would read a sneak peek of the first chapter at

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...

, Utah. In January 2008, he read a sneak peek of the first chapter. A trailer video was also uploaded on YouTube. In February 2008, an advertisement video was officially released. Riordan was bothered with the previous novel's plot leaking out due to advance reader copies (ARC) and as a result, the novel had no ARC prints. A month before the novel's release, Riordan revealed his tour plans. Shortly after the book's publication, Riordan spoke at the 30 May Evening with Children's Booksellers, as part of the 2008

BookExpo America BookExpo America (commonly referred to within the book publishing industry as BEA) was an annual book trade fair in the United States. BEA is almost always held in a major city over four days in late May and/or early June. Nearly all significant ...

. At this time, the Percy Jackson series was the third bestselling children's book series in America, behind the '' Twilight Saga'' and ''

The Clique A clique is a close social group. Clique or The Clique may also refer to: Math and computing * Clique (graph theory) ** Clique problem in computer science Business and brands * Clique (vodka), a Latvian vodka sold in the United States Entertai ...

'' series, according to ''

''.

Release

''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' was first published as a hardcover in the United States on 6 May 2008 by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of

, and had a first printing of about one million copies. On 13 May 2008, a ten-hour and 32-minute audiobook version of ''The Battle of the Labyrinth'', read by actor Jesse Bernstein, who also read the audiobooks of the previous 3 books in the series, was published worldwide by Listening Library. The novel was also on the Amazon Children's bestseller list and the

Facts and Figures bestseller list, having sold nearly 105,000 copies in 2010 since its release in 2008. It was released in the United Kingdom with new covers. Since its release, ''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' has been translated into

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

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(Valencian),

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...

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, French,

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, Hungarian,

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, Lithuanian,

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, Slovak,

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and

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. Although many non-English editions used John Rocco's cover art, a few, like the

Puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

editions, have unique covers by other illustrators. The book received a

Lexile The Lexile Framework for Reading is an educational tool that uses a measure called a Lexile to match readers with books, articles and other leveled reading resources. Readers and books are assigned a score on the Lexile scale, in which lower sco ...

score of 590L, making it appropriate for the average 10-13-year-old. Scholastic suggests the book for grades 8–10. '' VOYA'' recommended the novel for children in grades 7–12.

Reception

''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' received mostly positive reviews. It has been praised as an excellent continuation to the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series as well as an excellent novel in its own right. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'', for example, in its

starred review A starred review is a book review __NOTOC__ A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece ...

, called the novel " iordan'sbest one yet... trivals Rowling for inventive, magical storytelling. The often-philosophical tale zips along with snappy dialogue, humor and thrilling action... This volume can stand alone, but no reader will be able to read just one." ''Children's Literature'' made similar claims: "Riordan creates a masterful weaving of Greek mythology and traditional fantasy in this latest book... Fans will enjoy the latest adventures of their favorite characters, and those picking the book up for the first time will have no trouble falling into this magical world." Other reviews focused more on the novel as a continuation to the series. Anita Burkam of ''

Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

'' said in her review of the novel, "The melding of Greek myths with modern-day settings remains fresh and funny in this fourth installment". David Goodale of '' VOYA'' also remarks on Riordan's ability to "keep the material fresh" despite the "far-from-new" quest format. ''VOYA''s highlighted review gave it a 4/5 for quality and 5/5 for popularity. ''

''s starred review states, "One of Riordan's strengths is the wry interplay between the real and the surreal", adding, "the wit, rousing swordplay and breakneck pace n this installmentwill once again keep kids hooked." The website KidsReads similarly praised the book, saying "the story arc has remained unified and compelling." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' gave another positive review, calling it "a glorious, no-holds-barred adventure with great plot twists, a melding of ancient and bionic technology and a cliffhanger ending that will have fans eagerly awaiting the fifth and final showdown between gods and monsters next year." Matt Berman of ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' was one of few reviewers to mention the differences between this book and preceding ones in the series. He highlights ''The Battle of the Labyrinth''s darker tone, more mature themes, and increased discussion of what it philosophically means for the characters to follow and support the Greek gods and Titans. He concludes, "Up until now the series has been great fun, but little more. Now as it begins to grow, like the Labyrinth, larger and deeper and more complex, it's even more fun." Despite the overall praise, some reviewers were more critical. ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

'' wrote that " ke many series, the "Percy Jackson" books are beginning to show the strain of familiarity and repetition." The ''

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Children Newsround'' praised the novel for its smart ideas, but said, "none of it will make sense if you haven't read any of the other books." Nelda Brangwin of ''Library Media Connection'' wrote, "If this is the only book read in the series, readers may be confused by the storyline and profusion of mythological creatures. It reads well on its own if readers are familiar with mythology, but is best if the other three books are in the library collection."

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

commented that, the book "is funny and scary at moments and makes you want to read more". The audiobook was also well received. '' AudioFile'' magazine praised the audiobook, raving, "Speedy introductions of familiar and new characters and previous plot summaries may briefly confuse a new listener, but fans will savor them," adding "Jesse Bernstein is on target whether he's narrating blow-by-blow accounts of Percy's sword fights or inventing cameos for various other characters: Hephaestus, who repairs a Toyota; an aged Daedalus; and Grover, Percy's slow-witted sidekick. Bernstein is just as skillful at wringing humor from the witty dialogue and from the contrasts between the modern and ancient worlds." ''

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'' similarly praised Bernstein's familiarity with the series and ability to realistically portray its teenaged protagonists, commenting, "His portrayal of Percy stands out as he manages to sound just like a 15-year-old boy." The work's review in ''The School Library Journal'' was also favorable, praising Bernstein for " oinga good job voicing Percy and his Cyclops half-brother" and "successfully onveyingAnnabeth's emotions". He attempts a number of different accents for the gods, demigods, and mortals in the story with varying levels of success." ''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' was nominated for the 2010

Indian Paintbrush Book Award American children's literary awards Awards established in 1986 1986 establishments in Wyoming Wyoming education-related lists Wyoming culture 100101010101101010101010 ...

, earning the second position.

Sequel

The sequel to ''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' is titled ''

The Last Olympian ''The Last Olympian'' is a fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology by Rick Riordan, published on May 5, 2009. It is the fifth and final novel of the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series and serves as the direct sequel to ''The Battle ...

'' and was released 5 May 2009. It is the final novel in the ''Percy Jackson and the Olympians'' series. ''The Last Olympian'' was No. 1 on the ''USA Today'' bestseller list.

References

External links

Rick Riordan Myth Master
at publisher Penguin Books (UK) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of the Labyrinth 2008 American novels Percy Jackson & the Olympians Action novels American adventure novels 2008 fantasy novels Sequel novels Alcatraz Island in fiction Novels set in Long Island 2008 children's books Novels by Rick Riordan