The Adventures of Apollo - The Hidden Oracle

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The Adventures of Apollo - The Hidden Oracle (English Original: The Trials of Apollo, Book 1: The Hidden Oracle ) is the first part of the five-part fantasy series The Adventures of Apollo by Rick Riordan based on Greek mythology. The book was published in English in 2016 by Disney Hyperion Verlag and in German in 2017 by Carlsen Verlag , translated by Gabriele Haefs . It is set in modern times and is about Apollo , an Olympian god who was sent to earth by Zeus as a punishment . Without divine powers, he tries to free all ancient oracles from the power of three Roman emperors in order to be able to return to Olympus and become a god again. It is, in a way, the continuation of the Percy Jackson franchise as well as the Heroes of Olympus franchise, and also set in the same world as them.

In this part, Apollo and Meg try to save those who have disappeared in the forest and to find the grove of Dodona. They also fight against Emperor Nero .

action

Apollo falls in the middle of a garbage can in a small New York alley. He can still vaguely remember Zeus who punished him so. Two thugs try to ambush the helpless Apollo, but a young girl named Meg McCaffrey saves him. He later notices that Zeus called him Lester Papadopoulos. The two think that Apollo only has to serve Meg for a short time, as usual when Zeus punished him and sent him to earth. They decide to go to an old friend of Lester: Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson tries to get them to Camp Half Blood (a camp for demigods , where they can practice their fighting skills against monsters and also live in safety) as quickly as possible . But on the way they are attacked by plague ghosts, invulnerable ghosts whose smoke makes you sick, and Meg unconsciously calls a Carpos called Peach, who defeated the ghosts.

After Apollo and Meg arrive at the camp, they learn that the oracle of Delphi in the form of Rachel Dare can no longer prophesy because Python occupies the oracle. They also hear that all communication channels and travel options for demigods no longer work. The camp leader, the centaur Chiron , says that some of the campers have disappeared in the forest .

At dinner Demeter recognizes Meg as her daughter. On the same evening she is attacked by other demigods for fun, while Meg reveals that she always carries two curved swords made of imperial gold, disguised as two rings. The next day Apollo is supposed to practice music and archery . Since he is imperfect, he rashly vows in desperation never to use a bow or musical instrument again until he becomes a god again. During the "deadly three-legged run" in the labyrinth of Minos , which has expanded indefinitely and in which there is no space and time, Apollo and Meg land under the oracle of Delphi in Greece. They overhear the monster Python , which has occupied the oracle. He speaks to the "beast" about the fact that they control all oracles and want to destroy the grove of Dodona , because they cannot control this one oracle. So the demigods can no longer begin operations because they need a prophecy for it. In addition, the beast Python assures that “help is well placed in the camp”. When Meg hears the beast's voice, she is very frightened.

After Apollo and Meg escape the maze, they learn that Apollo's children, Kayla and Austin, have disappeared. Chiron and Meg advise Apollo not to look for them alone at night, much to Apollo's anger. Meg reveals to Apollo that she knows the "beast" because he has a reputation for forcing demigods to work as servants or mercenaries. She refused to work for him, so the "beast" killed her father. Her stepfather took her in, gave her the swords and taught her how to use them.

Later Rachel comes to the camp. She reports that a secret power, Triumvirate Holdings, is trying to overthrow the gods and occupy all oracles. Apollo also suspects that the grove of Dodona is located in the forest of the camp and calls demigods.

The next day, Meg and Apollo set out to find the grove of Dodona. On their search, they are attacked by Mymekes. Apollo manages to drive them away with the help of music and breaks his oath in the process . But the Mymekes kidnap Meg and escape. Apollo tries to get back to the camp. Suddenly he begins to hallucinate and just before he passes out, Rhea stands in front of him. This gives Apollo wind chimes and tells him to hang them on the largest tree in the Dodona grove. When he wakes up, he is back at the camp and learns that one of the leaders of the Triumvirate Holdings is Nero.

Apollo returns to the forest and finds the camp of the Mymerkes there. Again with the help of music, Apollo manages to free Meg and make the mother of the ants-like monsters obey. Together they find the entrance to the grove of Dodona and all the missing demigods. Nero suddenly appears and reveals that through their God-like worship they have become God-Emperors. He also tells that Meg is the well-placed help and he's her stepfather. Meg orders Apollo to open the grove. Since he is forced to obey, he opens the grove. Nero tries to burn the grove, but Peach der Carpos, who knows Meg's true feelings, attacks him before he can ignite the grove. Meg runs into the grove, Apollo and Nero begin to fight. Apollo regains his divine power for a short time and defeats Nero's guards. In a final attempt to burn down the grove, Nero throws Greek fire. The dryads manage to draw the air out of the fire, but sacrifice themselves in the process. Then Apollo helps Meg fix the wind chimes and he receives a prophecy in the form of a limerick. Meg runs away and dismisses Apollo from his service. She firmly believes that Nero is not the beast and that there is still hope for him. Apollo understands that Meg sees Nero and the beast as two separate people and suspects that this behavior comes from years of emotional abuse. When Apollo was about to leave the grove, he found an arrow on the ground that did not belong to him. However, he picked it up and put it in his quiver. Apollo and the demigods get back to camp through the mother of the Mymerkes.

Nero sends the colossus Neronis to the camp. During the fight with him, Apollo discovers that the arrow from the grove can speak to him when he wanted to bewitch him. With the help of Percy and a plague arrow, they defeat the huge statue.

The next morning Kalypso and Leo Valdez return to camp. You offer to help Apollo on his next quest.

main characters

  • Apollo: former Olympic god , called Lester Papadopoulos, is punished by Zeus
  • Meg McCaffrey: daughter of Demeter, stepdaughter of Nero, mistress Apollo
  • Nero: Roman emperor, leader of the triumvirate holding, rich and luxury loving, tyrannical
  • Chiron: Trainer at Camp Half Blood, Centaur
  • Will Solace: son of Apollo, healer at camp
  • Peach: Carpos, grain spirit, appears in danger

background

The Adventures of Apollo - The Hidden Oracle was immediately at number one in the Spiegel bestseller list in the youth novel category. It was in the top 10 for the next 4 months. The book was well received by the press. The Süddeutsche said: “Apollo is a book that everyone could like. There is not only the main character Apollo, a boy, but also his companion Meg, in whom girls can find themselves. Percy Jackson shows up for Riordan fans ”.

Like Percy Jackson , ... it is based on Roman and Greek mythology. It is like all The Adventures of Apollo books written from Apollo's point of view as a personal narrator - first-person narrator . At the beginning of each chapter, instead of a chapter heading, a chapter-matching haiku by Rick Riordan.

German edition

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rick Riordan, Carlsen Verlag: The Adventures of Apollo 1: The Hidden Oracle . tape 1 . Carlsen Verlag, Hamburg 2016, ISBN 978-3-551-55688-2 , pp. 400 .
  2. ↑ book report. Retrieved July 6, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung: Apollo 2017, a god falls from the sky. Retrieved July 8, 2020 .