After spending six months as a teenager named Lester, Apollo is now reaching his endgame (thank the gods). The battle for Camp Jupiter is over. New Rome is safe. Tarquin and his army of the undead have been defeated. And somehow Apollo has made it out alive. Line 11 refers to how he would be the only one to face Python. This was the main goal of Apollo's quest on Earth, and he alone could do this.

In Rachel's house, Python takes over her body and gives the group the final part of the terza rima: Apollo asks Meg what she's going to use as a weapon and Meg tells him not to worry about it. Nico is still fighting with the wolf from earlier and the skeleton bull he brought to life had finally collapsed. The germani spills the tray with the rest of the remotes Nero needs to try. As Apollo aims for Nero's chest, one of the three missing Imperial Children stabs him in the ribs. As Apollo struggles to breathe he sees Meg across the room fighting barehanded with Aemillia and another one of the missing demigods. The demigod who stabbed Apollo pushes the knife even deeper. Apollo cannot shake the demigod because he is too strong and as a desperate attempt shoves his thumb into his eyes and breaks free. He does not have the strength to aim another arrow and slips on his own blood. I really loved how this series ended. It's so nostalgic and gives so much more to the universe. Apollo had some hard trials all right, but it ultimately changed him for the rest of his to-be-determined life. I really hope we'll see him again in upcoming books. (Because there will be upcoming books, mark my words). Rachel Elizabeth Dare lives right next door to the Kanes and she brings them up. Also, she's suspicious about their penguin. Jason Grace: A son of Jupiter. He helps Apollo, Meg, and Piper in The Burning Maze. He dies while assisting Apollo and trying to fight Caligula, as he and Piper were given a prophecy stating that one of them will undergo a three letter word that starts with D, which is revealed to be “die".

MAY I POINT OUT THAT IF YOU THROW AN APPLE AT SOMEONE IN ANCIENT GREECE YOU’RE ASKING THEM TO MARRY YOU. Zeus/ Jupiter | Hera/ Juno | Poseidon/ Neptune | Demeter/ Ceres | Ares/ Mars | Athena/ Minerva | Apollo/ Apollo (Roman) | Artemis/ Diana | Hephaestus/ Vulcan | Aphrodite/ Venus | Hermes/ Mercury | Dionysus/ Bacchus | Hades/ Pluto As the last book in the series, The Tower of Nero had a difficult job to accomplish. It isn't just the ending of a series, either, but rather the ending of an era, and the way it was done needed to be just right to reach the mark. I think it managed to close the story in a very neat way. During the battle of Nero’s tower, Cassius is seen by Austin Lake and Apollo and gives them the key card to the elevators leading to the private apartments of his family before running away.

I cannot say in good faith that this series hasn't been rather emotional and full of very hard and valuable lessons. It has. It more than has. Yet, it wasn't until this book that everything overflowed and we get the brunt of this journey. Can Apollo find his godly form again? Will Meg be able to face up to her troubled past? Destiny awaits….Not for me, though. I got a creaking seat on an Amtrak train and hours to binge-watch Meg’s stinky shoes.

Reyna & Thalia: Both of these powerful demigods are still part of Artemis’ Hunters, chasing the Teumessian Fox as it wreaks havoc wherever it goes. I’d also be happy with a standalone about either of these characters or the Hunters in general. Riordan showed the novel to the kids he was teaching: they approved. Riordan quit his job as a teacher after landing his book deal – “it was not enormous, but it was a lot of money for a middle-school teacher” – and spent the first few years touring relentlessly. By the third book, Riordan was starting to top the charts.I’m still incoherent. Sorry to everyone reading this. There’s going to be much more screaming and stuttering and internal struggle. I literally need to obsess over every detail.