The Burning Maze facts for kids
U.S. cover of first edition.
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| Author | Rick Riordan |
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| Cover artist | John Rocco |
| Country | United States |
| Series | The Trials of Apollo (book 3) |
| Genre | Fantasy, Greek and Roman mythology, Young adult |
| Publisher | Disney Hyperion |
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Publication date
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May 1, 2018 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book |
| Pages | 448 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 978-1-4847-4643-1 |
| Preceded by | The Dark Prophecy |
| Followed by | The Tyrant's Tomb |
The Burning Maze is an American fantasy novel based on Greek and Roman mythology written by American author Rick Riordan. It was published on May 1, 2018, and is the third book in The Trials of Apollo series, the second spin-off of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series.
The story follows the Greek god Apollo, turned into a human teenager named Lester Papadopoulos, in his quest to free five oracles of Ancient Greece from Triumvirate Holdings, a group of three evil Roman Emperors, in order to regain his immortality. Joined by the demigod Meg McCaffrey and the satyr Grover Underwood, Apollo goes to the Labyrinth in search of the Oracle of Erythraea, the next Oracle to be rescued.
The novel was published in hardcover, audiobook, ebook, and large-print editions and the cover was illustrated by John Rocco. The Burning Maze received positive reviews from critics, who praised Apollo's narration and the book's humor. It was a bestseller on Amazon.
Plot summary
The story begins a few days after the events of the previous book, "The Dark Prophecy". Apollo, in the body of the 16-year-old Lester Papadopoulos, ventures through the Labyrinth with 12-year-old Meg McCaffrey and the satyr, Grover Underwood in a bid to find the third emperor of the Triumvirate Holdings. As the trio face a continuous attack of strigae, Grover unleashes the cry of Pan, the lost god of the wild, and brings them to Aeithales, which is later revealed to be Meg's former home. Mellie, the wife of the satyr Hedge, asks Apollo and Grover to go and check up on Hedge, who is in an army surplus store nearby. The duo goes there, only to face Naevius Sutorius Macro. They escape, when seemingly, a centaur, comes and contacts somebody. They head back, and Apollo reveals that the "centaur" is a horse, Incitatus, and the third emperor is Caligula, the most feared Roman emperor, famous for his murderous reign and insanity.
Mellie reveals that Jason Grace and Piper McLean had gone into the Labyrinth. Apollo and Meg pick up Piper, who is moving away to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and Jason, who is at school and occasionally has fights with monsters disguised as teachers. Jason secretly tells Apollo that he had met with Herophile, the sibyl inside the Labyrinth, who told him that when the next time the duo comes, one of them will die. Fearing Piper's demise, Jason keeps this to himself.
Apollo, Meg, Jason, and Piper sneak into Caligula's ship to steal his shoes, which are a priority according to the Dark Prophecy. All of them are captured by Pandai, loyal servants to Caligula. They escape with the help of Crest, a friendly Pandai and Apollo find the shoes, but then they are captured by Incitatus and taken to Caligula. Jason engages Caligula in a one-sided battle, only to be stabbed twice by Caligula. Jason calls his venti (air spirit, usually a horse) before dying, helping the others escape. Upon reaching Piper's home in Malibu, Piper blames Apollo as the reason for Jason's death.
Apollo, Meg, Grover, and Crest enter the Labyrinth and are faced with riddles that seemingly lead to Herophile's prison. However, Apollo gives the wrong answer to one of them. Facing certain death, Apollo decides to find the cause of the flames that have been engulfing the southern lands for a long time and discovers the dead but still burning body of Helios, the lost former god of the sun being used by Medea, a witch whom they had a short run-in with, and Apollo promises to exact revenge for Helios.
The trio reaches the Herophile and is faced with another prophecy. They get out with the help of Meliai, ash-tree spirits Meg had earlier planted. They kill Medea, Incitatus but lose Crest's life. Apollo and Meg entrust Aiethales's safety with the Melai and continue their journeys. Piper moves away, Jason's body is given to Apollo for burial at Camp Jupiter, and Leo takes Hedge, Mellie, and Piper to Oklahoma.
Characters
- Apollo / Lester Papadopoulos – one of the Twelve Olympians, Apollo was cast down from Olympus and turned into a human named Lester by Zeus after the war against Gaea in The Blood of Olympus. Like Lester, he has to free the five Oracles that have gone dark, the Sibyl Herophile being one of them. Caligula requires his essence (along with that of Helios) to make himself a sun god.
- Meg McCaffrey – a 12-year-old daughter of Demeter.
- Grover Underwood – Satyr, Lord of the Wild.
- Piper McLean – Daughter of Aphrodite with the rare gift of charm speak.
- Jason Grace – The demigod son of Jupiter, the Roman aspect of Zeus.
- Caligula – The main antagonist. He is a legacy of Apollo and a Roman Emperor, infamous for his tyranny and insanity. Alongside Nero and Commodus, Caligula has influenced many events in history through Triumvirate Holdings.
- Medea: A Roman sorceress who decides to help Caligula to become the new sun god.
Sequel
The sequel, The Tyrant's Tomb, was released on September 24, 2019.
