Summary

Overview
The Son of Neptune (2011), a young adult fantasy novel by Rick Riordan, is the second entry in the five-
book Heroes of Olympus series, which succeeds Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The
plot follows Percy as he struggles with amnesia while trying to rescue Thanatos, the god of death, from
one of the Great Giants. Riordan's award-winning Percy Jackson novels have achieved worldwide
renown, and two of the stories were adapted into films.

When seventeen-year-old Percy Jackson awakens, he cannot remember anything about his past except
for a name: Annabeth. Despite this, he soon finds himself fighting for his life against Stheno and Euryale,
Gorgons who claim that he killed their sister, Medusa. Percy manages to run from them and encounters
an old lady. The lady introduces herself as June and tells him that he is a demigod.

June gives him a choice: Percy can escape to the sea, where he will live a happy life, or he can carry her
to Camp Jupiter. In exchange, she will help him recover his memories so he can save the world from a
growing threat. Percy chooses to carry June, but when they cross the Tiber River, Percy is stripped of the
Mark of Achilles (an invulnerability he previously gained from bathing in the River Styx).

When they reach Camp Jupiter, Percy is attacked again by the Gorgons, but he defeats them with the
help of Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang, two other demigods. When they enter the camp, June reveals
herself to be the goddess, Juno. She explains that Percy has been asleep for months and that he is
actually a son of the god Neptune. The various supervisors in the camp seem to know about Percy, but
will not reveal their knowledge. However, they do not know why his memory is gone.

Percy is accepted into the Fifth Cohort in the camp and excels during the war game. Afterward, Mars,
the god of war, appears and reveals that Frank is his son. He sends Frank on a quest to free Thanatos,
the god of death, according to a prophecy that reads, "Go to Alaska. Find Thanatos and free him. Come
back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die." Mars instructs Percy to go along; he knows that Percy
does not respect Ares, the Greek god of war, and wants Percy to learn respect for the Roman god of
war. Frank also asks for Hazel to go with them.

As the trio sails to Alaska, it is revealed that Hazel died during the twentieth century but was
resurrected. Percy also learns that Frank carries a stick that is connected to his life force; if the stick
were to completely burn, he would die. Frank, lacking self-confidence, feels inferior to Percy, but Mars
explains that the prophecy names seven demigods, each with their own skill and fatal flaw; Frank is a
crucial part of the prophecy precisely because he is different from Percy. Mars explains that Percy's fatal
flaw is loyalty, and it will be left to Frank to make a choice that Percy cannot. However, Mars says that
Frank must discover his own fatal flaw for himself.

Along the way, they meet a harpy named Ella; realizing that she has read the Sibylline Books of
prophecy, they decide to keep her with them. They go to Frank's grandmother's house, but find it
surrounded by giants. Fighting their way through, they enter the house and receive further instructions
from his grandmother and Mars. The must fight their way through the giants again when they leave, and
the house is burned in the process. Frank thinks he sees his grandmother flying above the fray in the
form of a buzzard.
Following their instructions, they board a plane for Alaska, but are forced to leave Ella behind when she
refuses to go on the plane. Once in Alaska, they board a train for the town of Seward, near the Hubbard
Glacier. When the train is attacked by gryphons, they must walk the rest of the way. Eventually, they
reach Seward and stay at Hazel's old house, where she receives visions of what her life would have been
like had she not died.

Finally, they make it to the glacier and find Thanatos being held captive by Alcyoneus, one of the
goddess Gaea's seven Great Giant children. Gaea is awakening them from their eons of sleep to help her
destroy the gods in a campaign that will also end the world. Thanatos explains that the chains holding
him can only be broken by the Fire of Life, so Frank burns some of his stick to break the chains.

During the ensuing battle, Hazel fights Alcyoneus while Percy fights against a multitude of shades. Frank
must choose which friend to help, and he chooses Hazel. Frank learns that his skill is the ability to shape-
shift into anything he chooses. He changes into an elephant, and he and Hazel defeat the giant. The trio
then gathers the lost armor of Imperial Gold, loading it into a chariot pulled by Hazel's horse, Arion.
Racing back to Camp Jupiter, they cover the journey in only four hours. Percy regains his memory during
this time.

When they arrive at the camp, they find that it is under attack from Gorgons and Cyclops. Distributing
the armor to the campers, they succeed in defending their home. Later that night, Percy is visited in a
dream by the goddess Hera, who explains her vision of Percy uniting the Greeks and Romans. As the
novel ends, Percy, Frank, and Hazel await the arrival of Percy's "other family" (including Annabeth) from
Camp Half-Blood. The story continues in the next book, The Mark of Athena.

Chapter 1 – Percy I

Chapter 2 – Percy II

Chapter 3 – Percy III

Chapter 4 – Percy IV

Chapter 5 – Hazel V

Chapter 6 – Hazel VI

Chapter 7 – Hazel VII

Chapter 8 – Hazel VIII

Chapter 9 – Frank IX

Chapter 10 – Frank X

Chapter 11 – Frank XI

Chapter 12 – Frank XII

Chapter 13 – Percy XIII

Chapter 14 – Percy XIV

Chapter 15 – Percy XV

Chapter 16 – Percy XVI

Chapter 17 – Hazel XVII

Chapter 18 – Hazel XVII

Chapter 19 – Hazel XIX

Chapter 20 – Hazel XX

Chapter 21 – Frank XXI

Chapter 22 – Frank XXII

Chapter 23 – Frank XXIII

Chapter 24 – Frank XXIV

Chapter 25 – Percy XXV

Chapter 26 – Percy XXVI

Chapter 27 – Percy XXVII

Chapter 28 – Percy XXVIII

Chapter 29 – Hazel XXIX

Chapter 30 – Hazel XXX

Chapter 31 – Hazel XXXI

Chapter 32 – Hazel XXXII

Chapter 33 – Frank XXXIII

Chapter 34 – Frank XXXIV

Chapter 35 – Frank XXXV

Chapter 36 – Frank XXXVI

Chapter 37 – Percy XXXVII

Chapter 38 – Percy XXXVIII

Chapter 39 – Percy XXXIX

Chapter 40 – Percy XL

Chapter 41 – Hazel XLI

Chapter 42 – Hazel XLII

Chapter 43 – Hazel XLIII

Chapter 44 – Hazel XLIV

Chapter 45 – Frank XLV

Chapter 46 – Frank XLVI

Chapter 47 – Frank XLVII

Chapter 48 – Frank XLVIII

Chapter 49 – Percy XLIX

Chapter 50 – Percy L

Chapter 51 – Percy LI

Chapter 52 – Percy LII