Tests of Apollo. Secret oracle

God Apollo falls into the trash in the lane of New York , after which he has extremely vague recollections of how his father Zeus punished him. He learns that he was turned into a mortal teenager named Lester Papadopoulos. In the alleyway, two bandits are trying to rob Apollo, but a young girl named Meg McCaffrey rescues him, using fruit to drive the bandits away. Meg demands Apollo to serve her, as a result of which he becomes connected with her until his debt is paid. With the help of the demigod, Percy Jackson , Apollo and Meg are sent to the Half-Blood Camp, a safe place for the demigods. Upon arrival, Apollo discovers that the Delphic Oracle inside Rachel Elizabeth Der can no longer deliver prophecies. Similarly, the demigods have lost the ability to send messages through the mail of Irida . The centaur Chiron also mentions that camp dwellers often began to disappear into the forest. Later it turns out that Meg is the daughter of Demeter , the goddess of agriculture.

The next day, Apollo tries to practice music and archery, however, being imperfect in his possession, he vows on the Styx River to never use a bow or musical instrument until he becomes god again. During the “three-leg race” in the Labyrinth , Apollo and Meg end up in Delphi . They overhear the conversation of the city guard, Python with a certain "Beast", intending to gain control of all the oracles and destroy the Dodona grove. Apollo and Meg escape from the Labyrinth, but then they find out that the children of Apollo, Kyle and Austin, disappeared without a trace. When Rachel arrives at the camp, she discovers that the secretive company, Triumvirate Holdings, has plotted against the gods and is trying to control all the oracles, starting with Dodona, who is in the camp and attracts tourists. The next day, Apollo and Meg set off in search of the grove, but they were attacked by the Myrmecians who abduct Meg. Apollo is trying to return to the camp, but hallucinations begin to overcome him. Before losing consciousness, he meets Rhea , who gives him the bells to plant the largest tree in Dodona's grove, and teleports him back to the camp. Waking up, he learns that the leader of the Triumvirate Holdings is Emperor Nero .

Apollo returns to the forest and finds the Mirmek lair, saving Meg. They discover the entrance to the grove along with the missing demigods. Nero appears, who turns out to be the “Beast” and Meg's stepfather, who forces Apollo to open the gates of Dodona. Nero is trying to burn the grove, but Carp Peach, a friend of Meg, attacks him before he realizes his plan. Nero and Apollo do not fight each other for long, after which the emperor uses the Greek fire in his last attempt to destroy the grove. The Dryads come to the rescue, consuming fire in order to save the grove at the cost of their own lives. Apollo helps Meg to place the bells on the largest tree that reveals the prophecy of Apollo. Meg frees him from service and runs away. Later, Nero sends the Colossus of Nero to destroy the camp, but with the help of Percy and other inhabitants, Apollo defeats the statue, striking it with an arrow enchanted with disease. The next morning, Leo Valdez and Calypso return to the Half-Blood Camp, and both decide to help Apollo in his quest to save the Trophonic Oracle ^[1] .

• Apollo / Lester Papadopoulos is the main character. One of the twelve Olympians . He was expelled from Olympus by his father Zeus , who turned him into a mortal teenager after the end of the war with Gaia in " Blood of Olympus ". Zeus accuses him of encouraging the actions of his descendant Augur Octavian, as well as for prematurely revealing the " Prophecies of the Seven ." Lester is a narcissistic 16-year-old overweight teenager with curly brown hair, blue eyes, and acne.
• Meg McCaffrey is the 12-year-old daughter of Demeter , the goddess of agriculture. Her father was killed by the Beast, and subsequently she was adopted by the emperor Nero, not suspecting that he was the Beast. She owns a pair of sickle-shaped rings that can turn into sickles of imperial gold, Roman sacred metal, a gift from Nero.
• Peach - Carpoi (grain spirit), which Meg unwittingly causes after it, Leicester and Percy attack Kera , the spirits of the disease. Appears whenever Meg is in danger.
• Nero is the main antagonist. He is a descendant of Apollo and the Roman emperor, notorious for his love of tyranny and luxury and little concern for his subjects. Along with two other emperors, Nero influenced many events in history through the Triumvirate Holdings, using the company to finance the rebellion of Luca Castellan during the events of the Percy Jackson and Olympians cycle, as well as the war of Octavian and Camp Jupiter during the events of the series Heroes of Olympus . Because of his fame, he has always been worshiped throughout history, so he cannot die. He calls himself the emperor god.

In October 2015, during the Sword of Summer promo tour, the first book of the Magnus Chase and Gods of Asgard series, Rick Riordan announced that he was working on a new series of five books, the main character of which would be Apollo. The first novel, entitled “The Secret Oracle,” was scheduled for release on May 3, 2016 ^[2] .

Soon after the publication of Blood of Olympus, Riordan revealed that he was working on a series of Trials of Apollo , a new saga of five books dedicated to Apollo and Greek mythology . According to Riordan, he wanted to write more books about Percy Jackson after writing the book Greek Gods. Percy Jackson's Tales ”, having come across a myth about how Zeus punishes Apollo, turning him into a mortal. This idea interested Riordan and he decided to “punish poor Apollo for the third time and write a series on his behalf, the recently expelled 16-year-old mortal” ^[3] . However, the author promised the return of characters from the series of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus ^[4] . Each chapter began with a “bad haiku ”, since Apollo was the god of poetry ^[2] .

The cover, created by John Rocco, was published on October 10, 2015, showing two versions of Apollo in New York Lane ^[5] . Two months later, on December 10, USA Today provided a third chapter for free download ^[3] . The first chapter was released along with a collection of short stories “Demigods and Mages” on April 5, 2016 ^[6] . In addition, three trailers were posted on YouTube to promote the book ^[7] . On the day the book was published, an event dedicated to the Secret Oracle was held at the Garavard bookstore ^[8] .

The Secret Oracle was released in the United States by Disney-Hyperion on May 3, 2016. ^[9] On the same day, Books on Tape published an audio book read by Robbie Diamond ^{[10] [11]} . On May 4, Thorndike Press published a hardcover print. The book was also published in electronic format and with a paperback, and was translated into 19 languages ^[9] .

Various gifts were attached to the purchase of copies of the first edition, which varied depending on where the book was bought: a letter from Apollo Zeus to Barnes & Noble , an illustrated map of Apollo’s tests at the Half-Blood Camp in Target , a bumper sticker depicting Apollo in Books-A- Million , double-sided bookmarks with the divine and mortal incarnations of Apollo at Walmart and an illustrated poster featuring plague spirits at Costco ^[12] .

In the first week of the release of The Secret Oracle, more than 62,000 copies were sold ^[13] . With the release, the book topped the bestseller list for The New York Times ^[14] and Publishers Weekly for 32 weeks, ^{[15] [16]} ranked second for USA Today ^[17] and Amazon ^[18] .

Lexile rated the book at 680L, which makes it suitable for readers from 11 to 13 years old ^[19] . Most reviewers call this material suitable for grades 5–8, as well as for children from 3 to 12 years old ^{[20] [21] [22]} .

The novel received positive reviews. Many reviewers emphasized the novel as a pleasant continuation of Riordan's previous works. April Spicak stated the following in her review for The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books : “Riordan fans will find all the key elements: sarcastic narrative, becoming a loser hero ... the mythological core and interesting secondary characters” ^[20] . At the same time, The Guardian praised Riordan’s ability to “dilute with humor even the most tragic moments” in his works ^[23] . Booklist Sarah Hunter praised how Riordan mixed comedic elements with “Greek myths throughout history [which] add some emotional depth to Apollo’s conceited behavior” ^[24] .

Critics also praised the narrative on behalf of the god Apollo, noting a major change from earlier books. Hypable's Karen Ruth praised Apollo for describing the story as different from Riordan's presentation of the story through the demigods: “watching Percy Jackson through the eyes of the former god is both fun and charming” ^[25] . Kirkus also included the story as one of the novel’s strengths, noting that Apollo boasted of his own “divine virtues (including his open bisexuality), and also complained about his current position as a slave to Meg” ^[22] . Aditi Saha from The Times of India named Apollo the best character in Riordan, whose "love of poetry, sarcasm and selfishness will make any reader fall in love with his unusual charm." He also praised the "image of Greek mythology with a developed world", but criticized the lack of old characters ^[26] . Similarly, Carrie R. Whedon from Common Sense Media spoke positively about the story, but, unlike Saha, she felt that “thanks to the balance between mythological battles with monsters and character development, humor and pathos, the beginning of a side spin-off will not disappoint long-time fans Riordana ” ^[27] .

Reviewers praised other differences from previous work of Riordan. In an article for the School Library Journal, Beth L. Meister noted interesting features of the characters, in particular Apollo’s thoughts about his bisexuality ^[28] . According to Katherine Szabo of Kidsreads , adding racial diverse and LGBT characters was an “innovative solution.” She also praised the fact that the book was shorter than previous novels ^[29] .

The audiobook was also greeted with positive reviews. Publishers Weekly noted that “Robbie Damond’s narrative was delightful: he is lively and cheerful, perfectly plays the attractive and pompous Apollo” ^[30] . In their AudioFile review, they also praised Damon’s game, saying that “Riordan’s amusing description and Damond’s narrative allow the listener to always remain on the side of Apollo when he learns to do without his divine gifts” ^[31] . The Secret Oracle was awarded the Goodreads Choice Award in 2016 ^[32] .

May 5, 2016 Riordan announced the release of the second book from the cycle of the Test of Apollo , entitled " Dark Prophecy " ^[33] . The cover and the first chapter were published on December 22, 2016 ^{[34] [35]} . Dark Prophecy was released on May 2, 2017, and over the first week more than 63,000 copies were sold ^[36] . The third book, The Burning Maze , was released May 1, 2018. The fourth book, “The Tomb of the Tyrant,” will be released on September 24, 2019.

• Hidden Oracle on Read Riordan.com
• Rick Riordan at Internet Speculative Fiction Database