The Titan's Curse

Percy tries to use his empathy link with Grover to mentally signal to him that he’s being kidnapped along with the di Angelo children by Dr. Thorn. The telepathic link helped Grover to appear in Percy’s dreams the previous summer when he was in trouble.

Thorn leads them to a cliff, and Percy considers jumping into the water since his father is the god of the sea and could help save them. Thorn tells them he will kill them if they try. Thorn says that the General will explain what is happening and mentions the “Great Stirring” of monsters has begun. Soon, he explains, Olympus will fall.

Just then, Annabeth, wearing her hat that makes her invisible, runs into Percy, Bianca, and Nico, making them fall and avoiding Dr. Thorn’s volley of poisoned missiles. Thalia also appears with a spear and her shield and begins fighting Dr. Thorn. Annabeth reveals that Dr. Thorn is a monster called a manticore.

Eventually, Dr. Thorn disarms Thalia, and the demigods are trapped when Percy hears a hunting horn being blown. A group of young women appear and shoot arrows at the manticore. Even though they tell Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia to get out of the way, Annabeth jumps onto the manticore’s back, going over the cliff with the manticore when the hunters push him back.

Percy tries to jump over too to save her, but he is told that Annabeth is beyond him. Yelling at the group of hunters, he asks, “Who do you think you are?” (27). One, Zoë Nightshade, steps forward to yell at him for his disrespect, when the leader of the group explains that it appears he doesn’t know who they are. She then introduces herself as Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.

Percy is shocked that the young woman in front of him is Artemis. She leads the group of young women who accompany her, which is known as the “Hunters of Artemis.”

Artemis asks Bianca who her and Nico’s parents are, and Bianca says that their parents are dead. Zoë tells her that this isn’t true and that one of her parents is a Greek god. Thalia adds that it can be difficult to understand and that it can be more dangerous for demigods. Bianca starts to realize what this means for her and her brother, saying, “Dangerous, like the girl who fell” (30).

Artemis notes that she felt some magic at work and thinks that Annabeth didn’t die, so she plans to look for her.

Nico wonders about the manticore, and he and Bianca remember how many times they’ve been chased, understanding now it was monsters after them. Grover reveals that he is a satyr and is there to protect them. Percy adds that they came to bring the di Angelos to Camp Half-Blood. Zoë suggests that there is another option, but Thalia cuts her off. Percy thinks that the two of them must have some history together, given the anger apparent between them.

Artemis tells Zoë to get the di Angelos’ belongings from the school and says that they should set up camp. She also wishes to speak with Bianca. Grover agrees to watch Nico.

Thalia expresses her distaste for the hunters, but when Percy tries to agree, Thalia yells at him for going after Dr. Thorn without backup. She implies that Annabeth would still be alive if he had waited and storms off. Left alone, Percy finds Annabeth’s cap of invisibility in the snow.

As camp is set up, Percy worries that Thalia is right. He talks with Grover and Nico until Zoë tells him that Artemis wishes to speak with him. In her tent, Artemis asks him to recount what Dr. Thorn said. When he mentions the monster that will bring down Olympus, Artemis confides that she has been worried about it too and has decided to go hunt it. She says, “I will find this creature. And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in” (40). While she searches, the Hunters will stay at Camp Half-Blood even though they hate it.

The goddess then turns to Bianca and asks if she has made up her mind. Percy is confused, until Bianca reveals that she has been asked to join the Hunt. Percy tries to convince her to come to Camp Half-Blood and to stay with her brother, but Artemis offers immortality and a chance at a new family. Zoë also tells Percy that any young woman who worships Artemis can join. Bianca takes the oath and becomes a Hunter.

Lastly, Artemis calls for her brother Apollo, the god of the sun, to bring the Hunters, Percy, Nico, Thalia, and Grover back to Camp Half-Blood.

Apollo arrives, melting the snow around his chariot that pulls the sun. The chariot appears as Percy’s favorite car, a Maserati Spyder. After finding that Artemis wants Apollo to take them to Camp Half-Blood, he recites a haiku, saying, “Green grass breaks through snow. / Artemis pleads for my help. / I am so cool” (47). Artemis points out the last line was only four syllables, and Apollo rephrases it as “I am so awesome” (47).

The car changes into a van so everyone can fit. Artemis puts Zoë in charge of the Hunters and reminds Apollo that “[y]ou do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart” (49). She runs off to begin chasing the monster.

Nico questions Apollo about the sun and how the chariot works, and Apollo explains that it is powered by human dreams about the sun, saying, “The chariot is a manifestation of the sun’s power, the way mortals perceive it” (51). He then tells Nico he’s too young to drive it.

He asks Thalia how old she is, and she says she isn’t sure since she’s been stuck in a tree for the last seven years. Chiron—their mentor at camp—told her that she had probably aged while in tree form but much more slowly. Apollo, using his powers as god of prophecy, looks at her and says that she is 15 but about to turn 16 in about a week. This makes her old enough to drive the chariot. Apollo tells her to take the reins, despite her reticence.

Their trip from Cape Cod to Long Island is bumpy, with Thalia lighting a few trees on fire, but she eventually lands at Camp Half-Blood.

When they arrive at Camp Half-Blood, the Hunters immediately take off for Cabin Eight, which is dedicated to Artemis. Bianca tries to tell Nico something, but he turns away, clearly upset that she joined the Hunt.

Apollo looks at Percy and says, “Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I’ll see you soon” (57). Percy tries to ask what he means, but Apollo has already turned his attention to Thalia, telling her to be good.

The camp is relatively empty, with only the kids who stay there year-round present since it’s winter. Thalia, Percy, and Nico approach the Big House, which is where Mr. D (Dionysus), the camp director, and Chiron can usually be found. Grover also returns from escorting the Hunters, and Chiron tells him to take Nico while Percy and Thalia explain what happened.

Once they finish, Chiron tells Mr. D that they should start looking for Annabeth, but Mr. D decides that it’s too risky. Percy yells at him, saying, “You’re glad to lose another camper. You’d like it if we all disappeared” (61). Just then, Nico comes back in, having watched the orientation film for the camp and distracting Mr. D from whatever he was going to do to Percy.

Chiron says that they’ll play Capture the Flag the next evening as part of a tradition whenever the Hunters visit. Thalia and Percy leave to tell the rest of the camp about the game, agreeing to be co-captains.

Percy goes around to each cabin, all of which are dedicated to one god and serve as a place for their kids when they’re at Camp Half-Blood. He then stops at Cabin Three, which is his cabin, discovering a fountain and a reminder to call his family. He takes a golden drachma and tosses it into the mist of the fountain as an offering to Iris. This also allows him to talk to whomever he wants through the mist. He calls his half-brother Tyson.

Tyson works in the forges of the cyclops and tells Percy that he is helping their father prepare for war. Ancient sea spirits are teaming up with Luke, a son of Hermes who was trying to bring Kronos the Titan back. Kronos wanted to overthrow Mount Olympus. Luke’s boat, the Princess Andromeda, was in the Panama Canal, but Poseidon, the god of the sea, couldn’t destroy it because it was being protected by ancient magic.

That night, Percy dreams that Annabeth is in danger and that Luke is responsible for it.