The Son of Neptune

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2011

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Chapters 13-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 13 Summary: “Percy”

Percy dreams of a faun named Grover who tells him they are close to finding him. Annabeth appears, telling him, “Stay put!” (150) so that someone named Tyson can find him. The dream shifts to a woman disguised inside the landscape of the Berkeley Hills. She tells Percy that he is the key to the god’s defeat. He then sees a camp like Camp Jupiter where a giant waits for Percy to arrive for a battle.

On the way to the senate meeting, Percy meets Terminus, a god that appears as a stone statue that guards the city of New Rome. Percy is surprised by the families living in New Rome, and it gives him hope for his future in a way he cannot explain.

Chapter 14 Summary: “Percy”

At the senate meeting, there is debate over whether Frank should lead the quest as Mars requested. Frank is rewarded for the victory at the war games and is promoted to centurion so that he can lead the quest. Octavian questions Frank, making it clear he does not believe Frank is capable of a successful quest even with his chosen companions, Hazel and Percy. During the questioning, Hazel and Percy reveal that they believe they are to go to Alaska and that the name of the giant they will face is Alcyoneus. Nico supports these assertions by citing events related to the first giant war, but he expresses concern that Alcyoneus cannot be killed in his home territory. Nico also explains that Thanatos is not the god of the Underworld but is the god who catches souls attempting to escape. Nico tells them that once Thanatos is free, he can send the escaped souls back to the Underworld and that the dead will stay dead, but that the Doors of Death must be closed, except no one knows where they are. Octavian argues that the quest is unlikely to be successful and suggests the senate not give any money to it. Reyna, who recognizes that the quest is part of the Prophecy of the Seven, holds a vote to give Frank, Percy, and Hazel a boat to use.

Chapter 15 Summary: “Percy”

Reyna requests to see Percy alone in the principia. Reyna reveals to Percy that she knows him because he and Annabeth destroyed a spa where she and her sister, Hylla, made their home four years ago. Reyna gives him her ring and asks him to stop in Seattle to ask Hylla for help. She then asks Percy that if he survives his quest, would he consider running for praetor. There will be an election on the Feast of Fortuna to replace Jason Grace, and she knows Octavian will run. She says she does not want Octavian to win. She feels she could do a better job with Percy at her side. Percy is not interested but tells Reyna he will consider it.

Chapter 16 Summary: “Percy”

Percy runs into Terminus again when he, Frank, and Hazel leave Camp Jupiter. They take a train down to Oakland and walk to the Alameda docks where the Twelfth keeps their navy. The navy consists of an “old steel rowboat with no oars” (188). Percy uses his abilities to clean it up and power it over the water. As they set off, Percy hears Gaea’s voice in his head calling him her pawn.

Chapters 13-16 Analysis

Percy’s dream connects him to his past, as he remembers his friend Grover and his girlfriend Annabeth. These murky connections serve to bridge Percy’s past to his present, while also leaving clues as to his identity. While he doesn’t fully understand the dream and its contents, he understands that he is being looked for and that Gaea is a force to be stopped.

When Gaea appears in his dream, Percy doesn’t immediately name her, but the fact that she appears as a shape in the landscape implies her identity. As the earth goddess, she controls the land and everything connected to it. As Nico explained, she is not fully awake, therefore her powers are limited. Yet, she can speak with Percy and others through their dreams. Hazel’s own role in the quest is signified as she identifies Alcyoneus immediately during a senate meeting.

Octavian proves himself to be a great speaker, but an opponent of what Percy and his friends are trying to do when he speaks against the quest during the senate meeting. Octavian is not someone Reyna trusts and who has the Twelfth Legion’s best interests at heart. His interests are selfish and although Percy recognizes these things, the sense of urgency in the narrative has him focusing his attention on the quest ahead. Octavian is a string to be tied later, but the survival of the world is Percy’s priority, indicating his understanding of the inner machinations and scheming behind closed doors while also understanding what needs to take precedent.

Nico’s characterization as mysterious and suspicious is continued as he reveals his knowledge concerning Thanatos and the Doors of Death. That Nico understands that the open Doors of Death must be closed indicates his greater knowledge of the war as a whole and its implications. The revelation adds to the sense of hopelessness for the demigods, as they realize that even if they are successful in their current quest, the future relies on them finding and closing the Doors of Death to stop Gaea from building her army and defeating the gods.

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