The Dark Prophecy

“Being productive. Ugh. It’s such a human concept. It implies you have limited time (LOL) and have to work hard to make something happen (double LOL).”

An example of how Riordan uses Apollo’s quirky voice to generate humor in the text, this line also shows Apollo’s struggle with adjusting to human life. For gods, productivity is a laughable concept since they have infinite time and ability. What Apollo does not realize yet—but the text subtly implies—is that the excess of time tends to take away purpose from immortality. Humans can build purposeful life precisely because they must live in the present and work hard to achieve their goals.

“(She loves those dramatic entrances. She is such an anime-character wannabe.)”

These bracketed lines show how Apollo often breaks the fourth wall, addressing readers in an aside and thus bringing them close to his point of view. Here he dubs the goddess Britomartis as an aspiring character from anime cartoons since she likes making grand, cinematic entrances. Apollo’s reference to anime will delight young readers since it is contemporary and relevant.

“I wanted to believe Meg was rebelling against Nero. […] Unfortunately, I knew firsthand how hard it was to extricate oneself from an unhealthy relationship. Nero’s hooks were buried deep in the girl’s psyche.”

Apollo does not judge Meg for struggling to overcome Nero’s influence. As the child of a temperamental, punishing father, he knows how difficult it is to quell the need for parental approval even when the parent is cruel. Apollo’s quote highlights the text’s key motifs of abusive parenting and the complex nature of trauma.