The Last Olympian

“‘Let’s go blow Kronos back into a million pieces.’” 

The author quickly establishes the colloquial, humorous tone of the characters, in this case Charles Beckendorf. Although Charles and other characters are demigods, they speak in the contemporary parlance. In serious or dangerous situations, dialogue often serves to break the tension. 

“His eyes were bright green, like that stuff they put in glo-sticks, and his teeth were shark teeth. They don’t show you stuff like that in The Little Mermaid.” 

Percy describes a merman in Poseidon’s underwater kingdom. Magical creatures are a central motif of the novel, some of whom are enemies while others are allies. In this case, the merman, though terrifying, is an ally of the Olympians. 

“There was little laughter at camp these days. Even the Hermes cabin didn’t play so many pranks.” 

As the Titans wage war against the Olympians, the rest of the world feels the effects. Even the demigods at camp suffer the consequences. In this way, Riordan shows how far-reaching the effects of this war are. He creates tension by demonstrating how important it is for the demigods to defeat the Titans.