The Son of Neptune: Chapters 40–52

by Rick Riordan
In this second book of The Heroes of Olympus series, Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang, recognized as the children of Roman gods at Camp Jupiter, journey to Alaska to free Thanatos, the god of death.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–15, Chapters 16–27, Chapters 28–39, Chapters 40–52

Here are links to our lists for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. alabaster
    a fine-textured white gypsum used for carving
    In the starlight, Frank’s face might have been alabaster, like an old Roman statue.
  2. dire
    fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless
    She hadn’t thought about this boggy soil—muskeg—since before she had died. Now, too late, she remembered the dire warnings the locals had given her.
  3. traipse
    walk or tramp about
    They thought about stopping there, but Hazel didn’t think it would be a good idea to traipse into the lobby covered in mud, nor was she sure the hotel would give a room to three minors.
  4. perforated
    having a number or series of holes
    The walls were perforated with holes like buckshot.
  5. molder
    decay or break down
    Mouldering cardboard boxes were stacked along the walls. Their faded labels read: Greeting Cards, Assorted Seasonal.
  6. prospect
    explore for useful or valuable things or substances
    Hazel put the gold prospecting sign back over her mementos.
  7. ration
    the food allowance for one day
    From a hunting store, he’d gotten a new quiver of arrows for himself, some rations, and a coil of rope.
  8. treacherous
    dangerously unstable and unpredictable
    “Even if you could,” Hazel said, “from what the captains tell me, it’s treacherous—icebergs, mazes of channels to navigate. You’d have to know where you were going.”
  9. precariously
    in a manner affording no ease or reassurance
    They climbed on, Hazel in front, Frank and Percy balancing precariously behind her.
  10. fjord
    a long narrow inlet of the sea between steep cliffs
    They raced through icy straits, past blue fjords and cliffs with waterfalls spilling into the sea.
  11. gorge
    a deep ravine, usually with a river running through it
    In a massive valley between two of the largest peaks, a ragged wall of ice rose out of the sea, filling the entire gorge.
  12. nicker
    make a soft sound characteristic of a horse
    Arion nickered.
    “Jeez, Hazel,” Percy said, “tell your horse to watch his language.”
  13. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
    Frank looked incredulous. “I thought the horse couldn’t fly!”
  14. oppressive
    weighing heavily on the senses or spirit
    She remembered the cave in Resurrection Bay where she’d worked to raise Alcyoneus—the oppressive sense of malice and the constant boom, boom, boom, like Gaea’s heartbeat.
  15. skittish
    unpredictably excitable, especially of horses
    Arion trotted skittishly.
  16. insignificant
    of little importance or influence or power; of minor status
    It was an exact replica of Camp Jupiter, except three times as big. Even on horseback, Hazel felt tiny and insignificant, as if they were moving through a model city constructed by the gods.
  17. lenient
    characterized by tolerance and mercy
    But she also had a feeling that if she didn’t see the quest through, if she didn’t face her fate bravely, she would still die—in cowardice and failure. The judges of the dead wouldn’t be lenient to her a second time.
  18. disquiet
    a feeling of mild anxiety about possible developments
    Arion cantered back and forth, sensing her disquiet.
  19. insignia
    a distinguishing mark or symbol
    Others carried standards and insignia Hazel didn’t recognize, as if they’d died at different times, on different quests—maybe not even from Camp Jupiter.
  20. manacle
    shackle that can be locked around the wrist
    The god’s wrists were shackled in icy manacles, with chains that ran straight into the glacier floor.
  21. treason
    an act of deliberate betrayal
    For treason against the gods, they will face eternal punishment.
  22. bane
    something causing misery or death
    I am Alcyoneus, the bane of Pluto, the new master of Death.
  23. cleave
    separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    Arion was playing a dangerous game of tag, charging around the giant while Alcyoneus swiped at them with his staff, knocking over walls and cleaving massive chasms in the ice.
  24. oversight
    an unintentional omission from failure to notice something
    “Pluto gives me specific orders for escaped souls, you see. For some reason, he has not issued a warrant for yours. Perhaps he feels your life is not finished, or it could be an oversight. If you’d like me to call and ask—”
  25. luster
    the property of something that shines with reflected light
    His wounds had healed, though his golden skin had lost some of its luster.
  26. flotsam
    the floating wreckage of a ship
    He stood at the edge of the glacier, leaning on the staff with the golden eagle, gazing down at the wreckage he’d caused: several hundred acres of newly open water dotted with icebergs and flotsam from the ruined camp.
  27. miffed
    aroused to impatience or anger
    He was still looking at Frank like he was miffed. “I got a bone to pick with you, Zhang. You can turn into an eagle? And a bear?”
  28. speculate
    talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way
    Percy knew that giants couldn’t die unless demigods and gods fought them together. Nico had told him that. Annabeth had mentioned it too, back in August, when she’d speculated that the giants might be part of the new Great Prophecy—what the Romans called the Prophecy of Seven.
  29. onslaught
    an offensive against an enemy
    Veteran demigods from the city had joined the battle, and were pushing their shield wall against an onslaught of wild centaurs.
  30. brunt
    the main part, especially of a force or shock
    The legion itself was taking the brunt of the attack, but their formation was breaking.
  31. trepidation
    a feeling of alarm or dread
    Frank looked at Tyson with trepidation. “I just...don’t want our friend here getting hurt. Is Tyson a fighter?”
  32. barrage
    the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area
    The remaining Earthborn threw barrage after barrage of stone and mud.
  33. intersperse
    place between or among
    Interspersed among their ranks were a dozen battle forklifts, their sharpened tines gleaming in the sunset and flaming bolts nocked in their crossbows.
  34. torrent
    a violently fast stream of water or other liquid
    The giant thrust his hand under the water. As the torrent passed through his fingers it turned dark green.
  35. upstart
    an arrogant or presumptuous person
    The giant stepped on the statue and broke Terminus in three pieces—pedestal, body, and head.
    “You DIDN’T!” shouted Terminus. “Percy Jackson, you’ve got yourself a deal! Let’s kill this upstart.”
  36. lavish
    characterized by extravagance and profusion
    Campers, Amazons and Lares crowded the mess hall for a lavish dinner.
  37. reinstate
    bring back into original existence, function, or position
    There was even talk about reinstating Frank’s great-grandfather, Shen Lun, to the legion’s roll of honor.
  38. obstinate
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
    My proud and obstinate husband refuses to ask mere demigods for help again.
  39. duly
    in an appropriate or proper manner
    Percy Jackson is your duly chosen praetor. We will trust his word—unless we are given clear reason not to.
  40. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
    Her expression turned a little wistful. “You say Jason is aboard... I hope that’s true. I’ve missed him.”
Created on Wed Jun 01 21:00:13 EDT 2016 (updated Sun Aug 27 11:33:16 EDT 2023)

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