The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4)
by Rick Riordan

3 out of 5 stars

Zeus punishes Apollo by turning him into a mortal human. Apollo must complete various trials and serve a demigod named Meg, so that he can regain his godly status. In this fourth book of the series, Meg and Apollo are trying to turn back the zombie forces of the Triumvirate from attacking New Rome. A prophecy tells them that if they can capture the breath of a dying god, they could summon godly help to face Caligula’s armies.
Apollo and Meg are joined by Hazel, Frank, and Reyna in their quest. Lavinia, a lesbian with a crush on a Poison Oak dryad, breaks all the rules of the 12th Legion to help Meg and Apollo sneak in and out of New Rome on their quest.

As always the adventure is exciting, and I liked learning about even more obscure Greek and Roman legendary creatures and myths.
I really loved the hilarious narration from Apollo’s perspective! He is so ridiculous sometimes, but there are also many moments of heartbreak in this book, so it was interesting to see how Apollo deals with those more serious emotions of grief and anger.
Apollo’s character development continues as he gradually lets go of his narcissistic attitudes and starts to put others first. I really love how he reacts as he is forced to grow and mature, and how he gets inspired by the heroic demigods who assist him on his quests.

Through their adventures, Apollo, Meg, Reyna, Hazel, and Frank go up against the evil emperor Caligula and the zombie king Tarquin, and they see a lot of people get hurt and even die trying to help them defend New Rome. The devastation of the war against the Triumvirate is heartbreaking, but it was also inspiring to see how the characters cling to hope and find the strength to continue fighting for their friends.

I really liked seeing some resolution for Reyna’s character, as she has always been kind of a lost soul in the other books. She finally decides to take control of her own destiny, and finds her own balance and freedom.

To see minor violence and other sensitive content in this book, you can check it out on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-tyrants-tomb-trials-of-apollo-4-125400