True to my word, I went to BandN after work today and sat down to read the whole Last Olympian book. My eyes hate me, in case you are wondering. I had to speed read the last chapter and I'm sure I missed stuff but I'll reread it when the paperback comes out, alright?  Like the other books, I loved it. Riordan's world is so vivid, so wonderfully thought out and detailed you have to appreciate his ability to weave all five books together.  Yes, each are stand alone chronicles of the summers of these half-blood gods, but they intertwine and create a much larger story, one that you know isn't done yet (and not just because in a recent blog it was clearly stated Riordan was working on more books).  You realize that this is just a bit of their lives and things go on.  I'm rambling - but I really do like these books.  Buy them for your kids and then read them yourselves.