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Atlas' Revenge: Another Mad Myth Mystery    by Robyn DiTocco & Tony DiTocco Amazon.com order for
Atlas' Revenge
by Robyn DiTocco
Order:  USA  Can
Brainstorm, 2005 (2005)
Hardcover, Paperback
* *   Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto

Once again, PJ Allen has been summoned to Mount Olympus to help the Greek gods recreate a myth. In Atlas' Revenge, a Mad Myth Mystery by husband and wife team Robyn and Tony DiTocco, the great stone giant who holds up the heavens has come to life, wreaking numerous natural disasters on the world. Atlas has left Hercules holding the heavens, so PJ, as a direct descendant of Hercules, is forced to complete the Twelve Labors.

PJ, however, has enough on his hands without having to save the world: he is in the middle of his college career, he has a demanding boss at work, and his girlfriend is very high-maintenance - even more so after she finds out that PJ's high school sweetheart has once again entered his life. Nevertheless, the fate of the world cannot wait for PJ to get his life in order, so he must go whenever Hermes comes to fetch him, even if it means ending a date early.

In his quest to find out why Hercules' labors have come undone, PJ is given many strange riddles to solve if order is to return to the world. While some solutions lie in the tasks he must perform, the answers to others can only be found within PJ, and figuring out these is the hardest labor of all. These riddles given to PJ by homeless beggars and the Furies make for an engaging read. As PJ tries to figure out meanings, so does the reader. It is especially suspenseful when the reader decodes part of the riddle early and wonders if PJ can solve it in time.

Throw in a plethora of anecdotes from Greek mythology, and this makes a perfect summer read - it is easy to breeze through, but the puzzles keep the mind active, and the mythology relates stories long forgotten. Atlas' Revenge is a stronger and more intricate tale than the first Mad Myth Mystery, The Hero Perseus, and I hope that the series continues in this direction. I am interested to see which myth PJ and the DiTocco's tackle next.

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