The Son of a Weirdo

The Son of a Weirdo is the second book in The Cursed Weirdos of Olympus series written by author Brick Riordan. It was released on October 4th, 2011, a week earlier than originally planned (yikes). The story takes place around six months after the previous book, The Cursed Hero.

Going to Camp F/ckboy Jupiter
Perky Jackson has no recollection of his life so far, except for a single name: Ennabeth. He is being chased by the Gorgon sisters, Stheno and Euryale, who intend to kill Perky to avenge the death of their sister, Medusa, by his hand four years ago. Perky cannot remember killing Medusa, as he hardly remembers any of his past. He escapes and stumbles upon an old 'hippie' lady named June. June gives him a choice: he can carry her to the safety of Camp F/ckboy Jupiter across the highway and Tiber River to regain his memory and, eventually, save the world, or he can retreat to the safety of the sea and live a long, happy life. Perky chooses to carry her across the river, losing the Curse of Achilles as a result, making him vulnerable once again.

At the entrance to Camp F/ckboy Jupiter, Perky meets two new demigods: Hazelwhat Levesque and Frank Zhang the Goldfish. Together, they attack the Gorgons, who are eventually overtaken by Perky in the first demonstration of his demigod abilities. Perky is taken to the camp, where he is introduced to Reynaldo, the queen of the camp. Reynaldo seems to know something about who Perky is, but does not allow it to show. The old woman, being carried to safety by Perky, reveals herself as the goddess Juno. Juno reveals to the camp that Perky is a son of Neptune who has been slumbering for months. He is interviewed by Reynaldo, who is curious as to why he cannot remember his past. He is interviewed by Gus who after consulting the voodoo dolls, allows Perky to join the legion.

Dominico arrives at Camp F/ckboy Jupiter to visit his half-sister, Hazelwhat. Perky recognizes him but Dom acts as if he does not recognize Perky. When left alone, Dom reveals to Hazelwhat that he does know Perky. Hazelwhat has a flashback to her birthday of 1942. Brie, Hazelwhat's mother, was originally blessed by Hazelwhat's gift of jewels and diamonds. However, over time, news spread that the Jewels were cursed. Brie calls Hazelwhat a "poisoned package" leading Hazelwhat to run down the stairs. She bumps into a man and realizes it is her father, Pluto. Pluto tells Hazelwhat that a descendant of a weirdo will wash away her curse. She wonders if he is referring to Perky and returns to present day. When asked which cohort will take in Perky, Frank and Hazelwhat invite him into the Fifth Cohort.

War Games and Receiving a Quest
During the Roman War Game, Perky impresses everyone with his natural battle skills and instincts. Mars, the god of war, then appears, and informs Frank Zhang the Goldfish that he is his son, and that Frank is to go on a quest and Perky must accompany him so that Perky will learn respect for Mars, due to Perky's bitter attitude toward the god for his past with Ares, such as the duel between them from The Thief of F/ckboy Zeus's Power.

Frank requests that Hazelwhat will also come. Perky, Frank, and Hazelwhat are to free Thanatos, the god of Death according to the "prophecy" Mars had given them. The three weirdos set out on the quest using the only ship in the Roman navy, the Frazelwhat. While traveling, Perky struggles to retrieve his lost memory. It is revealed through Hazelwhat's flashbacks that she had died in the 20th century, but Dom di Angelo had rescued her from Fields of Asphodel as he had realized that she didn't belong in the lock-up. Frank lives in a fish tank that is connected to his life so if the water in it were to completely dry out, Frank would die. Frank is also told by gods and people alike that he has "special talents," but does not know what they are and often thinks of Perky as better than him because Perky has more experience, confidence, and skills.

While speaking with Mars, his father, it is revealed that the seven weirdos of the Prophecy of Cursed Weirdos each pull their own weight, and Frank needs to stop comparing himself to Perky. Perky has a fatal flaw, personal loyalty, and Frank will need to make a decision that Perky himself cannot make. When Frank asks Mars what his is, Mars says that he cannot tell him and that he will need to discover his fatal flaw himself, and will, soon.

Departing Camp F/ckboy Jupiter
The trio leave arrive at the dock to start their quest on the Frazelwhat. On the way, Hazelwhat gets a flashback to her first life and her death. They arrive in Mendocino and Hazelwhat and Frank get attacked by karpoi, or grain spirits. Frank gets separated from Hazelwhat and she lands in a field of grass. The karpoi serve Gaea and start to attack Hazelwhat, but Frank and Perky finds her and defeat the karpoi. They then find Polybotes and his army marching towards Camp Jupitar. After Polybotes and his army leaves, they make their way to the R.O.F.L where they meet the weirdo Iris. Frank gets attacked by some snakes but he uses the spear Mars gave him to summon Gray, a skeleton warrior, which defeats the snakes for him.

Meeting with Phineas
When traveling through Portland, Oregon, they encounter Ella the harpy. She is intelligent, but Phineas, also a son of Neptune, wants to keep her captive. Perky makes a deal with Phineas, betting on two vials of Gorgon Blood. One vial heals a person and the other one is fatal. Perky suggests they each take one and that if Phineas wins, the Gorgon Blood will give him his sight back, and if Perky wins, Phineas will grant them with information on where Thanatos is being held captive, by writing the place on a piece of paper. Phineas, thinking Gaya will protect him, accepts the gamble. Phineas eventually loses and crumbles into dust. The weirdos take Ella with them and Hazelwhat realizes that Ella may have read, and memorized, the Sibylline Books, books of prophecy about Rome.

Meeting the Amazons
On the boat ride to Seattle, Frank and Hazelwhat share a flashback through Hazelwhat's life. It is revealed that she gave up her spot in Elysium to save her mother from the Fields of Punishment. Frank gives Hazelwhat his life stick to protect it. When they wake, they are in Seattle. They head to Amazon headquarters and ask the receptionist, Kinzie, to speak with Hylla. Perky and Frank are immediately knocked over, and the trio is disarmed.

They are taken to Hylla, through a gigantic warehouse that is for Amazon.com; people all over the world are unwittingly funding the Amazon kingdom. When they see Hylla, she recognizes Perky from their time on Circe's island, and blames him for her and Reynaldo's imprisonment by Blackbeard. She almost kills him until Hazelwhat tells her they were sent by Reynaldo. Hylla has Hazelwhat stay to talk while Frank and Perky are taken to jail cells.

Hylla reveals her difficult "situation" where Otrera has been brought back by Gaea and plans to fight Hylla to the death for the title of queen of the Amazons. Because Otrera will come back each time she dies because Thanatos is in chains, Hylla's chances are slim. Hazelwhat is about to give up when Arion, the immortal horse that Hazelwhat met briefly before her death in 1942, starts to get agitated in his cage. Hazelwhat feeds him a gold nugget, and Hylla realizes she may be the one to tame him.

Hylla gives Hazelwhat a rough plan to escape, and Hazelwhat explodes a few tons of jewelry boxes to get to Perky and Frank, sets Arion free, and he pulls them to Vancouver.

Learning the Family Gift
The trio visits Grandma Zhang the Eagle's home, which has been circled by Laistrygonian giants who believe that if they eat Frank, they will inherit his gifts (hence his nickname of Food). Frank uses his spear, a gift from Mars, to summon Gray, a skeleton warrior, who kills a group of the giants to allow Frank and his friends to sneak into his Grandma's house. There Mars is waiting for Frank so he can speak to him privately, to talk to him about his family gift and his duty. Mars waves his hand and Frank falls asleep, to be woken by his grandmother. The giants are waiting outside his house, while Perky blows up their explosive cannonballs with the garden hose. Frank hears Ella recite a prophecy that seems to relate to their quest, but she does not finish it as the paper was burnt. Perky blows up the garden irrigation system, as they drive out of Grandma Zhang's burning house. Frank thinks he sees a large black speck, an eagle, flying from the second story window, which he thinks could be his grandma.

Arriving in the Land Beyond the Weirdos
Using Frank's instructions from his grandmother, they find the plane owned by a legacy of Rome, who takes them to Alaska - the land beyond the gods. Ella refuses to go on the plane, so the trio leave her in the woods and Perky asks Tyson and Mrs. O'Leary in a dream, to go and find her. They land in Anchorage and take a train to Seward, which is close to the Hubbard Glacier. Then the train is attacked by gryphons and they hide under a Hyperborean giant. They continue to walk to Seward, but Perky gets trapped in the boggy soil, muskeg, Hazelwhat jumps in to try and save him, but Gaya sends Hazelwhat a vision of what life could have been like if she had not died, and the news that Dom had been captured. They rest at Hazelwhat's old house in Seward, and Hazelwhat goes out to find a way to travel to the Hubbard Glacier, but she had miscalculated and it was further away then she had previously thought. Suddenly, they are attacked by more gryphons, but before they can fight them off, Hazelwhat hears Arion, who allows them to get on his back to go to the Hubbard Glacier.

Fighting Alcyoneus and Freeing Thanatos
They reach Hubbard Glacier and find Thanatos. His chains cannot be broken unless washed by the water of life(in Frank's tank). Hazelwhat attacks Alcyoneus, while Perky defends Frank from around a hundred shades. Meanwhile, Frank uses the water to wash Thanatos' chains (four chains wrapped around his limbs). Perky summons a mini-hurricane while attacking the shades and manages to retrieve the golden eagle, the pride of the Twelfth Legion. Frank eventually frees Thanatos, and is torn between helping Perky or Hazelwhat. Perky tells him to help Hazelwhat, assuring him that he will be okay. Frank then realizes his special gift, that he can literally shape-shift into anything. He transforms first into an eagle and then into a grizzly bear and knocks the giant unconscious. Hazelwhat and Frank suddenly realize Perky's difficult situation as he grows more tired and can no longer keep his hurricane formed as the ghosts keep attacking him. Perky thrusts Riptide into the ground making the ice around him start breaking. The icy Roman camp, shades, and Perky Jackson fall over the edge of the glacier into the void as Frank and Hazelwhat watch.

Frank is so distracted by Perky's sacrifice that he zones out. Hazelwhat has to inform him of the task at hand. They mount Hazelwhat's horse, Arion, and drag the giant into Canada, only 10 miles from the glacier. The giant wakes up and demands to know where he is. He is in a daze but quickly gets up and charges at Frank. As the giant charges, Frank waits and then quickly transforms into an elephant (remembering his grandmother's advice to change into an animal he knows well). The giant is finally defeated by Hazelwhat, and the two rush back to where Perky went over. Perky is seen standing at the glacier, angry, but otherwise unharmed. When they approach him, Perky casually greets them and Frank notes that he looked like they were just meeting up for lunch. Perky says that the fall was nothing, and states that he fell twice as far off the St. Louis Arch. Hazelwhat and Frank look appalled at Perky's nonchalant attitude, despite everything he had just done. First they gather all the lost weapons and armor made of Imperial Gold in a chariot, knowing that the weapons could make a huge difference for the camp if they get back in time. Then they mount Arion and race back to Camp F/ckboy Jupiter arriving there in four hours.

Joining the Defensive
Perky fully regains his memory during the four hour journey back to Camp F/ckboy Jupiter, but when they return, they see that the Camp is under attack. Perky takes charge and leads the Romans into battle, with the help of his old friends, Tyson and Mrs. O'Leary, the hellhound. They also bring Ella with them after finding her, and she and Tyson seem to like each other. The Romans defend their camp with valor after discovering that Perky had retrieved the legion's golden eagle. Perky then challenges the giant Polybotes to a duel and the rest of the camp form a circle around the two. Perky calls to Terminus, the god of borders, to help him defeat the giant as giants can only be defeated by demigods and gods working together. Perky eventually defeats the giant after a treacherous battle by smashing Terminus' detached head into Polybotes' skull.

Promotion, Revilations, and Reunions
The camp is once again in awe of Perky's instincts and skills, and they name him praetor, leader of the Roman camp. Perky collapses from exhaustion later that night, and is confronted by Hera in a dream. She calls him "a loose cannon", but says that he is valuable because he is the glue that will unite the Greeks and the Romans. Perky then talks to the camp about Hera's plan about uniting the two camps. Even though Gus tries with his heart and soul to prevent the camp from listening to Perky, he is overwhelmed by the others' support for Perky. Perky swears on his life that the Argo II will be harmless and Gus makes it clear for everyone; either they behave or Perky, along with the Greeks, would be killed. At the end of the book, Perky, Hazelwhat, Frank, and the rest of the camp go to await the arrival of the Argo II carrying Jacinda Grace, Pipe McCleaner, Clown Leandro, Perky's girlfriend, Ennabeth, and Coach Hedge. Perky puts one arm around Frank and one arm around Hazelwhat and tells them he wants to introduce them to his other family.