Nico di Angelo has been in the Riordan Verse since The Titan’s Curse, and for a long stretch of that time he was a mystery — the boy in black who didn’t fit, whose secret was kept so carefully it became its own kind of weight. The slow arc toward his coming out, the even slower arc toward his relationship with Will Solace, and now, at last, a full novel centred entirely on both of them: The Sun and the Star is the Nico story that readers who grew up alongside him have been waiting for.
Into Tartarus
The premise is characteristically Riordan-ish in its logic: a minor god, Bob the Titan (Small Bob), is trapped in Tartarus and calling for help, and Nico is the only demigod who might have any hope of navigating the place he has been before. Will insists on coming. They descend together, which is either brave or catastrophic or, as it turns out, both.
Tartarus as a setting has appeared in the main series but never been the primary environment for a full novel, and Mark Oshiro’s voice — he co-wrote this with Riordan — gives the place a particular texture. It is nightmarish in ways that are genuinely dark for a MG/YA crossover, and the psychological weight on Nico, who has history there, is handled with real sensitivity.
Nico and Will
The relationship at the heart of this book is rendered with warmth and specificity. Will is sunlight and optimism and a particular kind of stubbornness that turns out to be exactly what Nico needs. Nico is shadow and trauma history and deeply uncertain about what he deserves. Together they are genuinely sweet without being saccharine, and the book is honest about the work that loving someone across that kind of difference requires.
Oshiro’s experience writing queer characters shows throughout. The queerness here is not incidental or performative — it’s woven into how Nico thinks about himself, his past, and what future he can imagine — and the relationship is given the same narrative weight as any Riordan central pairing.
For the Fans Who Grew Up with This World
The Riordan Verse has been running long enough that its earliest readers are now adults, and The Sun and the Star acknowledges that in how it treats its characters. There’s a depth to Nico’s interiority here that the main series, with its broader cast, couldn’t fully explore, and the decision to spend an entire book with him and Will is a gift to every reader who was most interested in him all along.
Why YA Readers Will Love This
For queer YA readers, there’s a particular significance to seeing a character who was hidden for so many books now centred completely in his own love story — and to seeing that story taken seriously as both romance and hero’s quest. It is the kind of representation that matters.
For anyone who has followed Nico since the beginning, this novel delivers on everything that arc has been building toward. The mythology, the monsters, the emotional stakes, the specific flavour of Riordan’s humour — it’s all here, with Oshiro’s additions giving the darker material its proper weight.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Sun and the Star about? Bob the Titan (Small Bob), a minor god, is trapped in Tartarus and calling for help. Nico di Angelo — the only demigod who might have any hope of navigating the place he has been before — descends with his boyfriend Will Solace to find him. The book is described as ’the Nico story that readers who grew up alongside him have been waiting for,’ finally centering his relationship with Will Solace in its own full novel.
How does The Sun and the Star handle Nico and Will’s relationship? The relationship is ‘rendered with warmth and specificity — Will is sunlight and optimism and a particular kind of stubbornness; Nico is shadow and trauma history and deeply uncertain about what he deserves.’ Together they are ‘genuinely sweet without being saccharine,’ and the book ‘is honest about the work that loving someone across that kind of difference requires.’ The queerness is ‘woven into how Nico thinks about himself, his past, and what future he can imagine.’
What does Mark Oshiro’s co-authorship contribute to The Sun and the Star? Oshiro’s voice ‘gives Tartarus a particular texture — nightmarish in ways that are genuinely dark for a MG/YA crossover, and the psychological weight on Nico, who has history there, is handled with real sensitivity.’ The review credits Oshiro’s ’experience writing queer characters’ with ensuring the queerness is ’not incidental or performative’ but substantive.
What makes The Sun and the Star significant for queer YA readers? The review highlights ’the particular significance of seeing a character who was hidden for so many books now centred completely in his own love story — and seeing that story taken seriously as both romance and hero’s quest.’ This is described as ’the kind of representation that matters.’ Nico’s slow arc toward coming out, followed by his relationship with Will, is positioned as a long-promised payoff.
What kind of reader will appreciate The Sun and the Star most? The review identifies two audiences: ‘queer YA readers who will find the representation significant,’ and ‘anyone who has followed Nico since The Titan’s Curse and wants the story his arc has been building toward.’ The novel ‘delivers on everything that arc has been building toward — the mythology, the monsters, the emotional stakes, the specific flavour of Riordan’s humour — with Oshiro’s additions giving the darker material its proper weight.’
Further Reading from Authoritative Sources
- The Sun and the Star — Wikipedia’s The Sun and the Star article provides publication details and context that helps readers understand the novel’s place in the Riordan Verse and the significance of Nico’s centred narrative.
- Mark Oshiro — Wikipedia’s Mark Oshiro article provides biographical context for the co-author, helping readers understand what Oshiro brings to the collaboration and his background in queer fiction and fan community work.
