The following version of this novel was used in the creation of this study guide. Riordan, Rick. The Trials of Apollo: Book Five: The Tower of Nero. Disney Hyperion, 2020. Hardback.

On a train to Manhattan, it is revealed that Meg and Apollo are looking to defeat Meg’s stepfather Nero and Apollo’s archrival Python so Apollo can become a god again. Apollo receives a prophecy from a two-headed snake that is killed by a Gaul named Luguselwa whom Meg calls Lu. She takes them to another car and tells them to ask to go to the bathroom when they reach the tunnel. They do so and Lu runs them to another car where she and Meg fake a fight while Apollo shoots the coupling connecting the cars together.

They escape through a tunnel into Manhattan where they go to the home of Percy Jackson. They meet his mother, Sally, and learn that Percy and Annabeth left for the west coast after Percy graduated. However, the three spend the night and come up with a plan to fool Nero into letting Lu back in as well as letting Apollo and Meg escape for Camp Half-Blood. Lu and Meg fake another fight on top of a building and Apollo uses a burst of godly strength to push Lu off. Meg then calls for the Chariot of Damnation driven by the Gray Sisters, and they are taken to Camp Half-Blood where they meet the god Dionysus.

Inside the camp, they find the son of Hades, Nico, and Apollo’s healer son, Will. Nico guesses that Jason is dead before Apollo passes out. He has a vision of Nero in his throne room proclaiming that he will give Camp Half-Blood 48 hours before burning New York to the ground. Apollo then sees Python who says Apollo will finish Python’s mission himself. Apollo wakes up and goes to the dining hall with more of his children. There, Will tells him that Ncio felt Jason’s death and Apollo knows Nico is slowly losing his sanity after traversing the Underworld so many times.

They are then called by Dionysus to discuss Nero’s ultimatum. Meg says they need to trust Luguselwa’s plan and surrender themselves so they can destroy the fasces. Apollo knows he will have to face Python once Nero is defeated. Nico realizes he needs to go to a group known as the cavern hunters despite Will’s protests, and he tells Apollo and Meg to rest. Apollo travels through camp, dismayed that he cannot find good advice on how to escape Nero. Eventually, he speaks to the Arrow of Dadona, which he believes sees something in the future that it is unwilling to share. Apollo then goes to Meg and the two agree to go to Nero together, even though Apollo is worried about Meg returning to her abuser.

The next morning, Apollo, Meg, Nico, and Will all travel to the home of Rachel Dare, the Oracle of Delphi. It is revealed that she has only seen visions when Apollo freed the Oracles, but Python is stopping most of them. Furthermore, a group of cattle suddenly arrived that no human can see, and Rachel can see a mansion that is invisible to everyone but her. The group then talks about the Tower of Nero. Rachel shows them blueprints and points of where she thinks the fasces are. She also shows them the basement where vats of greek fire are stored. Nico says they have to tunnel in with help of the trogs and sabotage the vats before Nero can spill them into the city. However, Rachel is overcome by Python and says the last part of the prophecy, predicting Apollo’s death.

Then, the cows stampede the house and the group is forced to run. Nico leads them to a construction site with a massive pit where the group jumps on to a crane to escape. A few of the bulls fall in, but most manage to stop in time. Nico says they can use shadow-travel to escape, but they must do so from the pit. They all drop in, but Nico can only take a few at a time, leaving Apollo and Meg to fight. He returns just in time to save them and the group ends up in the sewers. The crew goes deep into the earth until they find the trogs who are appeased when Nico offers them a rare lizard. The trogs take the group to their underground city and Nico tells them about Nero. Over dinner, the trogs debate if they actually want to help the humans and Apollo plays them a song about all of their sacrifices. At first, this convinces them to help until the cows break into their home as the cows can track their prey anywhere. The trogs believed the humans have doomed them as Meg and Apollo are taken to Nero.

They arrive at Nero’s tower and are taken to the top where they see the emperor with 11 other demigods. Nero reveals that he knew about Lu’s plan and has one of his demigods Cassius take Meg’s weapons and cut off Lu’s hands. Apollo and Lu are taken to a cell while Meg is left for rehabilitation. Apollo takes care of Lu and gets a small amount of godly power to cauterize the stumps. They learn that Nero is planning on torturing both of them and setting the city on fire during a party that night. Apollo worries for Meg but Lu tells him to drive his own dream and find information. At first, Apollo is unable to control the dream, but eventually takes himself into Meg’s room. He sees Nero trying to manipulate her, but the dream ends before he sees her reaction. He then sees the guardian and learns it is a leontocephaline who will expect a sacrifice of immortality. While Apollo expects this to be the end of his godhood, Lu says she will take care of it. The two escape and Lu heads for the guardian while Nero tracks down Meg.

While searching for Meg’s room, Apollo accidentally enters a room filled with monitors and enemies. The leader tells the others to light the fires and Apollo has to fight. He takes the Germani down and the technicians say that the vats are not spilling. Nico arrives and kills the leader asking how Apollo managed to fight off as many as he did. Apollo thinks his godly power is returning. Nico helps him onto a terrace where Apollo sees the campers fighting and is healed by Kayla. He then goes to his son, Austin, who distracts a room of party-goers so Apollo can make it to Meg’s room. Unfortunately, all he finds is a laptop with Nero’s face. The emperor tells Apollo he has 15 minutes to come to the throne room before he releases a deadly gas known as Sassanid throughout the tower. Screech-Bling hears this and says they will try to disable it as Apollo goes to the throne room.

After being forced to put his weapons down, Apollo sees Meg enter the room. He is heartbroken, feeling that Nero destroyed the person she had become. Nero’s manipulation continues as he tells his children that Apollo is the villain who abandoned his friends and children while Nero did what was right. He commands the dryads to attack Apollo but Meg commands them to stop. She ends up releasing a pollen that protects the dryads and tells them to heal. She stands up to Nero as the doors explode and Nico arrives. He commands an undead bull to attack and says the trogs are still working on disabling the gas. Nero rushes to find the right remote as Nico, Apollo, and Meg fight off who they can. Apollo is stabbed in the chaos as Nero finds the right remote. Will arrives with Lu, Rachel, and Nero’s fasces. It is revealed that Lu gave up Nero’s immortality since he was technically giving it to her. Meg talks her siblings into dropping their weapons as Nero attacks. Apollo finds some godly strength and the two fight over the fasces until they shatter. As Nero turns to dust, he tells them that Python has won. Apollo passes out and dreams of the pantheon as his father, Zeus, tells the other gods that Apollo’s worst battle is to come. Hera defends Apollo, but Zeus refuses to help.

Apollo wakes up and the others prepare him for his battle with Python. Meg makes him promise to come back. He heads deep into Python’s lair and fails to shoot him with an arrow. Python laughs but his monologue is stopped when Apollo shoots him in the throat. Apollo then cuts off the prophecy and the two fight. Apollo feels his body deteriorating as he pulls out the Arrow of Dodona before Python catches him. The Arrow says Apollo must use it and he stabs it into Python’s eye. After this, Apollo manages to throw himself and Python into a chasm that leads them all the way down into the River Styx. From there, Apollo manages to kick Python into the Chaos and barely holds on himself. The goddess Styx arrives and asks if he has learned his lesson. Apollo says he has, but it was too late. Styx tells him to hold on and leaves. Apollo imagines pulling himself up before waking up in his god form on Mount Olympus. Artemis says it has only been two weeks and that the other gods are waiting for him.

Apollo goes to the throne room where Zeus says that the Oracles have been restored and the Fates can continue spinning the future. Hera chastises Zeus for not caring about Jason’s death and the gods commend Apollo before leaving. Zeus tells Apollo he has made him proud, but Apollo vows to spend as little time as possible around his father. He leaves, visiting his horses at the sun palace before splitting himself into multiple pieces to visit everyone at once.

He goes to Camp Half-Blood where he learns that Meg returned to her family home. He thanks the trees in the grove of Dodona for sending their best, even though they had cast the Arrow out as the weakest. Rachel’s oracle powers have been restored. Nico and Will are planning on going to the Underworld to save a Titan they left behind. Rachel says a prophecy, but Apollo does not hear it.

He then goes to the Waystation to learn that the Hunters of Artemis are struggling to fight the Teumessian Fox. He sees Jo, Georgina, and Lityerses all thriving and learns from Leo that Calypso is loving high school and is currently at band camp. He says they are figuring their relationship out.

Apollo goes to Camp Jupiter to see that Hazel and Frank have created a successful reconstruction project and that Hazel’s curse is broken. Everyone else is thriving and Percy and Annabeth even say they are heading to college. They hint that their trip was more dangerous than it seemed, but they are happy to be at the camp. They mourn Jason’s death and agree that he was the best hero they had. Then, Apollo visits Piper, accidentally interrupting a kiss with her girlfriend. Piper says she is doing well and knows that Apollo has not forgotten about Jason and his promise.

Lastly, Apollo visits Meg at her home in Palm Springs. It is revealed that she is teaching her foster siblings how to take care of the plants and the dryads are planting more of themselves around Southern California. Lu is also there, living in Meg’s home with two mechanical hands. Apollo says he wants to reward Meg and, after giving a small speech about how he cannot fix all of her problems, she asks him for a unicorn. Apollo gives it to her and the two agree to remain friends with him promising he will always be there for her. He then tells the reader that they deserve a reward for reading through his trials and promises them that he will be there when they need him the most.