The Tyrant's Tomb

The Tyrant’s Tomb is the fourth installment in the five-part fantasy series The Trials of Apollo. The saga chronicles the punishment of the Greek god Apollo, who is cast down to Earth by his father, Zeus, and condemned to live as a mortal teenager named Lester Papadopoulos. Stripped of his divine powers, Apollo/Lester is bound in service to a 12-year-old demigod named Meg McCaffrey, who is the daughter of Demeter.

In order to regain his immortality and his place on Mount Olympus, Apollo must restore five ancient Oracles that have gone silent. However, his mission is hindered by the Triumvirate, a shadowy organization led by three resurrected and notoriously cruel Roman emperors: Nero, Commodus, and Caligula. The emperors seek to control all sources of prophecy so that they may seize control of the future itself.

By the start of The Tyrant’s Tomb, Apollo and Meg have already freed three Oracles, defeated Nero in the Grove of Dodona, and thwarted Commodus in Indianapolis. Their most recent quest, which is detailed in The Burning Maze, brought them into direct conflict with Caligula in Southern California. That confrontation resulted in the tragic death of their friend and comrade-in-arms, the Roman demigod Jason Grace.