Title: The Lightning ThiefAuthor: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Genre: Adventure, Paranormal, Middle Grade
Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books
Publication date: March 1st 2006
Pages: 377 (paperback)
Source: Own it
Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he got to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends - one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.
After all
those years of hearing how amazing the Percy Jackson series I finally gave in
and I started to read the series. And now I finally understand why people love
those books so much! I should have read those years ago. I have always liked
Greek mythology; those Greek gods always seemed a bit of a weird bunch thrown
together and to be hones reading Percy Jackson is a great way to get to know
more about them.
By now I
think most people know what these books are about but I’ll tell you again
anyway. Percy Jackson is a bit of a troubled teen, the fact that he has ADHD
and dyslexia does not really help his case. Because of that he has been thrown
out of several boarding schools, so he’s constantly on the move. Then in sixth
grade things get weirder than they have ever been and he finally finds out why
he never belonged anywhere else before.
I picked The Lightning Thief up thinking that it
would be a fun and fast read and it certainly was. But what I did not expect
was how hooked I would get on this series from the very beginning. The book
might be oriented towards Middle Graders but it was so much fun to read and I
really got addicted to it. I had seen the movie before so I know more or less
what was going to happen but the movie really didn’t do any justice to the
book. The book gives you so much more than the story of a young guy that goes
on an adventure with his friends. It also provided a great insight into Greek
mythology and you get to see it all in a new way and that was pretty nice.
I do get
why people often compare it to Harry Potter, yes there are some big similarities
but to be honest that didn’t bother me so much. This book still had enough
unique things to make it something special. And I’m hoping that the similarities
will disappear more to the background in the following books. Also I really
liked Percy as the main character; he has such a strong loyalty to his friends
that it’s pretty remarkable. When he first comes to camp Half-Blood he’s a bit
of an outcast because of his heritage so he really has to gain all their trust
and he does it pretty well I have to say.
Overall I
really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to read all the other books in this
series. And probably all of Rick Riordan’s other books. If you haven’t read
this books yet then I would certainly recommend that you do so soon!
Glad you enjoyed this! I really need to get round to reading it ;)
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