After getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities: He is a demigod, half human, half immortal. Even more stunning: His father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There's little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus. (Goodreads)
Review by Laura Madsen,
Writer and Veterinarian
I was hesitant to read THE
LIGHTNING THIEF; in my mind I had lumped it with other recent, wildly popular,
boy-appeal, urban fantasy series which were, frankly, underwhelming. But I was pleasantly
surprised by this fun, well-written story.
Percy Jackson is a likable
hero. He has dyslexia and ADHD, but doesn’t use the diagnoses as excuses. He’s
twelve years old and is about to be kicked out of the sixth school in as many
years. The only people at school who like him are Mr. Brunner, the Latin and
Greek teacher, and his best friend, Grover, a scrawny kid with a muscle
disorder. Percy loves his mom, and believes her story that his father was lost
at sea. We later learn that Percy’s father wasn’t so much lost at sea
but returned to the sea.
Strange things start
happening to Percy, beginning with his pre-algebra teacher’s scary
transformation into a vicious Fury from Greek mythology. Other supposedly
mythical monsters and heroes crop up, and Percy soon finds himself at a summer
camp for demigods (the offspring of gods and mortals). Ares’s kids are big and
ugly and warlike; Athena’s kids are grey-eyed and wise. The camp is run by
Dionysus, who is perpetually grumpy because he’s been ordered by Zeus to
abstain from wine and must settle for Diet Coke.
Percy learns that he is the
prime suspect in the theft of Zeus’s master lightning bolt (“a two-foot-long
cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level
explosives”) and sets off on a quest to retrieve it, accompanied by Grover (who
turns out not to be a kid with a muscle disorder) and Annabeth, daughter of
Athena.
Rick Riordan’s writing is
spot-on, with snappy dialogue, as in this scene:
Mr. Brunner pointed to one of
the pictures on the stele. “Perhaps you’ll tell us what this picture
represents?”
I looked at the carving, and
felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. “That’s Kronos eating
his kids, right?”
“Yes,” Mr. Brunner said,
obviously not satisfied. “And he did this because…”
“Well…” I racked my brain to
remember. “Kronos was the king god, and—”
“God?” Mr. Brunner asked.
“Titan,” I corrected myself.
“And… he didn’t trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them,
right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And
later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his
brothers and sisters—”
“Eeew!” said one of the girls
behind me.
“—and so there was this big
fight between the gods and the Titans,” I continued, “and the gods won.”
The characters are
interesting, and there are bits of humor interspersed (the Naiads enjoy
underwater basketweaving, and the Minotaur wears nothing but bright white Fruit
of the Loom underpants). Overall, a very entertaining read, and may have a
side-effect of encouraging kids to learn about Greek mythology.
Market: young adult
Language: minimal
Sensuality: none
Violence: moderate (Greek
mythological monsters come to life)
Adult
themes: betrayal, love affairs between gods and mortals, attempted murder,
death and the Underworld
Book formats:
5 comments:
I love this series, and it just gets better and better as it goes along!
I love these books! In addition to being vivid, exciting and overall fun, they're a great way to cement Greek Mythology in your memory.
Ah, I love this series! Such fun! Great review, Laura!
My son likes these books. Guess I need to read them too.
Looooooooove this series!! :) I love all of these books, and the other 2 series! And he is a wonderful speaker- I have gone to his book signing before and I love watching his interaction with the kids. They love him and I know that he loves them to, and you tell by the quality of his books. Thanks for the great review!
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