The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1

I held off buying THE LIGHTNING THIEF for a couple years. The market seems glutted with YA fantasy at the moment, and I read quite a bit of it with my 9-year-old. We've discovered several good series, but THE LIGHTNING THIEF seemed too long to hold his attention when it first came out. This year we noticed it in the book fair at school, then saw that it was an Accelerated Reader book. So I picked it up and read a couple chapters to try it out. I was 50 pages into it when I realized I needed to be reading this to my son. I did read it to him. We FLEW through the book (375 pages!) in 6 days because he kept pestering me to read it to him. We finished it up in a 5-hour marathon yesterday, hanging onto every page as Percy and his friends tried to save the world and put things to rights in their own lives. THE LIGHTNING THIEF is a great book for adults and kids. I've already recommended it to a couple of adult friends who experienced the same kind of can't-put-it-down pull that I did. Percy Jackson, the hero of the book, comes across as every kid you'd ever meet or ever would. He's no brainiac (he has dyslexia and ADHD) but he has friends who are. But he is courageous and clever, stubborn and loyal. He is the best he can be, and he's getting even better. Riordan works in many of the Greek myths in the novel. There was a time when knowing Greek mythology was a pre-requisite for having a "classical" education. Many morals and philosophies are presented in the tales. From the very beginning of the novel, we find out Percy is different when he ends up fighting a harpy in the museum while on a school trip. He's been kicked out of 6 schools in 6 years, lives with his mom and step-dad, Smelly Gabe, an evil guy who deliberately makes Percy's life hard. Then, when he's on a well-deserved vacation with his mom, he finds out he's a Half-Blood, the son of one of the Greek gods. But his mom doesn't know who his dad was and that's just one of the mysteries Percy ends up solving. The cool part of the book is peeling away all the mysteries of Percy's life and who really took Zeus's magic thunderbolt. Along the way he gains powers that set my son's head to spinning with hope and delight. Percy's a superhero without the costume, and there are plenty of villains in his world. Riordan is a teacher who obviously loves kids as well as the subject matter. The Greek gods were a cantankerous lot, and Riordan delivers them well. Not only does he give his readers the stories, but he also brings the gods on stage and gives them personalities. The series is supposed to run for 5 books. I think it will go on longer. I hope so. I've already ordered books 2 and 3, and my son and I are looking forward to them. The books take a while to read outloud to younger readers, but the effort is well rewarded. The story is rich and deep, and will keep your child's attention. In addition, you'd be surprised how much you can talk about even when you're not reading. And your child may just want to wander around the internet learning more interesting facts about Greek mythology. THE LIGHTNING THIEF is well worth reading and is probably in most public and school libraries.

This book is an absolute win for young readers. It’s fast-paced, funny, and full of adventure, making it incredibly easy for kids to stay engaged. The mix of modern-day storytelling with Greek mythology is clever and educational without feeling like schoolwork. Percy is a relatable hero—imperfect, brave, and humorous—which makes kids root for him from the start. It sparked so many great conversations in our house and genuinely made reading feel exciting again. Tip: If your child enjoys this one, keep the next book ready—most kids want to jump straight into the series! I highly recommend this book & I hope this review is helpful 👍🏻

This review can also be found on my blog: Reader Rayna Alright, this is my first time reading this book – ever. I’ve always heard good things about this series and I gotta say – I have to agree! This first book in this series was so fun and a super fast read for me. I immediately bought the second book on my kindle so I can keep reading the series. So we have Percy, a troubled boy who has been bouncing around from school to school for years, and this time he thinks he may have a chance to stay – until one day on a field trip he’s attacked by his math teacher who’s actually a Fury from the Underworld. He’s unsure if what actually happens after that was real, but after several events that take place he does, in fact, learn that he is a demigod. I found Percy to be a very typical kid, but also he’s willing to do whatever it takes to prove his innocence and gets his mom back. I found that he accepted a lot of the circumstances surrounding him pretty easily, which I think wasn’t entirely realistic, but at the same time how would I react if I were thrown into that situation? I did, however, enjoy the group dynamic between him, Annabeth, and Grover. I think that the three of them work really well together. I wanted to know more about the other characters, to take a look into their past and really get to know them, but I also know that since it was from Percy’s point of view that he may not actually be interested in that sort of thing, but I also have the feeling more will be introduced in later books. I also knew who the traitor was as soon as the gift was given and I’m like, “It’s going to be ____.” I was right, which is fine, but I think getting to that point was what really drew me into the story. There were so many different gods and goddesses, creatures and mythical beings, and I loved how they were incorporated into the story. Sometimes I felt like it was kind of mushed together, like almost too many were introduced, but it also makes sense if they’re traveling across the country; of course they’d see as many as they did. I felt like there was a decent amount of action and that as the story progressed Percy learned a lot about himself and some bits of his family’s history. I think that was really well done in terms of introducing that kind of thing to the reader. Overall, I felt like it was a very fast-pace book, which sometimes felt like things were rushed, but also a kid wouldn’t always dwell on some of the things that I feel older teens or adults might dwell on, which was good. Sometimes the plot was pretty predictable, but I didn’t find myself annoyed by that like I would in other books I’ve read; rather, I found myself wanting to know how Percy was going to figure it out himself. I found the characters to really represent the traits of their god/dess parent in different ways, and I found that the plot was really driven forward constantly the whole time. I seriously had a great time reading this book and I’m very excited to start the next one soon. I give this first book 4/5 stars.

Good quality, wish I got the hardback. It's nice going back to the books you read in your school years.

I got it for my son .. he need it for school.. he loved it

I am an adult reader (and teacher) who enjoys good YA books. I read them for my own enjoyment and to be able to recommend good reading material to middle school students. I have finished the PJ series and decided to return to book 1 to write a review. Many reviewers appear to try to compare this series to Harry Potter. Frankly, other than its ability to make the reader want to keep turning the page and anxiously await the next book, I can't begin to compare the two! HP is pure fantasy with magic as its foundation. PJ, on the other hand, has its basis in Greek mythology. To me, this alone places PJ into more of an "historical fantasy" genre rather than pure fantasy. Magic certainly plays a role but it is actually a very small part compared to HP. The emphasis here is on the abilities humans attributed to the gods of ancient Greece and Rome and the fantasy part is how those abilities might affect modern offspring of those immortals and modern mortals, children known as demigods. The fact that so many cultures of ancient times in so many places had similar gods with similar attributes has to make one wonder if there isn't some factual basis as to their existence. That said, Mr. Riordan clearly has done his research into the lives of the gods and goddesses and all of the associated monsters, creatures, and peoples of legend and history. He brings them to life in the 21st Century with believable characters and situations that are well-developed and that allow the stories to flow from one exciting adventure or quest to another without confusion or frustration on the part of the reader. Face it, how many of us remember the hierarchy, attributes, and tales of even the top 12, nevermind all the minor deities and various creatures from our high school classes and mandatory reading of Homer, The Odyssey, and even Shakespeare? Probably not many, mainly because most of us had no real frame of reference to hang all that ancient stuff in. I had more exposure than most because I took several years of Latin (which sadly is taught in very few schools today) and yet I learned a great deal I didn't know reading this wonderful series of books I had difficulty putting down! As a teacher, an avid reader, and hopefully future author I have deep admiration of Mr. Riordan's word crafting, ability to challenge YA readers with expansive vocabulary without overwhelming, his characters to whom we can all relate in a variety of aspects, and his creativity in bringing ancient mythology alive for this generation of readers. I also appreciate his highlighting some of the positives of two common learning difficulties, ADHD and dyslexia, that plague so many people in our inactive, word-oriented society. Many of our greatest minds and most creative inventors dealt or deal with one or both of these alternate ways of viewing the world, yet instead of embracing and developing these special thinkers and their skills we call them "learning disabled" and make them feel stupid when in reality these particular "disabilities" tend to be accompanied by higher than normal intelligence! Many reviewers have synopsized this and other books in the series so I have deliberately avoided doing so and have instead focused on WHY young readers should be encouraged to read this book and the entire series. It's fun, imaginative, exciting, interesting, has male and female heroes who are well-developed characters, teaches without the reader feeling taught, shows that good and bad aren't always black and white, and has good values such as loyalty, honesty, and the value of friends, family, and community without preaching. Besides, it's just plain a darn good read for kids of nearly all ages!

" 'Like it or not -- and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either -- America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here.' "It was all too much, especially the fact that I seemed to be included in Chiron's we, as if I were part of some club. " 'Who are you, Chiron? Who...who am I?' Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up and out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down. " 'Who are you,' he mused. 'Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate.' " If I were to discuss the Boy Scouts of America, there would certainly be some harsh sentiments that I'd have to express, both in regard to the national organization and, also, in regard to my own recollections of having been an adolescent member. But among the Scouting experiences about which I have only positive memories are the couple of weeks each summer during the late Sixties that I spent at Woodworth Lake Scout Reservation in upstate New York. Woodworth Lake was encountered at the end of the five-hour bus trip that would always commence at the crack of dawn from the Long Island suburb where I was growing up. Mornings at Woodworth Lake would begin with our trekking from our respective lakeside campgrounds to the dining hall where one member of each assigned table had arrived even earlier in order to set the table and serve as that day's waiter. The days would end after dark, with all of the groups in attendance at the camp coming together in a natural amphitheater location to perform skits for one another and to join together in song. (Thirty years later at circle time, I'd think back warmly to those campfire evenings as I taught preschoolers to sing such camp memories as "Waltzing Matilda," "Yellow Submarine," and "There's a Hole in the Bucket, Dear Liza.") In between the morning and evening festivities, I'd get to tackle projects of my choosing that would lead to merit badges, swim in the bracing cold lake, hike for miles with my buddies, and swat mosquitoes. Woodworth Lake was where I learned to row well enough to be able to subsequently conquer the substantial winds and tides of Northport Bay and Huntington Harbor. It was the location of contests where a Crisco-covered watermelon would be tossed into the lake between two competing camp groups, or where late-night scavenger hunts were occasionally conducted, with success leading to coupons that were redeemed for tasty midnight snacks. And then there was that night in 1969 when we all sat together inside the canteen and stared in awe as Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Sure, there were plenty of guys with whom I became friendly over those years, as a result of attending patrol and troop meetings back at home. But there was a whole different bonding that developed between those of us who spent afternoons together, developing skits for the evening campfire, and mornings together, waking up hours away from our families and familiar living patterns. I'm currently sitting up in bed, hours from home, the only light coming from the laptop in my lap. It's an hour before sunrise, and there's a freight train whistle in the distance -- something we stopped hearing in our part of the world decades ago. Sunrise will lead me and Shari back out to the gorgeous Sierra lakes, trails, and vistas that we're experiencing this week. Traveling hours away from home in order to wander through and over mountains is clearly one of those learned behaviors resulting from my summer camp experiences. Although Percy Jackson's summer camp experience clearly shares some similarities with mine, as well as with those of most adolescents venturing away from home and habit, it would be safe to say that Percy's summer camp experience at Half-Blood Hill (beginning shortly after the incident in which he unwittingly vaporizes his pre-algebra teacher) also involves quite a few dissimilarities from the summer camp norm: "We must have been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the ocean, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture -- an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena -- except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings." In the wake of a horrifying series of experiences at the end of the school year, Percy Jackson, a self-described "troubled" kid, finds himself at Half-Blood Hill. And he comes to find out that his dyslexia, his attention deficit disorder, his mediocrity in school, his knack for inevitably causing disaster on school field trips, all stems from his being the product of a relationship between a mortal and a Greek god. "Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways." Teaming up with a satyr named Grover and a bright girl named Annabeth (The author repeatedly teases readers with subtle allusions to HP.), Percy Jackson sets out with his new-found powers on a quest to... " 'So let me get this straight,' I said. 'I'm supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead.' " 'Check,' Chiron said. " 'Find the most powerful weapon in the universe.' " 'Check.' " 'And get it back to Olympus before the Summer Solstice, in ten days.' " 'That's about right.' "I looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts. " 'Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?' he asked weakly.' " Filled with out-of-this-world adventures, and chapter titles like, "I Play Pinochle with a Horse," "I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom," and "I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus," Percy Jackson's search for himself is the ultimate summer camp experience.

"Harry Potter" and the success of the "Lord of the Rings" films touched off a massive revival of children's (and adult's) fantasy literature. "Lord of the Rings" is the inspiration for the high fantasy genre, while Rowling's writings have become the most famous example of urban/low fantasy (the interaction of magic with our world). "The Lightning Thief", the first of what would eventually be five books by author Rick Riordan, is perhaps the strongest of the post-Rowling books. Eschewing standard European wizarding tropes, Riordan bases his fantasy world on Greek mythology, one of the great treasure-troves of Western literature. Some spoilers follow. Our main character is Percy Jackson, a 12-year-old New Yorker who has been dogged throughout his young life by strange occurrences. He eventually finds out that he is a half-blood - a demigod child of one of the Olympian pantheon. Whisked from the pursuit of monsters to a special summer camp for children like himself (who are magnets for monster attacks), he gains the expected group of friends, mentors, and rivals (and a disinterested camp counsellor). But sinister forces are on the move, appearing in Percy's dreams, and, per the title, Zeus' master-bolt is missing, threatening to touch off a war between the Thunder God and his brother Poseidon. If many of these plot elements strike you as familiar, there are indeed a lot of parallels between this series and J. K. Rowling's template. The similarities between Hermione Granger and Riordan's Annabeth Chase, say, are inescapable. In a lot of ways, though, that's hardly a fair knock. The heroic trio was not Rowling's invention; you can observe a very similar grouping in, for example, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", which debuted at the same time as "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". Riordan is making use of various tried-and-true literary tropes. Of course, one doesn't doubt that Rowling's example is on the mind; how could it not be? The good news, regardless, is that Riordan takes these familiar elements and spins them in an entertaining way, one that also manages to seem fresh and surprising. For adults who are fans of Greek myth, there's quite a bit of fun to be had here. "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" joins a corpus of literature that integrates the Olympians into the modern world, dealing with issues of how the changing times affects the former gods of the world (see also: the novel "Gods Behaving Badly", Marvel Comics' "Incredible Hercules", and Greg Rucka's run on "Wonder Woman"). Whereas Tolkien and Rowling's novels were marked by a distinct Britishness, Riordan's stories are quintessentially American. There's a great deal more irony and the like. This first book is at times a bit choppy, but it's very much worth reading. There's an undercurrent of mature subject-matter that is at times quite surprising (the resolution to Percy's problematic stepfather, for example). Overall, this is an excellent fantasy novel.

Just the book we were looking for 👍🏽

Gerne wird immer wieder der Vergleich zu Harry Potter gezogen... aber man kann und darf ihn nicht ziehen. Das Einzige was diese Bücher gemein haben ist, dass sie dem Fantasy-Genre entspringen. Punkt um. Um was geht es eigentlich? Die Götter - die griechichen - sind lebendig. Und wie zu frühen Zeiten zeugen sie munter Kinder mit den Menschen. Percy Jackson ist so ein Kind; ein Kind Poseidons. Dass das die Monster der griechichen Legenden und vorallem sein Großvater, der Titan Kronos, aber auch die anderen Götter nicht so prikelnd finden, stellt sich schnell heraus. Und wie zu alten Zeiten muss Percy als Halbgott und Held in die Welt hinaus ziehen, um Aufgaben zu erfüllen. In seinem ersten Abenteuer muss er die Blitze Zeus' wieder finden, um einen Krieg unter den Göttern zu verhindern. Dass dabei nicht alles so ist, wie es anfangs erscheint, macht die Geschichte spannend. Bei dieser Rahmenhandlung ist klar, dass ein Vergleich zu Harry Potter vorallem inhaltlich hinkt: auf der einen Seite ein Zauberlehrling - auf der anderen Seite ein Halbgott. Aber wo uns Rowling am Anfang ihrer liebenswerten Harry Potter-Reihe noch im unklaren lässt und Harry mehr oder weniger belanglose und vorallem wenig brutale Abenteuer erleben lässt, ist bei Riordan von Anfang an alles klar. Percy ist ein Held und muss entsprechend handeln. Hier wird mit harten Bandagen gekämpft und der gewaltsame Tod spielt bereits zu Beginn eine Rolle. Dies mutet uns Rowling erst in den letzten Bänden zu und das hat zumindest mich beim Lesen dieser Bücher sehr enttäuscht. Neben dem tollen, schnellen und spannenden Stil, den Riordan schreibt, sind vorallem seine Anlehnungen an die griechiche Mythologie hervorzuheben. Alle Kinder, die ungerne lernen, sollten jetzt aufhören diese Rezension zu lesen. Denn das was Riordan über die Götter, die Titanen, die Monster der griechichen Sagenweld schreibt, ist richtig. Hier vermittelt der Autor, der Geschichtslehrer ist, echtes Wissen. Zeus, der seinen Vater Kronos in den Tartarus geworfen hat, Hades' Unterwelt und vieles mehr ist ein Abbild alter griechicher Geschichten. Darüber hinaus gelingt es Riordan die Persönlichkeitsstrukturen dieser Wesen zu erfassen und in unsere heutige Zeit zu portieren. Warum sollte also der Meeresgott nicht in kurzen Hosen und Hawaii-Hemd auftreten, warum sollte der Kriegsgott Ares nicht auf einer Harley in schwarzem Bikeroutfit durch das Land fahren? Und auch hier hinkt der Vergleich mit Harry Potter; denn Harry Potter hat kein mythologisches Vorbild. Wer Potter gelesen hat und toll findet und wem es nur um eine gute Geschichte mit Fantasymerkmalen geht, wird hier genauso seine Freude dran haben; keine Frage. Die Geschichten der griechichen Mythologie sind Parabeln und hier und da immernoch aktuell. Wenn man also einen seichten Einstieg in diese Welt haben will, warum nicht über Percy Jackson? Wer die griechichen Geschichten kennt, wird seine Freude an Percy Jackson haben und wie es Riordan gelungen ist, diese ins Heute zu übertragen. Ein gelungenes Buch - im Übrigen wie die anderen dieser Reihe auch - und wer als Erwachsener keine Scheu vor Jugendbüchern hat (mit dem Kindle sieht's ja auch keiner im Zug) wird auch ein bis zwei Tage Kurzweiliges erleben.

Good fantasy world. I had fun until the last page.

Em bom estado

Ok, buen producto