Percy Jackson and the Olympians (part 1 of 5, The Lightning Thief)

by The Scholar Reviews

source: Google Images

Greek Gods, a twelve year old hero tasked with the quest of returning a godly weapon, and the most entertaining chapter titles known to mankind. This is about the only way I can describe the entertaining first installment to an extremely entertaining series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. This review will be a spoiler free discussion of the book’s general info and availability, characters, and the basic plot. So hop on board a pegasus, grab some ambrosia and nectar, and let’s dive in.

The Lightning Thief is a fairly old book, about 9 years in fact, but it is still easy enough to find. The paperback edition from Indigo is $7.99 and the Kobo edition is $8.09, at a length of 375 pages. The audiobook on Audible is $31.93 without membership and $23.35 or one credit if a member.

I would not recommend first time readers purchase the audiobook version of the book, as the narrators of both the unabridged and abridged editions, Jesse Bernstein and Walter Lewis respectively, are rather uninspired and mediocre in their performances and may turn less steadfast listeners away. Personally I read the book on my eReader and I can say with utmost confidence that the writing is fantastic. The pace is great, a little slow at the beginning perhaps, but it makes up for it with high adventure, stellar characters, and uproarious humour. The jokes in this book are very funny, in a sarcastic way. Some of my favourites are the chapter titles, ex. I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher (chapter one) and I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom (chapter six). These may seem strange out of context, but if you read the book, they tend to cause uproarious laughter, at least they do in my case.

The plot of The Lightning Thief is similar to that of a Greek myth, which is appropriate as the series draws heavily on greek mythology. It uses the “test and quest” method of storytelling, in this case the main character Percy is thrown headlong into a world he thought only existed in stories, and is tasked with returning Zeus’s lightning bolt by the summer solstice, with the help of another demigod and a satyr. They travel across the continental US looking for the bolt and finding a series of clues, encountering many famous monsters along the way. The book's plot is fairly simple, as it is the opening to a series as well at being written for slightly younger audiences. This may turn off some readers, but I suggest patience as the main series plot isn’t revealed until the end of this book.

Our protagonist is the titular character of the series, Percy. He is goofy and lovable, with a sharp wit and some interesting traits that I can’t really talk about because this review is spoiler free. Percy is also the narrator of the book and his dry humour and sometimes silly take on things really light up the book’s narration. Other than that he fits into the “chosen hero” archetype, but is far from being perfect as opposed to the main characters of most YA fiction.

In conclusion, Percy Jackson is not for everyone. If you are a reader that enjoys mythology and classic adventure stories, then this is the book for you. If you’re not that kind of reader, then I suggest you give this series a skip, or try some other books by Rick Riordan. My recommendation would be the Kane Chronicles because it’s written for older audiences and has less of the “test and quest” formula seen in the Percy Jackson series. Overall, this book scores a 6.5/10 for me, as it is a good opening to a better series. Stay on the lookout as I plan to review the entire series.