Saturday, August 22, 2009

Review: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

A young school boy finds out that he is half god but being half god means you have enemies. What has Percy done to deserve enemies? Who are the enemies? And what is the purpose of being half god?

Rick Riordan does a very good job of intergrating the Greek gods into an urban setting. It reminded me very much of Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods' but less mystery and more action. The Greek gods play a very important role in the story but the focus is really on Percy and the other half-bloods in the book. The storyline follows Percy Jackson who is framed for stealing a very important godly item. To accompany him is Annabeth the offspring of Athena, and Grover a Satyr who's job is to protect Percy on his quest.

There was a little bit of hype surrounding this book and I am glad that I wasn't let down. Nothing felt too cliche and the twists of all the minor gods and demons just made the book that much more interesting. The only problem I see is that a lot of greek names are introduced and it could be a little confusing for the younger readers. However, if you have a little inside knowledge you won't even notice the infinite names.

I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the Percy Jackson series.

3 comments:

Vanessa said...

I loved this series as well. Still haven't gotten a chance to read the last one yet. I think I'll also see the movie when it comes out.

Jon Snow said...

Didn't know there was a movie coming out. Should be pretty cool.

Shami said...

Just saw this movie with my husband. We loved it... however, my husband was a bit disappointed that things were somewhat different than in the books (are they ever not?) I haven't read the books yet but can't wait to. :)