The Lightning Thief
(Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, Book 1)
Rick Riordan
Mirimax Books (Hyperion)
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****
DESCRIPTION: Percy Jackson's twelve years of live have been one disaster after another. Raised by his sharp-minded mother and cruel, slobby stepfather, diagnosed with dyslexia, ADHD, and other general behavior disorders, Percy doesn't expect much of himself except staying out of trouble, but trouble always finds him. Lately, it's been finding him in quite bizarre ways, as his Latin teacher's Greek myth lessons seem to be coming to life around him; monsters out of legend attack him, his best friend Grover seems to have goat legs, and that’s just the beginning. Soon, he finds out things about the world and himself that his mother never told him, things he wished he'd never known... such as the continued existence and influence of the Olympian gods over the Western civilization they helped create, and how his own peculiar mind traces back to an immortal father he never knew. Percy doesn't have much time to assimilate this new information before being thrust into the middle of a brewing war between Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades over Zeus's stolen lightning, a war that could turn the world into a gods-blasted nightmare and may allow a foe older than Mount Olympus to return to the lands of the living.
REVIEW: Like many books aimed at the target age, Riordan mixes modern pop culture with ancient archetypes in an attempt to both engage readers and put a fresh face on some of the most oft-reprinted myths in Western civilization. Sometimes this approach works, and sometimes it doesn't, but for the most part it seems to work here, partly because Riordan seems to recognize that there's a time for characters to speak "modern" and a time to let events play out without excessively hyping the narrative. The story takes a little bit to really get going, despite an early monster attack, but once it starts moving it clips along at a nice pace. Being a bit more familiar with Greek myths than many readers of this likely are (though less familiar than others, I expect), I saw a few dangers coming before Percy and his companions did, though even then Percy seemed a little slow on the uptake when glaring red flags waved over certain people and situations. The plot shows hints of deeper currents and issues underneath the plentiful action and character banter, issues which will likely be dealt with in future books. I have to wonder if this book will only appeal to kids with an interest in Greek myths, or if perhaps it will encourage them to seek out more information on their own. Riordan doesn't water down the myths for his audience, which is nice for old and new enthusiasts, even if the Young Adult title means that he doesn't explicitly spell out certain aspects of the inter-god relations and beast origins. I'll probably pick up the second book when it's out in paperback, time and budget willing.
You might also enjoy:
The Everworld series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - Four Chicago teens are pulled into a world where magic and elder gods rule)
The Artemis Fowl series (Eoin Colfer, YA Fiction - A boy criminal mastermind pits his wits against the underground Fairy nation)
The Spiderwick Chronicles (Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, YA Fiction - Three kids find a field guide to an invisible magical world around them)
Mythology: A Visual Encyclopedia (Jo Forty, Nonfiction - A guide to global myths and gods)
Fablehaven (Brandon Mull, YA Fiction - Two children discover a magical sanctuary on their grandparents' farm)
The Diadem series (John Peel, YA Fiction - A messenger plucks three children from three different worlds to fulfill a magical quest and discover their own unusual origins)
The Harry Potter series (J. K. Rowling, YA Fiction - An orphaned boy learns of his magical heritage and the hidden Wizarding world)
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The Sea of Monsters
(Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, Book 2)
Rick Riordan
Mirimax Books (Hyperion)
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****
DESCRIPTION: Another school year has passed almost without incident, and Percy Jackson can't wait to get back to Camp Half-Blood for the summer. Of course, when you're the half-human son of a Greek god, the longer you go without trouble, the harder it hits when it arrives. Last year, his satyr friend Grover set out on a quest to seek the lost god Pan, but through nightmares Percy learns that Grover has run afoul of a terrible danger. Aside from Grover's plight, Camp Half-Blood itself is under attack from monsters, the sacred tree that ensures the camp's safety poisoned and dying, and nobody seems inclined to do anything about it. Percy's not one to wait around for adult approval when things need doing, and with his friend and fellow half-blood Annabeth (and Tyson, a schoolmate who also has some startling immortal ancestry), he once again finds himself up to his neck in a modern quest of Olympian proportions.
REVIEW: Like the first book, Percy's second outing successfully maintains that tricky balance between modern pop culture and ancient Greek mythos, with some rather witty updates on classic figures. Also like the first book, Percy seemed a bit slow on the uptake about significant plot moments, especially at the start of the book, but things got moving fairly quickly nevertheless. The third book looks to be a very wild ride, indeed.
You might also enjoy:
The Everworld series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - Four Chicago teens are pulled into a world where magic and elder gods rule)
The Artemis Fowl series (Eoin Colfer, YA Fiction - A boy criminal mastermind pits his wits against the underground Fairy nation)
The Spiderwick Chronicles (Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, YA Fiction - Three kids find a field guide to an invisible magical world around them)
Mythology: A Visual Encyclopedia (Jo Forty, Nonfiction - A guide to global myths and gods)
Fablehaven (Brandon Mull, YA Fiction - Two children discover a magical sanctuary on their grandparents' farm)
The Diadem series (John Peel, YA Fiction - A messenger plucks three children from three different worlds to fulfill a magical quest and discover their own unusual origins)
The Harry Potter series (J. K. Rowling, YA Fiction - An orphaned boy learns of his magical heritage and the hidden Wizarding world)
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The Titan's Curse
(Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, Book 3)
Rick Riordan
Mirimax Books (Hyperion)
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****
DESCRIPTION: Things were tough enough two years ago for Percy Jackson, where his dyslexia and ADHD and peculiar ability to attract trouble got him bounced from one school to another. Ever since learning that he's a half-blood, offspring of his mortal mother and a Greek god, life became a lot more complicated, but he's gotten used to the near-constant danger and the disturbing tendency of mythic monsters to pop up in his vicinity. So, when his satyr friend Grover calls on him to help rescue a pair of undiscovered half-bloods from a boarding school where at least one monster is lurking, he doesn't hesitate, even if he has to ask his mom to drive him and his fellow young demigods to the scene. With him are his old friend Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and the recently restored Thalia, Zeus's offspring, who spent several years as a tree. The rescue mission quickly goes sour - another tendency Percy's become rather used to - but even he isn't prepared for the full depth of trouble he's in for. The Titans themselves are on the move, calling in some of the most disturbing and powerful monsters ever to walk the earth, in preparation for the ultimate assault on Mount Olympus. Even worse: Percy and his half-blood friends are supposed to help them destroy the gods, though how nobody knows - and if nobody knows, they can't stop it. The Oracle tells them their fate may already be sealed, but the thing about half-blood heroes is that they never give up, even in an impossible fight.
REVIEW: Once again, Riordan weaves in clever updates with classical myths to deliver a witty and action-filled adventure which even us grown-ups can enjoy. He also pulls off some nice twists in the plot that change the landscape and set the stage for more intense adventures to come; this isn't another series where the end leaves you almost exactly where you were at the start, give or take a couple extras. I enjoyed it, and I look forward to reading the fourth book when it comes out in paperback... or when I find it at Half Price Books.
You might also enjoy:
The Everworld series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - Four Chicago teens are pulled into a world where magic and elder gods rule)
The Artemis Fowl series (Eoin Colfer, YA Fiction - A boy criminal mastermind pits his wits against the underground Fairy nation)
The Spiderwick Chronicles (Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, YA Fiction - Three kids find a field guide to an invisible magical world around them)
Mythology: A Visual Encyclopedia (Jo Forty, Nonfiction - A guide to global myths and gods)
Fablehaven (Brandon Mull, YA Fiction - Two children discover a magical sanctuary on their grandparents' farm)
The Diadem series (John Peel, YA Fiction - A messenger plucks three children from three different worlds to fulfill a magical quest and discover their own unusual origins)
The Harry Potter series (J. K. Rowling, YA Fiction - An orphaned boy learns of his magical heritage and the hidden Wizarding world)
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The Battle of the Labyrinth
(Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, Book 4)
Rick Riordan
Mirimax Books (Hyperion)
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****
DESCRIPTION: Percy didn't mean to blow up his new school on Orientation Day, but these things happen when you're the half-blood son of a Greek god; monsters and trouble find you in the unlikeliest places. What's worse is that his mom's new boyfriend, Paul, had to pull some serious strings to get Percy into the private school in the first place. It wasn't his fault, but he doesn't have time to explain. The long-anticipated assault on Camp Half-Blood by the forces of the Titan lord Kronos - including a goodly number of half-blood campers who defected to the other side - is imminent. In order to save the camp and possibly hinder (if not completely avert) the coming war, Percy and his friends - Annabeth, the satyr Grover, and Percy's Cyclops half-brother Tyson - set out to find the greatest inventor known to god or man, Daedelus. To reach him, they have to navigate his most infamous creation, the Labyrinth, a creation which has grown and changed through the ages until the threat of a Minotaur seems laughably quaint. But Percy isn't the only one looking for Daedelus; Luke, Annabeth's former boyfriend and current chief lackey to the Titans, wants to find the old man, too, for if he can control the Labyrinth then nowhere will be safe from his foul master.
REVIEW: Right on par with the previous books in the series, Battle for the Labyrinth starts in high gear and scarcely lets up until it hits its cliffhanger ending. Many
more peculiar monsters and lesser gods pop up in Percy's adventures, displaying just how truly broad and inventive the Greek myth cycles were to those (like me) who just had
passing acquaintance with them. Of course, Riordan updates gods and monsters with fun modern twists, but he continues to work in deeper threads and emotions. I look forward to
reading the fifth and final book in the series, which just came out in hardcover (and which I therefore cannot afford yet.)
And, as the observant may note, Disney has purchased film rights to the series. The first film is purportedly in production as I type. Given Disney's recent track record (the
deplorable Spiderwick Chronicles and cringeworthy Race to Witch Mountain spring instantly to mind), I can't say I'm that confident in their ability to handle a
story like this...
You might also enjoy:
The Everworld series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - Four Chicago teens are pulled into a world where magic and elder gods rule)
The Artemis Fowl series (Eoin Colfer, YA Fiction - A boy criminal mastermind pits his wits against the underground Fairy nation)
The Spiderwick Chronicles (Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, YA Fiction - Three kids find a field guide to an invisible magical world around them)
Mythology: A Visual Encyclopedia (Jo Forty, Nonfiction - A guide to global myths and gods)
Fablehaven (Brandon Mull, YA Fiction - Two children discover a magical sanctuary on their grandparents' farm)
The Diadem series (John Peel, YA Fiction - A messenger plucks three children from three different worlds to fulfill a magical quest and discover their own unusual origins)
The Harry Potter series (J. K. Rowling, YA Fiction - An orphaned boy learns of his magical heritage and the hidden Wizarding world)
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