The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

This book is amazing. It is a very action packed book about the Greek gods which covers everything, from satyr to Madussa. This book is a very fun read which pulls you in - It makes you read more and more. The main character is a twelve-year old boy named Percy Jackson. Percy has dyslexia which causes him to see words in a different way than us. Since Percy has dyslexia and for other reasons that I will not dislcose (for fear of giving the secrets away), he has gotten kicked out of many boarding schools. Also Percy is what they call a "Half Blood." Read the book and you will find out more about Percy Jackson's exciting quests.

I purchased this book shortly after its publication in the hopes that my youngest son and I could start reading another series together (we had recently finished the Cirque du Freak series and thoroughly enjoyed it.) As much as we loved "Cirque," the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series took us on a journey that neither of us will ever forget. Rick Riordan's seamless weaving of Greek Mythology into a coming of age teen tale made for an engaging, evolving, storyline that readers of all ages could enjoy. The ONLY reason that this particular book got 4 stars is because some of the late book in the series are actually better. I applaud the author and his ability to remain entertaining over the course of an entire series. I highly recommend this book to one and all.

I can't help it. I just found this new to me series delightful and after reading the Lightning Thief I've gotta read 'em all. What a great way to merge ancient mythology our modern world. You can't take anything seriously and I'm always getting a great chuckle from the modern adaptations that Mr. Riordan tosses in for exceedingly funny humorous situations and ya never know what will happen next.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians was hailed as the next coming of Harry Potter. I scoffed at this and refused to read this book because how can a book even dream of living in that series footsteps? Every time I heard that praise I thought it was a pretty poor way for the publishers to ride on the coat tails of another series' success.

I was fully expecting this book to be terrible - but I was wrong. It was amazing. I absolutely loved it. The incorporation of well known Greek gods was fantastic and carefully done. Percy was a wonderful protagonist. Especially since it's in his pov, we can get more in touch with his emotions and connect with him a lot faster than we did with Harry. He's determined, kind, impulsive, and not without a stock full of bravery. In fact, this could only be me, but I found myself thinking of him as Harry at certain points of the book.

The writing was fast and utterly engrossing. This book is one non-stop action packed thrill ride to the end. It's neat to see how the mythological world blended in with the normal world, giving it that whole magical sense of wonder. Not to mention it's a bit more up to date with the modern times. Percy was the you know, special one, but he didn't feel like a badly drawn portrait of Gary Stu. He was quite a developed character, and his abilities didn't overtake the rest of the plot or the other characters who could all stand on their own as well.

Btw, if anyone else reads this, did anyone picture Kevin Smith, the dude who played Ares in Xena, as the Ares in this book? It certainly did remind me of him. Haha. This is a fantastic book and I can't wait to read the other books in the series. A worthy successor of the Harry Potter books. If you love Harry Potter then you'll definitely love these books.

I've always been interested in Greek mythology, so this book caught my eye really quick! The story is extremely simple, which is not suprising since it is written for middle schoolers. But, it was a fun and fast read. My only issues were the ease in which the problems were solved and the mythology presented in the book. For example, why would a 6th grader be able to take out a minotaur so easily? And then beat Ares, the God of War, in a battle? There was also a lot of mythology introduced in this book, with little explanation behind it. I knew most if because I've studied Greek mythology in high school and in college. But, how much of this would the average middle schooler know? Still, a very fun way to introduce mythology to young readers! I'll continue on with the series.