The Lightning Thief is the first in the 5-book fantasy adventure series Percy Jackson & The Olympians. The author Rick Riordan also wrote the first book in The 39 Clues series.
The Lightning Thief (US cover)
Without spilling any major spoilers, the story revolves around Percy Jackson’s adventures after he discovers that he’s a demigod (part mortal and part god). In the first book, he gets accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt so he gets a quest to return it or else, World War III would ensue.
The book’s written using characters from Greek mythos. It mostly uses the Greek names like Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. But then it also uses Roman names for other characters such as The Furies, Roman name for Erinyes. How do I know this stuff? I’ve long been fascinated by Greek mythology. (My mom even bought me an encyclopedia!) So the fact that this series mainly portrays these characters is just a huge plus to me.
Percy is a dyslexic kid and that’s one other fact I like. He is this young boy who constantly tries to prove that he can be great too despite his abnormalities. I don’t have ADHD. Well at least I don’t think I have! But the decisions Percy have had to make in the book, I can somewhat relate to.
Packed with humorous allusions to Greek mythology… along with rip-snorting action sequences, [this] book really shines.
– The Horn Book
The Lightning Thief (UK cover)
The other major characters Annabeth and Grover are in the same vein as Ron and Hermione of the Potter books. Percy is currently my favorite character but that could change after reading the next books.
The book runs in a fast-paced environment mainly because Percy needs to return the bolt in 10 days. Now that I think about it, there’s just too many events for them all to happen in just those few days it’s almost unbelievable. Their journey is a cross-country trip set in modern United States starting from New York to Hollywood.
The book has just enough humor although personally, I wish it had more. Good thing though is that there’s loads of action in this 375-page novel. The only minor problem I have is one chapter where they meet someone selling water beds. It really felt like it was just a filler.
My Verdict:
I would highly recommend this book to those who like Greek mythology. It used to be one of my favorite subjects back in high school. But that’s not to say you won’t enjoy it if you’re not a fan of the myths. The book does introduce each character briefly and being an adventure novel, it’s still a captivating read even for those with no mythical background. *wink*
The Lightning Thief is yet again one of those books that drags the reader in the adventures of immensely likeable characters set in an alternate reality. The final book was released only last month. Once I find a new job, you can be sure that I’ll grab the second book in a heartbeat.
The Movie
The main reason why I decided to pick up this series last month along with Michael Scott’s The Alchemyst is because a film adaptation for each of these books are currently in production. The Lightning Thief movie is set to be released in theaters next year and here are some information on it we have so far.
The trailer for The Lightning Thief will be shown along with the upcoming Harry Potter film to be in theaters this July.
According to the Internet Movie Database (IMdb), Logan Lerman (Hoot, 9:10 to Yuma) will play Percy. Brandon T. Jackson (The Day the Earth Stood Still, Tropic Thunder) will play Grover, and Alexandra Daddario (perhaps better known for TV appearances) is Annabeth. While the lovely Uma Thurman transforms into Medusa, Pierce Brosnan plays Chiron so we expect this centaur will be quite a handsome beast.
Source: Examiner.com
That’s a funny coincidence. The first trailer will be shown with the Half-Blood Prince movie and Percy Jackson is actually a half-blood too!
The director is Chris Columbus who also directed the first two Potter films. I finished reading The Alchemyst before this book but I can definitely say that I’m more excited to see Percy’s movie. It’s just more fun and reminiscent of Harry Potter, in my opinion. Even though The Alchemyst will have more stuff to offer in the special effects department. I still have higher hopes for this film becoming the next Harry Potter of the movie industry.
A few related links:
Official Site of the Percy Jackson book series (The first chapter of each book can be read here.)
“The Lightning Thief” on IMDB
Read reviews and buy “The Lightning Thief” from Amazon.com
Hi there would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working with? I’m going to start my own blog soon but I’m having a tough time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S Sorry for being off-topic but I had to ask!
I use WordPress and this theme is just a customized child theme for Hybrid.
i know right? reading with it is really hard, plus the electricity consumption. anyway, there’s nothing i could do about it coz i’m really desperate to finish it while it’s still vacation
i just graduated from highschool and i’ll be studying in ust for college, hmmm just sharing 
uhmm, do you have a book review on the novel The Lovely bones? i find it boring but i’m still goin’ to read it because i promised myself that i would never ever watch a movie unless i’ve already read the book
have a great day
)
i know my comment is a bit late, but i just want to share my opinion about the movie. uhm, i got disappointed because i think the movie was supposed to be dreamy right? coz in the book, percy always dreams about something.
well anyway they still sticked with the main plot haha
i still have to finish the fifth book, there are no available books right now so i’m reading the ebook, but i find it hard to read with it, my eyes hurts
nice blog entry btw
Thanks chynn. Yeah, the main plot is largely still the same in the movie but you can’t deny they changed a ton.
Ebooks? I can never survive by reading from those alone. But yeah, I haven’t seen the last book in my recent bookstore visits too.
Hi, Patrick! I finally got to read The Lightning Thief. And you’re right! I looooove it!! Now I’ve got to get my hands on the other books in its series. I just love Riordan’s style — witty and hip and he just makes the entire experience fun!
Yeah, this series really is a fun read. I’m now reading book 4 and I’m loving it so far.
Got redirected here from your review of Rick Riordan’s third book. I love Greek mythology and I’m so happy to actually have this book on hand! Actually my son had just been gifted with The Lightning Thief so I am going to borrow his book. Will perhaps delve into YA reads this year as I haven’t done so last year, with the exception of 2 books from Maximum Ride. I know I’ve been missing a lot of great stories, a lot of which seem to be in YA books.
2009 has been a great year for YA literature. This is actually my favorite genre since I would choose to read a YA book over any other kind of book 90% of the time. But this year, I’m gonna try to change things up a bit. I plan to read some non-fiction alongside the usual YA fix.
Whoever gifted your son with Lightning Thief has good taste in books.
This book is already on my to-buy list this month. It’s a tough call between The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown or Her Perfect Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger.
That’s not a tough choice at all if you ask me. I have not read those two books but I already know the writing styles of those 2 authors after having read their previous books. I would heartily recommend Percy Jackson over those books because I’m sure it’s a much more engaging and enjoying read than them.
weeeee..!!! just finished reading the book
awesome review!!! I will buy the first book. thanks again
Hi Boris! Thanks for dropping by my book blog.
actually tagal ko na nakita ang blog mo na ito. ngaun lang ako naglakas ng loob na pumunta hehehe :p
Hi there! I so want to read this book. But there’s no book 1 right now at National Books, Powerbooks and even Fullybooked. Do you have any tips where else to buy? Usually, I don’t buy 2nd hand books but I’m willing to do so for this one. I’ve been looking for it like crazy. thANKS !
Which branches have you tried? I bought my copy in Fullybooked at Gateway mall in Cubao a couple of months ago. I live in Quezon City and these are the bookstores which I think would still have them in stock.
- NB Bestsellers in SM North Edsa Annex (bought book 2 here)
- Fullybooked both Gateway and SM North The Block branches
- Powerbooks Trinoma
In my experience, these branches get their stocks updated very often. I would suggest you call them first so you don’t waste your time going there. Check out phone numbers in their official websites here:
http://www.syaoran.net/thebookishpinoy/sections/philippine-bookstores/
If live in the south, I would expect Powerbooks Greenbelt to carry this title. I don’t even know where you can buy 2nd hand books of these.
wat r u guys talkin about?!?!?!!??
Hey its my birthday in 7 days
Well an advance happy birthday to you Annie! And thanks for commenting. Glad you find the post useful. ^_^
Hey this was really resourceful I finished all the books 2. They were so good if you have any other info just email me poor u that u dont have a job
Hi Patrick! Great blog entry! I’ve finished all 5 books of this series, and I had a great time with them.
So you finished all five books already? Wow! You seem to be a really fast reader. Poor me. I’m probably the slowest reader in the world.
But anyway, thanks for dropping by. I appreciate the comment. ^^