Although Rick Riordan's young fans don't know it, they're getting something of a classical education while they're reading his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The stories are set in today's world, with side trips into pure fantasy, but they're told in a simple, down-to-earth way that has won Riordan readers throughout the world.
Greek gods walk through the pages of Riordan's novels for juvenile readers, and they bring with them all the old stories from Greek mythology. I read the first volume of the projected five-book series to my nine year old and we had a blast with it. He was amazed at how I always knew the stories behind the stories and knew so much about the gods themselves.
I explained to him that I read a lot of Greek mythology when I was in third grade. Since getting his interest piqued, he had me buy him a compendium of Greek myths and has been reading constantly. His knowledge has surpassed mine at this point. That's the power of Riordan's storytelling.
Percy Jackson is a great hero for the series. He's an average kid for the most part - ADHD, video game junkie, pop culture freak - except that he has extra problems: he never gets to stay in the same school because some weird thing happens, he gets blamed for it, and then he's expelled. The weird thing that happens is usually some god or monster tries to kill him. Thanks to the Mist, the mystical spell that keeps mere mortals from seeing the gods or their creatures, everyone believes Percy did something.
In the first book, THE LIGHTNING THIEF, Percy finds out he's the son of Poseidon, the god of the seas. He also finds out he has a lot of cool powers while in the water - like being able to breathe underwater and swim superfast. Percy's character, and his pals Annabeth and Grover, are true highlights of the series. I also enjoy the adults as well, Percy's mom, Chiron, the centaur mentor, and Mr. Dionysius, the camp director. Every summer, Percy goes to Camp Half-Blood, where the half-gods go hang out to learn how to fight and be champions, and where they learn their powers and go on quests.
I also like how Riordan is incorporating his own world-building into the myths of the Greek gods. He borrows a lot from the original mythology, but he changes it and warps it to fit the modern world as well. That's important because his young readers get to see how dysfunctional the Greek gods were and how their problems might apply to their own families. That's just one of the lessons that become apparent throughout the books.
THE SEA OF MONSTERS starts out with Percy getting in trouble at school again. He's become friends with a new kid, Tyson, that no one likes, and he's become a target for school bullies that turn out to be monsters in disguise. Their grudge dodgeball match literally destroys the school and it isn't long before it's just a memory and a burning ruin. And the battle will leave most readers laughing their heads off, even though they might be worried about Percy at the same time. Tyson ends up having secrets of his own.
Pursued by the monsters, Percy beats a fast retreat to Camp Half-Blood with Annabeth and Tyson in tow. As soon as he gets there, though, he knows trouble has broken out all over. Thalia's tree, the one that protects Camp Half-Blood, has been poisoned and is dying. The blame has been placed squarely on Chiron.
The tree is important, not only because it protects the camp, but because Zeus turned his daughter Thalia into it as she lay dying. So a lot of bad things are about to start happening. This whole plot point shows how good Riordan's storytelling and world-building is. I knew about the tree and the history from the first book, and now all of that is menaced. You can't help but be drawn in.
Furthermore, to see Chiron take the fall for someone else's evil is just wrong. I couldn't wait for Percy to undertake a quest to figure out exactly what was going on.
But Riordan had some surprises to unveil first. The biggest one is that Percy has a half-brother, and it's a person that Percy would never have guessed. Not only that, but his half-brother is someone no one else at the camp likes. So Percy is shunned by everyone at camp and is more mad at Poseidon than ever.
The second surprise is that Grover, the satyr that has been Percy's friend the longest, is in BIG trouble. He's masqueraded himself as a girl by stealing a wedding dress and has been taken by a Cyclops that plans on marrying him. And if Grover lets the monster find out that he's a satyr and not female, the Cyclops will eat him.
Just as Percy's getting ready to go to Grover's rescue, he also finds out that the Cyclops has the Golden Fleece, and that it can be used to heal Thalia's tree. From that point on, my son and I were swept up in a whirlwind of adventures that placed us on the sea in a ship, shanghaied by zombie pirates, trapped between Scylla and Charybdis (monsters that Jason and the Argonauts and Odysseus had to face in their respective adventures), aboard Blackbeard's pirate ship, and face-to-face with Luke, Percy's archenemy from the first book.
Riordan's Percy Jackson novels are great reads. They're filled with incredible adventures, lots of dialogue and jokes, magic and monsters, and real-life stories that kids (and adults!) can enjoy. We've got the third book in hand, THE TITAN'S CURSE, and are anxiously awaiting Book 4: THE BATTLE IN THE LABYRINTH.
I recommend reading the series in order, but there's enough explanation that you can jump on anywhere. Kids who love fantasy novels and haven't yet found these will thank you forever.
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Popular Highlights in this book
“Percy,” Chiron said, his voice impossibly soft. “The titan Kronos is my father.”Highlighted by 11,309 Kindle readers- Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames.Highlighted by 10,965 Kindle readers
- “Dude!” the centaur groaned, almost buckling under Tyson’s weight. “Do the words ‘low-carb diet’ mean anything to you?”Highlighted by 9,603 Kindle readers
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| Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightning Thief | Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Sea of Monsters | Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Titan's Curse | Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Battle of the Labyrinth | Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Last Olympian | |
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| Read the Complete Series! | Book 1 | Book 2 | Book 3 | Book 4 | Book 5 |
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| Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods | Wrath of the Triple Goddess | From the World of Percy Jackson Sun and the Star, The | The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel | Lighting Thief Illustrated Edition | Camp Half Blood Confidential | |
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| Perfect for Fans of Percy Jackson and the Olympians! | The original heroes from The Lightning Thief are reunited for their biggest challenge yet: getting Percy to college when the gods are standing in his way. | In his continuing quest to earn college recommendation letters from the gods, Percy has to pet sit the goddess Hecate's polecat and giant mastiff during Halloween week. What could go wrong? | Percy Jackson fans, rejoice! Nico and Will have a book of their own! Demigods Nico di Angelo and Will Solace must endure the terrors of Tartarus to rescue an old friend in this thrilling adventure. | You've read the best- selling book. Now submerge yourself in the thrilling, stunning, and action-packed graphic novel. | This deluxe gift edition of the internationally best-selling first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, lavishly illustrated by series artist John Rocco, is a must-have for Riordan fans. | In this entertaining guidebook, a companion to Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, and Trials of Apollo series, Percy and his demigod friends offer newbies an insider's look at Camp Half-Blood, bug juice and all. |
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| The Trials of Apollo The Hidden Oracle | Kane Chronicles The Red Pyramid | Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer | Heroes of Olympus The Lost Hero | Daughter of the Deep | The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities | |
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| Discover More Books by New York Times #1 Best-Selling Author Rick Riordan | Favorite Greek and Roman demigods return in a five-book adventure quest with a fresh twist: they’re helping Apollo regain his immortal status. | The best-selling author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians takes on ancient Egypt in the first book of a trilogy that offers a modern-day portal into a rich fantastical world of ancient myth. | The world���s foremost expert in bringing ancient stories to life for modern young readers through fast-paced, hilarious, and high-stakes adventure quests turns to Norse mythology for the first time. | Rick Riordan, the best-selling author of the Percy Jackson series, pumps up the action and suspense in The Lost Hero, the first book in The Heroes of Olympus series. | New York Times #1 best-selling author Rick Riordan pays homage to Jules Verne in his exciting modern take on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. | Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents ten new stories--including one of his own--about beloved heroes that sprang from the imaginations of some of the best middle grade authors working today. |
| Type of Mythology | Greek and Roman | Egyptian | Norse | Greek and Roman | None | Various Cultures and Mythologies |
| Does Percy Jackson Make An Appearance In The Book/Series? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
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Reviewed in India on January 31, 2024
William Fernandes
Reviewed in India on January 31, 2024
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