The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, #1)

by Rick Riordan

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school . . . again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself.

Until the Minotaur chases him to summer camp.

Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. The gods of Mount Olympus, he's coming to realize, are very much alive in the twenty-first century. And worse, he's angered a few of them: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy has just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property, and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. On a daring road trip from their summer camp in New York to the gates of the Underworld in Los Angeles, Percy and his friends–one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena–will face a host of enemies determined to stop them. To succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of failure and betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

• ISBN10: 142313589X
• ISBN13: 9781423135890
• Publish Date: 13 October 2009 (first published 14 June 2005)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publisher: Disney Book Publishing Inc.
• Imprint: Disney Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 4 Stars

YAYYY! That was such a fun & wild little rideeeee. I can't wait to read book #2!

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Gahhhh I cannot BELIEVEEEE i've NEVER read the Percy Jackson books! The book was released when I was 15 and it seemed a few years too young for me (ahhh in my infinite teenage wisdom, I engaged in definite bookish snobbery). I AM SO EXCITED TO FINALLY READ THESE BOOKS!

[bookperson]

re-read July 2020 - still as good as I remember

[kiracanread]

I'm so mad at myself for taking so long to start this series. It's SO SO SO good and I can't wait to continue.

[kalventure]

WOW. What an absolute treasure this book is! I LOVED reading this book for the first time in my 30s! If this book been around when I was in middle school, Little Kaleena would have devoured it as well. But alas, I was 21 when the book first came out and I was out of the target demographic.

Do you love mythology, especially those from Ancient Greece? Do you like Chosen One stories that also center on friendship and not being able to do Heroic Things on your own? Do you like humor and a fast-paced narrative that grips you from the first chapter title? Then you need to read this series, regardless of your age!

Audiobook notes: Jesse Bernstein's narration is nothing short of incredible. He captures the essence of a 12 year old Percy so well, not to mention the other character voices. I typically have an attention span struggle when reading audiobooks alone, but this not only kept my interest but motivated me to do chores around my apartment so I could keep reading. 15/10 would recommend!

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[celinenyx]

Fun take on Greek mythology, but I'm not really the target audience for it. I liked that the main character has ADHD and dyslexia, and how these were incorporated in the story. I would have looooved this as a kid.

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Trigger warnings: domestic abuse, parental abandonment, death, violence.

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

This book SHOULD have been published in 2000.

WHY, YOU ASK?

Because I feel very strongly that I would have loved to read this when I was a youngling and then my friends and I could have argued about our cabins and dreamed about going off on mad adventures with satyrs and demigods.

*sigh*

I suppose I am the Harry Potter generation and in all fairness, we should leave some of this other goodness to another group of kids. I really did think that this was wonderfully written. The mythology was pretty solid, Percy & Co.'s behavior was true to their age but not supremely annoying. The imagery was great, I really liked the use of cheeseburgers and milkshakes as bribes from gods/monsters. I like Charon and the fact that Percy followed through on his promise to him. I thought the whole thing was fun.

Obviously, as a MG novel, this story will not be for everyone. As an adult, I can confirm it was entertaining despite the fact I am 15 years older than the intended audience. I had to get used to the idea that these were sixth graders and be okay with that before delving into the adventure. AND THAT'S OKAY. These are pretty mature sixth-graders.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of mythology, doesn't mind the protagonists being younglings, and is down for a good, fun romp.

ALSO.

This book is NOT the film. It diverts at just about the point when they leave their first task. Do not expect the same story. Enjoy the differences. THEY ARE MUCH MORE INTERESTING THAN THE MOVIE. GODS GET INVOLVED. BAD STUFF IS GOING DOWN. In this vein, the ending was a bit draggy BUT TOTALLY NECESSARY for the continuing series plot.

If these books came out when you were an adult and you feel a bit cheated by not being in the proper age group, do yourself a favor and read it anyway.

It's a quick read. It's fun. Just do it.

[CrowNoYami]

I'm changing my review from last time. First I would like to say that the ONLY problem that I have with this book is that the whole base of the story is that the gods need to cheat on their spouse to have the half-bloods in the first place. Now, I'm sure some of them do not care, and if they don't? Fine with me. If they do? NOT cool!

Otherwise this is an amazing story that I can't wait to read more about. Percy is not only likeable he's downright relatable and freakin' hilarious. You feel everything that he does, but unlike what some authors do, Rick Riordan lets you experience it for yourself instead of outright telling you how to feel.

I can't express how wonderfully the story flows and drags you under. You become a part of this world, entering into an adventure that (much like Percy) you didn't ask for but are going to succeed regardless. The world created is perfect in its imperfections, humans are still trashing the planet and on more than one occasion there are real-life issues being addressed.

[Nicole Lynn]

Review to come

[thepunktheory]

Book vs. Movie:

Let's start with the novel. I am very fond of Greek mythology so this book was simply perfect for me. Along with the plot we get bits of interesting info on the Greek Gods. Although I already read quite a bunch of books on that matter, even I learned some new things!
The story is built cleverly around those bits of actual mythology and they are incorporated very well.
Percy's quest is thrilling and so funny! There are so many clever plot-twist, you just can't put it down!

Now to the movie. As you can tell, I was pretty excited to finally watch the film. unfortunately I ended up disappointed.
For some reason basically the entire quest was changed. The outline, the stolen bolt and Percy retrieving it, stayed the same but all the adventure, riddles and encounters along the way were either changed our completely left out. Thus the story ended up with no depth, confusing and rushed. Not only did they leave out events, also many characters I would have loved to see didn't make it to the screen. So many funny bits you don't get to see!
Furthermore, I was a bit annoyed with the casting. I am aware that you always imagine characters different from what they look like on the screen. But a girl who is described with blond curly hair, having straight brown hair in the film is just a bad joke.

All in all I have to say that the adaptation was a big disappointment. It was an okay-ish film but can't be compared to the book. Just go ahead and read it instead of bothering with the film. Can't wait to read the next part!

[Charli G.]

I wasn't sure if I was going to review this one being that it is technically 10 years old (the copyright date is for 2005 although the listed publication date on Goodreads is 2006) but then I decided I had to. Why? Because there has to be someone out there, like me, who hasn't read this book yet. And that, my friends, is a travesty.

I admit I'm late to the Percy Jackson game. I saw the trailers for the Lightning Thief movie and I was mildly interested but didn't pay much attention because at the time I wasn't reading (the dreaded reading slump) and because I actually didn't know it was based on a book at that time. I learned that later, but still didn't watch the movie or read the book.

But as I was perusing the library shelves at my college, The Lightning Thief was sitting there in all it's glory and I decided I might as well see what the fuss was about. I saw - so much so that I actually finished the book (devoured it) the same day I checked it out, which was actually yesterday (Oct. 12, 2015).

I'm a Greek Mythology nut. I absolutely love it. Yet I found characters from the Greek myths that I hadn't heard of before in this book. Which is a good thing because it wasn't boring to me when the Greek myth characters were in the mix. I loved how the gods were portrayed - especially Artemis, who is included even though she's chosen to remain a maiden and therefore wouldn't have children. At first Ares was a bit of a shock but then I could see where a biker would be a good fit for him. And I'm still laughing about the fact that Poseidon looks like a beach bum/tourist when Percy meets him.

I won't tell you, if you don't know, who Percy's father is, but I will say it didn't take me long to figure it out. But then again, that's not a bad thing. It's actually quite helpful.

It's hard not to give away the entire story - you just have to read the book for yourself if you haven't already. Trust me, this book is amazing.