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

by Rick Riordan and Robert Venditti

Rob Rokicki and Rick Riordan (Original Author)

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. 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 ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But 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 betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

• ISBN10: 0573709181
• ISBN13: 9780573709180
• Publish Date: 16 August 2021 (first published 12 October 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Samuel French Ltd
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 110
• Language: English

Reviews

[moraa]

9 October 2020: 4 stars
I was worried I wouldn't like it as much as I did 7 years ago
but then we fell into step like old friends and I couldn't help myself

(I'm going to need Poseidon's trident to hold back the waves of nostalgia)

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter






I had a middle grade prompt from my TBR Monopoly board roll. I've been meaning to get to the Percy Jackson books and this seemed like the perfect time. I haven't read any of them yet so I started with The Lightning Thief.



Overall I really enjoyed The Lightning Thief. As a 35 year old woman this read on the younger side of middle grade in my opinion. This would be perfect for older children and tweens.



I liked that Percy didn't have to complete his quest on his own and had a few guides to help him. There were enough clues along the way to figure out what was happening. The ending wasn't a big shock.



All of the characters were pretty even in likability for me. I didn't love any one particular character. They were all very middle of the road. That in and of itself is really why The Lightning Thief is a 4 star read instead of a 5 star for me.



I liked who I was supposed to like and knew who I wasn't supposed to like. There weren't any real surprises.



Overall I enjoyed the time I spent reading The Lightning Thief but it truly wasn't all that memorable for me.

[Nessa Luna]

Read this review and more on my blog October Tune!

Actual rating: 3,5*. When I was at Dutch Comic Con, there were a lot of stands selling comics and graphic novels. I was looking around at one of the stands when my eye fell onto the first Percy Jackson graphic novels. It was very rare to find the first one in a series, so I immediately took it with me. I had been wanting to try out these graphic novels for a while, so I was happy to find this one for half the original price!

The Lightning Thief Graphic Novel follows the same storyline as the book, only simplified and with amazing drawings! We follow Percy on his journey to Camp Half Blood, and then onto his quest to find the lightning bolt that was stolen from Zeus a while ago. Of course, I already knew how the story went, but I hadn't really remembered all the details. I think I've seen the movie more recently than the book, so I had the movie details in the back of my mind (and we all know the movie is really different from the book). Anyway, I enjoyed refreshing my memory with this graphic novel.

The art in this novel was amazing, and I really loved looking at all the pictures. Grover looked very different from the Grover I was used to (yes I pictured the movie version, sue me). And Annabeth and Percy looked exactly like I pictured them. While I still prefer the book, the pictures in this novel really added so much more deatil to the story, which is one of the reasons I love having graphic novels of all my favourite series (imagine the Harry Potter ones?!)



Like I said, the story was the same as the book, so I really have nothing to add about that. Perhaps they left out some of the smaller details, which is of course obvious - otherwise this novel would have been twice or maybe thrice its size. But it's just really good for people who want to refresh their memory of the first couple of books, but don't feel like rereading an entire series.

Unfortunately, the PJO graphic novels series has only three novels out, and no plans for a fourth or fifth one, which is such a shame, because I think I am not the only one who loves these! I really hope that maybe in the future they'll decide to still make books four and five into graphic novels, maybe with different artists though. Please, Disney Hyperion, do this for me?!

My opinion on this book in one gif: 

[alisoninbookland]

Skips over a lot of story. Maybe not the best to read as an intro to the series. It would be a perfect refresher book when returning to the series.

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[Djilan]

This book was my first experience with an audiobook. It was a nice change to really reading a book.
The story in this first book I already partially knew, because I've seen the movie. En though I liked the movie, I like the book better.
Nice to be a part of Percy his road to self-knowledge and being with him and his friends during the quest.
Can't wait to start the second book.

[ellieroth]

Quién lo adaptó peor:¿la película o la novela gráfica? Vamos, peleemos :D

[Sam@WLABB]

I enjoyed this one from beginning to end. Sometimes you just need to spend time with a hero.

[inlibrisveritas]

The book is relatively short and easy to read but don't let that turn you off, the plot is one of sheer originality. Rick integrates Greek Mythology into the real and modern world in a seamless fashion that ensures that all makes sense without loopholes. The writing style is quick and flowing, so while it pulls you in it's also liable to make you keep reading till it's finished. The main characters are kind of the stereotypical trio two boys and one girl scenario where one boy is the leader, one is the goofball and the girl is the brains. It works but that aspect isn't totally original. As I said before the plot moves rather quickly after the first few chapters of explanation so there isn't really time for someone to become bored of it. The overall plot is entertaining and at part even humorous.

I gave this book 4out of 5. At first I thought I wasn't going to like it because of the way it started out and I was a little skeptical to start it because I thought that in some way it would a Harry Potter knock off but I am happy to say I was wrong on both accounts. After the first chapter I was trapped and there was no way I was going to put it down till I finished. I love the originality of having the Greek deities and their many offspring in the modern world. It's like having more then one Hercules. Overall I think that if someone likes fiction like Harry Potter then there is a good chance that they will enjoy this book as well. I do plan on getting the second one when I get the chance.