The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

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.

Reviewed by CrowNoYami on

5 of 5 stars

Share


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.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 January, 2017: Finished reading
  • 1 January, 2017: Reviewed
  • 31 December, 2020: Started reading
  • 31 December, 2020: on page 82 out of 384 22%
  • 11 January, 2021: Finished reading
  • 1 January, 2017: Reviewed
  • Started reading
  • Finished reading
  • 1 January, 2017: Reviewed