The “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series by Rick Riordan is something many of my friends have been begging me to read, so I finally did.
This series follows Percy Jackson who learns he is a half-blood, more specifically a son of Posiden, as he goes on several quests throughout the series to save Mount Olympus and the whole world.
The Lightning Thief
“The Lightning Thief” follows the half-blood Percy Jackson and his first quest to retrieve Zeus’ ultimate weapon also known as the Master Bolt.
When I started the first book in this series, “The Lightning Thief,” I had already seen the series released on Disney Plus, so I had some knowledge on what was going to happen. However, this book still captivated me.
I loved the introduction. The way it broke the fourth wall in addressing the reader directly caught my attention. It was super cute and whimsical. Additionally, the way the world is introduced made it super easy to understand.
Another thing I loved is how throughout the book and overall series it addresses dyslexia and ADHD. The book puts both in a more positive light, which isn’t something you normally see.
This is seen because most demigods have ADHD, dyslexia or both, which is presented less of something wrong with the characters and more of something that makes them special.
As for the story itself, I enjoyed every part of it. My favorite part was how the dynamic between Percy, Annabeth and Grover evolved throughout this book alone.
For example, at first Annabeth only seemed interested in Percy because she felt he would be the one to finally get a quest, but as the story progressed it seemed she really started to care about him like when she appeared concerned for him after he fell from the St. Louis Arch.
Overall, “The Lightning Thief” is a great introduction to the rest of the series.
Sea of Monsters
“Sea of Monsters” is the second book in the series. This book follows Percy and his friends as they travel into the Sea of Monsters to save Grover and retrieve the golden fleece, so they can repair the barrier around Camp Half-Blood.
This book is my least favorite from the series. The book itself wasn’t awful but in comparison to the other books it ranks at the bottom.
My favorite part of the book is the introduction of the character Tyson. He is first introduced as being Percy’s mortal friend from school, but later it is revealed that Tyson is Percy’s cyclops half brother.
This causes some tension at Camp Half-Blood simply because cyclops are looked down on by half-bloods, but Percy stands up for Tyson despite his disdain for being made fun of for it. There are even moments where Percy wants nothing to with Tyson, but by the end of the book the two grow close and have a strong bond.
Tyson overall is cute and lovable character that I adore.
He isn’t the only part of the book that I loved. I also enjoyed the references to Greek myths throughout. I truly enjoyed these references because it has tons of references to the Odyssey, which is one of my favorite Greek Tales.
For example, it mentions Circe and her island as well as Polyphemus and his disdain for Odysseus. It even has little details including references to how Odysseus introduced himself to Polyphemus as “Nobody.”
The end of the book was simply fantastic. Throughout the series references were made towards Zeus daughter, Thalia who got turned into a pine tree, but I never thought she would make an appearance as an actual character.
The golden fleece releasing her from the tree is definitely not something I was expecting.
However, this book feels more like a steppingstone for the rest of the series which I will cover in the next issue.
