Book Review: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riodan

The Lightning Thief   [LIGHTNING THIEF] [Paperback] by Rick Riordon

The gods exist. We just don't realize it, or at least not all of us. But then one day Zues's master lightning bolt is stolen. He blames Poseidon, all because of an ancient vow that he has broken. A vow not to have children with mortals. The demi-gods are too powerful and could potentially overthrow the gods themselves. Percy Jackson, is this son. And not only did he not steal the bolt, he doesn't even know what he really is.


As a result of the bolt being stolen, the immortals launch an attack on Percy to try and get the bolt, either to give it to Zeus or keep it for themselves. When Percy's family and his best friend, Grover, find out they take him to Camp Half-Blood, a safe training grounds for the demi-gods to grow and learn their past and how to defend themselves.

From Camp Half-Blood Percy is given a quest to find out who really did take the bolt to avoid a battle of the gods that would detroy modern civilization in the process. His quest will take him across the country, from New York to LA, from the Underworld to Mt Olympus. He must confront a variety of mythical creatures, some that offer to help, and some that are set on him failing.

This is a great book (much better than the movie, which is actually a completely different story). The characters are likeable and hateable, they are just enough surprises to keep things interesting without being too confusing for the young adults.

4/5

I was a little shocked at how different the movie was from the book. The movie takes half the book out and makes up the middle part of the story completely. There are several major gods missing, and few extras thrown in to make up for it. Percy's father, Poseidon, is shown in a completely different angle that makes many of Percy's reactions seem a bit odd. It's probably the more different movie adaptation I've ever seen.