Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Percy Jackson and the … (2024)

Beats the pants off Harry Potter. Wonderful YA literature, and one of the few YA works that doesn't draw a thick black line between boys and girls (while, at the same time, it paints a light, subtle and entirely realistic picture of a normal boy's dawning awareness that girls exist).

You can tell Riordan knows his Greek myths inside and out, loves them, and gets it. My only quibble is the way he casts the epic battle(s) in terms of Good vs. Evil: a very Judeo-Christian view, and one that is antithetical to the spirit of the Greek myths, where the Gods just jerk mortals and each other around on a level playing field.

I loved it. I finished the first book, The Lightning Theif, in a day. It's awesome. I kept thinking how good it would be to read this to any kid, especially those with struggles like ADHD and dyslexia. The struggles these kids have turn out to be a blessing. Instead of not seeing correctly, it's that they see overly well. They're given superpowers and are more than mortals. It's a really fun read based on Greek mythology in modern times.

This series was one of the most fun in fantasy fiction, for me! It is real, to the point, very tongue and cheek and almost always full of surprises. For instance when Percy steps out of the 'elevator' that takes his trio to Olympia, he steps out and 'nearly has a heartattack!' It has fantasy mixed with very real human emotions. None of the thinking about mankind and the greater good conflict, this guy wants to know which bully will beat him up in his next school and who his mum will date next. I couldn't put the books down till I had finished them and re-read the funny bits again!

These are the first three books of the series 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians'. All the books of this series were very good. Although I did enjoy all of them, the one that was more interesting was the third book. The third book was 'Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse'. This book, in my opinion, had the most adventure. They lost and gain new people throughout their 'Prophecy'. None of the other books really had that in them. You may disagree and like other books, but the third book remains the best to me.

The two stars are mainly because of my history with this book, plus the fact that he wrote it for his son.

I used to love these books, they were very favorite books when I read them and Riordan was, as far as I was concerned, a genius. Then I read some other things, and I got interested in some other books that became my favorites instead of these, but I still remembered these books as really, really great.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I reread the series. I had been reading about them online and hearing about them, mostly some negative things, and I was wondering if I had been wrong the first time I read them. Well, it turns out I was, at least in my opinion.

First, the writing is junk. I am not saying the plot or the characters (yet), I am saying the writing. I recognized what I saw here, and I can recognize this in all of his kids books. This was a guy who didn't know how to write, and knew this about himself, but was clever, and put just enough more-or-less witty remarks and corny jokes in to distract the readers from the fact that he can't write. I recognize his inability to write in his adult books, too. Even though he has written many, many books by this point, both before and after Percy Jackson, he can't exactly write a book.

The next thing which irritated me were the jokes on their own. Just bad. It was funny at times, I admit that. And in the first couple of chapters it's fine. But by the time you are third of the way into the first book and have been hearing these not-so-witty, not-so-funny "jokes" then I kind of just wanted to throw the book out of the window. When a series has a couple of remarks like this scattered about, and used at important times, then it's funny, or at least one can stand it. But just the jokes every five seconds were making me claw my own eyes out.

Maybe I am being unreasonable about this one, but I found his portrayal of the Greek Gods and Goddesses to the very, very disrespectful. Particularly Dionysus got on my nerves. He was a God that, like all of the others, was worshipped by people for many years as a big part of their lives, and in Percy Jackson he is depicted as a loser he gets drunk on soda! Riordan does similar things with other Gods and Goddesses. I wouldn't mind them being in the series if he was just a bit more respectful.

I also was bothered by the main character's dyslexia. Obviously, I was not bothered that the main character has dyslexia, what bothered me was how Riordan made having dyslexia be like. At one point, Percy (main character) sees a sign that says "Private Event" as "Pirate Event" I have researched dyslexia a lot (for personal reasons, long before I read Percy Jackson for the first time) and no one with dyslexia would have seen "Private" as "Pirate". In the fifth book, Percy sees "Gods" as "Dogs" not only is this one highly unlikely (if even possible), it also contrasts what he wrote in the first book. (For example, wouldn't he more likely see "gods" as "os", since he couldn't see the R or the V in "Private"?) . I feel like he could have made the dyslexia more realistic--it is not something to laugh about, it's a real obstacle in the lives of people who have it. This annoyed me the first time I read this book, too, but I got past it.

This book series also totally copied Harry Potter, but without a lot of the things that made Harry Potter a work of art. Lots of books now have slightly copied minor things from that series, but never a complete copy, and never as bad as Riordan. For example, the main character has messy black hair and green eyes, and has never had many friends (Harry/Percy) and is raised by at least one abusive member of their family (The Dursleys'/ Percy's stepfather). Next, he finds out he is has magic and gets a special weapon (Harry's wand/Riptide) and he goes to school to learn about his magic (Hogwarts/Camp-half-blood) he meets a very wise teacher who he likes (Dumbledore/Chiron) and one teacher that he doesn't like (Snape/Dionysus. Though Snape was a much better and more complex character then Dionysus was in Percy Jackson). The main character's two best friends are boy who is very loyal, but not that smart (Ron/Grover) and girl who is brilliant but can be a little bit of a know-it-all sometimes (Hermione/Annabeth). There is a boy with longish blonde hair who is cruel to the main character (Malfoy/Luke), and a set of mischievous brothers (Fred and George/Travis and Connor) and set of twins where one dies (Fred and George/Caster and Pollux). The villain's name is not supposed to be said (Voldemort/Kronos), and at some point the main character is known for surviving something no one has before (Harry survived the killing curse/Percy reached sixteen), there is a character who is not in the series very much, but is very kind and nice to the main character, but he dies (Cedric/Beckendorf) and this character was also dating a girl who was nice enough but cried a lot (Cho Chang/Silena Beauregard). I could go on. It appears that Ridordan had a pretty good idea for a book series, but couldn't think of a plot so he found one that had already been used and was popular, but changed it slightly.

In short, I can't think of Percy Jackson as anything more then a cheap, Harry Potter rip-off.

The Percy Jackson books are really just superb.

I remember my first time through the series as a much younger reader (probably around Percy's age, in fact, which is about 12 in the first book), and I know I loved them then. This series follows demigods, or the children of Greek gods and mortals, as they fight to defend their own lives as well as Olympus, the home of their godly parents (fights which take both physical and emotional forms). The premise is truly incredible, and it was so compelling to see the stories of Greek mythology translated into a fun series for a young audience. The writing is humorous, easy to read, and very approachable for readers of all ages. And the characters, especially Percy, are so lovably relatable.

I adored the series as a kid, but I hadn't taken the time to revisit them until this year. As a freshman in college, I was seeking some nostalgia and a reminder of the normalcy of home, so I decided to pick up the Percy Jackson books one more time. Am I glad I did! I raced through all the books -the fact that I was reading the collection came in very handy here, since I didn't even have to wait for the library! - and I found myself transported to the world of the demigods once again. Percy is still as relatable as ever - all the characters are incredible, for that matter - the writing is still joyful and fun, and the idea is as compelling as ever. Despite being a book for children, this series manages to deal with some complicated themes (and does it very well) and also captures experiences relevant for all ages. It's also just such a great time!

I'm sure most people have at least heard of Percy Jackson at this point, but I don't know how many people have taken the time to make their way through the series, so this is my pitch to start! If you've never read it, it is absolutely not too late to start, and it will be an enjoyable read for sure. If you've already read it, like I had, the nostalgia makes the experience even better. This is a series that is both incredible entertaining but also leaves you more than you were when you started, and I think that's the best kind. I know I'll be paying Camp Half-Blood another visit very soon!

Honestly, this was one of the best series I have ever read in my life (no kidding). The plot twists and how Rick Riordan introduces the new characters and monsters are truly pulling me in to read more. I can't wait to read the 4th and 5th book to finish the series. At the end of book three, it ends with a cliffhanger, with makes my dyingly want to know more. I can't believe all three of the main gods all had children! Percy and Nico who appear more in the story, are truly contrasting characters. Even though Thalia joined the hunters and Zoë Nightshade, Bianca Di Angelo have given their lives in the quest, they are also apart of the hunters, which is lead by the goddess Artemis. My friend told me that, After Nico hears that his sister has passed away, he turns into an emo kid. Percy is still the same. Always getting kicked out of school and fighting monsters with is pen-sword, Riptide. So far, my favorite books of the series were the Sea of Monsters and the Titan's Curse. If you are interested to read books about Greek Myths, and truly want to read an amazing book, I recommend this Series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

The series I started reading in early high school and continue to enjoy and immerse myself in ten and a bit years later. It's comedic, sometimes silly and sometimes deeply emotional, but it weaves the adventure, action and story so well that despite the situation being bleak, you'll still chuckle at the antics of Percy and the others.

I've brought every book and have read them too many times, and will probably re-vist them every time a new book comes out to refresh my memories and enjoy them again.

The Greek gods were already a fascinating concept and the mythology behind them, written within the modern world is just amazing. It made me fall into the deep pit of researching and understanding many other mystic origins, some of which the author explored in the sequel and additional books. Which I also enjoyed.

It's a wonderful series and I will never stop recommending it to my friends so that my snide comments and sarcastic wit (taught by Mr Percy Jackson himself) will become inside jokes and not random stuff I say without context.