Review Detail

Reader reviewed by mike : )

Have you ever read a book which you really enjoyed? The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan could very well be the next fantasy book added to your list. This captivating story is told from the perspective of Percy Jackson, a half-human, half-god teen. Percy always used to think that he was normal, with the exception of a couple weird incidents. He doesn't know how wrong he is. Throughout the story, Percy makes many encounters with Greek gods and monsters. Only then does he become aware of his potential. To find what was stolen from Zeus, an all-powerful weapon which can destroy just about anything, Percy has to risk his own life and the lives of his friends, Grover and Annabeth. Will he succeed?
In terms of a good read, this book is up there. The story is long enough to satisfy advanced readers, yet not too hard and long to make more basic readers stop reading. For me, this book was a "can not put down" sort of book. By being an enjoyable style of writing, the story was easy to concentrate on and fun to read. The chapter names are hilarious, stuff like "I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom" and "A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers." As a fantasy book, I didn't find it believable, but I still could connect to some of the themes. One theme I connected to well was great friendship and trust. Just like Percy, I feel like I could trust my best friends with almost anything.
Now, an excerpt from The Lightning Thief:

Annabeth drew her sword.
There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.
It was looking straight at me.
Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"
She tried to step in front of me, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her an enormous shadow with teeth and just as it hit me, as I stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through my armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hound's neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet.
By some miracle, I was still alive.

If you liked that section from a chapter of The Lightning Thief, you are definitely ready for the whole book. Also, when you are finished reading this book, don't forget to check out the next two books in the series, The Sea of Monsters and The Titans Curse. And if you like those, a soon-to-be-named fourth book is planned to come out in May 2008. If you like this book as much as I do, you'll have a blast reading it.