Reviews

This book met my expectations exactly. It is written exactly as a book of this sort should be: a plot so fantastical that I kind of wish it were true; a hero so unlikely, with just as unlikely sidekicks, that there's no other way it would work; obvious bad guys, and semi-obvious bad-but-also-kind-of-good-guys, and hidden biding-their-time-as-good-guys-but-really-bad-guys; and the clash between Greek Gods getting on each other's nerves, demi-gods trying to keep the peace, or lending to the uproar, and the poor,oblivious mortals who haven't a clue what's really going on and just try to make it fit into their lives somehow.,

lucrezi's review against another edition

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3.0

My friends and I decided to start a book club, and the first pick was The Lightning Thief. I read the entire series July last year; I finished it on a sour note but I loved the first two books so I wasn't opposedt. Thank god I had another salon appointment to keep me sitting down for 6 hours.

The book opens with a tweeny first-person Lemony Snickety message warning half-bloods away and telling normies how lucky they are to be normies. The [a:Lemony Snicket|36746|Lemony Snicket|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1199734355p2/36746.jpg] feeling isn't a bad thing, it's quite nice. I think Rick Riordan even references [b:The Carnivorous Carnival|324277|The Carnivorous Carnival (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #9)|Lemony Snicket|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518209848l/324277._SX50_.jpg|984147] when the kids meet Medusa:

“We’re orphans,” I said.
“Orphans?” the woman said. The word sounded alien in her mouth. “But, my dears! Surely not!”
“We got separated from our caravan,” I said. “Our circus caravan.”

Majority of A Series of Unfortunate Events were published before this book and it's considered a modern classic, so I wouldn't be surprised its absurd, dry humor was a significant influence:

I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn’t have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list. “Doesn’t it ever get boring?”
“No, no,” he said. “Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring.”

The snake lady made a hissing noise that might’ve been laughter. “Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!”
I stared at her. All I could think to say was: “Isn’t that a kind of anteater?”
She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green with rage. “I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Percy Jackson, my son shall destroy you!”

Though that doesn't mean it's entirely derivative. It doesn't have as much endless foreshadowing and pessimism. It's more matter-of-fact, even sassy:

It smelled just like any public bathroom, and I was thinking—as much as I could think with Clarisse ripping my hair out—that if this place belonged to the gods, they should’ve been able to afford classier johns.

“How did you die, then?”
I nudged Grover.
“Oh,” he said. “Um…drowned…in the bathtub.”
“All three of you?” Charon asked. We nodded.

“They’re not going to like that,” Grover warned. “They’ll think you’re impertinent.”
I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop! “I am impertinent,” I said.

I wish Percy were as sassy throughout the whole series as when he mailed Medusa's head to Mount Olympus!!!

Another thing I wanna talk about is how vividly the characters are described. Grover being pelted with sandwich, wheelchair-bound Chiron eating celery while reading a paperback under a red umbrella, the Minotaur in his tighty-whities, Mr. D (lbr he's Danny DeVito), the contrast between prim and proper Zeus in his pinstriped suit and sea-weathered, beach-ready Poseidon... if I were an artist, I'd make portraits of these characters. (I have a bunch of materials from Inktober so I might as well)

I still appreciate this first book for what it did right, but hindsight is a hell of an influence. My bitter feelings from the last books clouded my opinion overall: Annabeth annoyed me, and Percy felt flat when I used to think he had so much potential to be that sassy A+++ king I hoped he would become (

Spoiler

he doesn't change much up to the very end besides sharing an underwater kiss with Annabeth who turns out to be a major bitch

). And in hindsight, that "rivalry" between Annabeth and Percy was so manufactured and unnecessary. Just because their parents have age-old beef? It's entirely one-sided, so I'm glad Riordan snuffed this out quickly after Percy talk no jutsu'd her into working with him after she remembered their parents collaborated to create a chariot.

Last year I gave the book 5/5 but thanks to hindsight, it's now a 3/5. I'm sad. I don't know why reading this book got me so down tbh. I put off writing this for weeks even though I'm usually prompt about reviews. IDK!!! It's done now, but only because book club is in a few hours!!!

teeeeeeja's review against another edition

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adventurous

First time reading! I felt like some of the wording was dated for sure. They used “fat” a lot. Otherwise, I like adventure stories and that’s what this is.

marshmallow1911's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

swiftreader_'s review against another edition

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5.0

my childhood missed out on this.

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