Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief

So, here it goes. :D

Note: I'm avoiding spoilers in this post, because I want everyone to read it. :) However, I will be revealing some plot points, but they're all things that are easily found out in the first book. I won't be going into detail with major plot points, but I might be touching on them (again, this is all stuff that's BASIC to the story.. nothing surprising here :) ).

The story introduces a "troubled boy" named Percy Jackson who has never been able to stay at one school for the whole year because strange things always happen to him. Through a series of events, he finds out that he is a demigod (son of a god and a mortal) and the gods of Olympus are still alive, well, and in New York City (Olympus is on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building). His only friend at school (Grover, a boy with a limp) is a satyr (hence the limp) that's been watching over him, and it's his job to bring Percy safely (key word) to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for demigods to help them train, come to terms with their parentage, and learn the ways of demigods/gods. He finds out that he is the son of Poseidon, one of the "Big Three" (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades). So why is he a big deal?

You may remember that Zeus always had a thing for mortals, and fathered children by them. Demigods by the "Big Three" are much more powerful than any other demigods, making them particularly powerful. This was all well and good until the 1940s when a demigod became particularly ambitious and caused World War II. After this, the Big Three made a pact to never father a child by a mortal again. This pact has been broken once before by Zeus, and now again by Poseidon.

Percy (short for Perseus) is accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt. Zeus believes that Poseidon is trying to take over Olympus, and the tensions on Olympus tighten. Percy takes on a quest to go to Hades (located in Hollywood) to retrieve the lightning bolt that he, logically, thinks Hades stole and framed him for it. Percy sets off with Grover and a girl from camp named Annabeth, a daughter of Athena (they are friends, but they fight a lot--their parents' have a long standing feud that makes Annabeth and Percy inherently dislike each other). There is also a prophecy surrounding Percy that no one will tell him the details of, because of the Greek mythology rule: never tell the hero their fate, or they will try to change it (unsuccessfully) which is carried throughout the whole series.

Overall, this story is really clever. The integration of the Olympians into the world today is really cool, and it makes sense. I can tell the author REALLY knows his mythology. It's written simply, but it's engaging--which is all that matters. The second book literally made me make this face: :-O at the end. It was so.. unexpected. Everything you assume through the first two books is completely thrown out the window when you finish the second book. Basically, if you enjoy mythology you'll enjoy this. And if, at the end of the series, you're hurting for more.. not to worry! Rick Riordan is coming out with a new series in March.. sort of the same thing, only with Egyptian mythology (which I am SUPER excited for).

I should probably finish the rest of this series though, right? Damn money..