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| The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Miramax
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $2.50
You Save: $5.49 (69%)
New (53) Used (42) from $2.38
Avg. Customer Rating:  265 reviews
Sales Rank: 602
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 392
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0786838655
EAN: 9780786838653
ASIN: 0786838655
Publication Date: April 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New - Has remainder mark. Fast shipping from trusted wholesaler with many exclusive publisher contracts.*
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| Customer Reviews:
 I read it all in less than 8 hours . . . October 27, 2008
. . . which it pretty unusual for me. Most of time, I don't have all day and night to read a book: I've got work, homework/exams, and (here's the notorious one) the Internet. And when I do have some free time, I still can't finish an entire book in one day. The shortest time of finishing a novel is two daysm and that was with Mikhail Lermontov's "A Hero of our Time" and two others that I can't think of at the moment.
But this book, "The Lightning Thief" from the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series, I read just yesterday. And it took me only eight hours to read it straight through! I think it's the first time that's ever happened. What's also surprising to me is the subject matter. I'm not really fascinated with Greek Mythology. Slavic, yes, but Greek, no. So I was a bit puzzled that I was unable to put the book down. Maybe it was Rick Riordan's clever way of giving the myths more modern personalities and appearances. Whatever the reason, I just couldn't put the book down.
Percy Jackson both a hero and an anti-hero. His ADHD and dyslexia are what makes him interesting, and I could almost picture what the boy really looks like. His two friends, Grover and Annabeth, aren't your ordinary sidekicks. Both have had haunted pasts, and they would do anything to make sure that Percy is never hurt nor killed.
Other characters (especially the Greek ones) are worthy of recognition. Aries is a tough one: he's like Bruce Campbell with a sword instead of a chainsaw. Hades will sure scare little kids, but what makes him compelling is that he isn't your ordinary villain: he's got a heart alright. Dionysus sure can be annoying at times, but you know that he's trying to do some good at least. Medusa is one hell of a woman: she can sound innocent while thinking evil thoughts.
The plot twists throughout the novel work and sometimes they don't. I figured out who Percy really was when it cam e to his special powers on a specific element. But the biggest plot twists that are found in the last seventy pages or so are the most unexpected.
The pacing is wild. It goes from New York City to the north side of New York State to St. Louis to Denver and finally to Santa Monica so quickly. And it's a mystery in how you can get so much information about Greek Mythology in that sort of wild flow.
Some parts do tend to drag a bit. The sequences in Camp Half Blood almost bored me, but the pace picked up when something goes wrong in the area.
So, in short, this is one of the greatest children's books of our time. And it's for all ages, not just kids.
A-
 Must read October 26, 2008
This is definitely a must read. I had a lot of fun with it and found looking at the world through Percy was done very well. Things are described as a young boy would see them, which makes for some very interesting descriptions. I especially liked Pery's random thought process and the flow of the writing which complemented the humor in the book. I found my self smiling often and I don't think i ever got annoyed with characters trying too hard to be funny.
On to a few of the disappointing features.
I really enjoy a bit of mystery in the story and with the characters, but I believe that mystery should be built up fairly and smoothly. It seems that one of the author's favorite ways of building up mystery is to start a conversation, then introduce some sort of distraction so that right before something interesting is revealed... its not. Occasionally this is fine, but there are several instances of this in the book (just a little variety please). Though i was happy with the final twist in the end of the book.
Also I really like the greek aspect of the book, but it seems like the author is simply dropping in greek myths here and there to fill plot. I would like to hear more on how things have changed. (it's been several thousand years from the original stories, shouldn't their be new monsters or significant people as well?) I know he name drops a little here and there and for the first book its not really a problem, but i hope that he'll start to come up with a little more original ideas down the road while still maintaining the greek myths and theme.
Overall I'm very excited to continue the series and i would recommend reading the first without hesitation.
Gods and humans - oh my! October 16, 2008
I loved "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan very much. It is about a boy named Percy. Percy is a normal kid who struggles in school. He has learning disabilities and ADHD just like me.
Percy is in a boarding school in New York. The class goes on a field trip to the museum. His math teacher tries to kill him. Percy finds a pen that turns into a sword. When Percy used the sword, the teacher vaporized into dust. It is then that Percy realized he is different from other kids.
After that, Percy goes home to see his mother and brother. Percy's real father left him when he was a little boy. On a family vacation, Percy and his mother are chased by a minotaur. Percy thinks his mother is dead and runs toward a tree. The tree leads him to half-blood hill. Soon he is at a camp for half-bloods. Half-bloods are children that have one human parent and one Greek god parent. At camp, he makes two new friends. Annabeth is the daughter of Athena, godess of wisdom. Grover is a satyr. Grover is in a wheelchair when he is with full humans. The three of them spend the summer at the camp training to be like the gods.
The three friends go on a adventure when Percy is accused of stealing Zeus's lightning bolt. They must prove that Percy did not steal it. They travel across the country to Los Angeles. Los Angeles is the entrance to the Underworld. When they get to Los Angeles, they see that there has been an earthquake. The earthquake was caused by Zeus's lightning bolt. The lightning bolt came down and landed in a crack in the earth. Percy picks it up and decides to go to Mt. Olympus to return it to Zeus.
The three friends hold a fundraiser to get money to pay for the flight back to New York. Mt. Olympus is located 600 stories above the Empire State Building. Percy returns the lightning bolt to Zeus. Percy also sees his father, Poseidon, the god of the sea. Poseidon is proud of Percy and his accomplishments.
Through all of this, Percy also has to solve the riddle of the oracle. The oracle states "you shall fail to save what matters most in the end." The oracle has to do with his mother. In the Underworld, Percy decides not to save his mother's life. Instead, he wants to stop the war between the gods. He leaves his mother with Medusa's head so she can make her own decisons. Things turned out well for Percy. His mother is still alive, he prevented a war between the gods, his friends are doing well and Percy has become a hero.
I loved this book because I enjoy Greek mythology. This book made the gods come alive and live in modern day America. It was very easy to read and I can't wait to read the second book in the series. There are four books in the series and the fifth one will be printed next year. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a great series and I recommend it to any kid who likes adventure stories.
My 13 year old son DEVOURED these books!!!! October 14, 2008
The Lightening Theif was recommended to us by a book store clerk. We purchased the book at the beginning of the summer and it sat in our schoolroom for months. One day my 13 year old son said "I want to read that lightening book we bought at the bookstore." He read the book in about 3 days and begged for the second. The second book came from Amazon on a Friday afternoon and he finished it Saturday night! Again, he was begging for more. When the UPS truck arrived today he ran outside to get the package ripped it open and ran to his room to start reading. It takes a lot to grab a 13 year old boys attention away from xbox, and wii or playing football and basketball outside but this book series has done it!! Thank you Rick Riordan!
The following review is from my 13 year old son: "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Theif is a great book! I liked the book a lot!! It just kept on going with exciting things and right when you think it is going to die down more exciting things happen. It has a great story that is easy to follow after you get through the first two chapters. It is about a boy named Percy Jackson who lives with his Mom and his Stepdad. Percy gets kicked out of school and ends up going on a quest to find Zeus' master bolt which was stolen from Olympus. The Olympians blame Percy for the theft so Percy has to clear his name, and find the theif."
A New Take Into Mythology October 9, 2008
The Lightning Thief has it all: wit, humor, facts, history, and fantasy. I think that's a mix that is rarely used but put to use well by Rick Riordan. I do not think at all that this is a young adult book. Kids all over, from six to twelve, from teenagers to adults, can read it and enjoy it. Percy Jackson is a boy who discovers something big - he is the son of Poseiden. Set in New York City, I believe this is a book that should make the author famous and proud.
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