| $@%&! level: Low “Bedroom” level: Low Violence level: Medium (possibly medium-high, depending on your tolerance level. But no one actually dies.) Back Cover: “Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.” |
Okay, I've got that out of my system now.
The book actually does a really good job of incorporating the mythology into modern America. The whole thing with mortals being unable to see anything mythical is a bit of a cop out, in my opinion, but I'm willing to roll with it. And I really love the idea that the demi-gods would be genetically pre-disposed to ADHD and dyslexia. It's just so perfect. Also, I'm deeply satisfied that Percy's first quest encounter was with a medusa, and that he fought her the same way Perseus did in the myth. It's just wonderfully appropriate.
I'm really not sure what more to say. It's an enjoyable adventure quest, with a certain element of mystery to it, although the mystery is slightly flawed by not providing any clues for the reader. I had no more idea than Percy did of who the real lightning thief was at the end. It might have been just about anyone at Camp Half-Blood. There's another mystery as well, which is only caused by people just refusing to explain it. That's not what I call a proper mystery. I do have to say, however, that the gods tendency to jump to whatever conclusion suits them, and then hold onto it with a death-grip even in the face of alternate explanations or evidence to the contrary, is both completely irrational and exactly what I would expect from the Greek gods. Riordan has obviously studied his mythology very well.