Julia Slaughter

I did NOT see the Lightning Thief over the weekend, I have friends who have read and loved the books and they were unable to go so I put it off waiting for a time when we can all go. However, I did finish the fifth and final (?) book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. If you notice, usually I try to keep my reading library (on the left) up to date and when I finish books I tend to rate it and write a mini-review, but I didn’t do that with this series, the problem was that I read them all back to back to back so I’m having a hard time remembering where one book ends and another begins.

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Hardback Complete Set

For Christmas I got the complete Percy Jackson set, and I love these books – they are technically children’s books (the age range is 9-12) but if you are in touch with your inner child or if you have a vivid imagination the series is captivating.

I love that the whole series is steeped in Mythology. (I am shocked by the negative reviews that comment that there are plot elements similar to Greek mythology – hello, Percy Jackson is Poseidon’s son, really you didn’t see that coming?) I’ve always loved Greek and Roman mythology so these were right up my alley. Once I picked up the first book it was almost impossible to put the series down until I was finished. They are fast paced and so much fun. Yes there are elements in the book that give a nod to some of the old school Greek Myths that we know and love, but I think it’s a respectful nod, not an issue of Riordan stealing from the classics.

I really enjoyed the characters, I liked that the series was chock full of heroes and heroines who were amazing warriors. I also liked that the characters were incredibly complex – the good guys weren’t without flaws and the bad guys were not bad beyond the point of redemption. I liked the dimension that this added to the characters and how, despite their super powers, it made them more real.

Now that I’ve read the whole series I am chomping at the bit to see the movie, I can’t wait to see how faithful they were to the plot and characters I’ve grown so terribly fond of.