The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan Book Review

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 Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief 

(Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1)

By Rick Riordan 


Published Year: 2005

Page Count: 375 pages 

Medium Used: Paperback 

Genre: Olympians, Titans, Greek Gods, Adventure,Action, Half Gods, 2025-read. 

Rating : 4.5/5 🌟 😎 😀  👌 



The first thing that struck me, having wrapped the book, is that this story is backwards. Usually, when we go on our daily quests and activities, we pray to the Gods to help us succeed or emerge victorious over our hurdles. Here, there is a mortal - albeit, a half blood, half God, son of Sea God Poseidon, Percy Jackson - who sets out on a quest, relying on his wits, wisdom, luck and some help from his father, to restore items lost by the Gods. He is doing a service to the mighty Gods, which they cannot pull off without his involvement. Percy Jackson is a true hero! 


I have read the first two books from the Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan and felt this book had more believable narrative for the main character Percy's involvement in this quest. But I was incredulous when Riordan makes Percy win over Ares, the God of War, in a sword fight!! Unbelievable. Hence the 4.5 rating instead of a full 5 pointer.  


 A situation, that would have devolved into a mad third World War is averted. Someone has stolen Zeus's lightning thunder bolt from the Olympus which is currently located on 600th floor of Empire State Building, New York. Someone has also stolen the battle helmet from Hades in the Underworld which is located in Los Angeles. With every finger pointing towards the Son of Poseidon as the culprit, Percy not only has to prove his innocence but also restore the items to their owners in order to prevent this escalating into a global war between the Gods. He reaches the Camp Half Blood which is like a hiding place for the half-bloods of the twelve Greek Gods, run by Chiron and Dionysus, among others. He is on a vacation with his mother when he is attacked and forced to run to this hideout. Eventually he sets out on his quest with couple of his friends - Annabeth and Glover. He encounters many underworld demons on his journey. He almost gets dragged with his backpack into the deepest pits of Tartarus in the Underworld. He escapes the wrath of Hades and wins a fight with Ares. He risks the ire of Zeus, traveling through the sky on a plane from LA to NYC. And the rest of the story is miraculous and one for the histories and legends!


Do check this out ! Liked it very much, indeed! 

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