Graphic Novel Review - Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Middle Grade
Genre: Graphic Novel/Fantasy
Size: 128 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Release Date: October 12, 2010
ISBN-13:  978-1423116967
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in Percy and the Olympians Graphic Novel series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first in the graphic novel series retelling the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Riordan.  This graphic novel was well-illustrated and did a good job telling the story; the story is darker in tone though and had less humor in it than the books.

Anyone who is a fan of Riordan's works knows the story already.  Percy Jackson finds out that he is a half-godling and gets blamed for the theft of Zues's lightening bolt.  Then he and some of his new friends from Camp Half Blood set out on a quest to find the lightening blot and clear Percy's name.

The illustration was well done and matched the tone of the story.  It is in full color and represents the characters well, the only character that was a lot different from the series is Grover...he is not pictured at all how I imagined and doesn't need his crutches to get around.  Although it was well done there isn't anything really stylistically or artistically unique or compelling about the illustration.

The story hits most of the main story points; although there wasn't as much humor present as in the book series.  Percy is a bit more brooding and the atmosphere is darker.  In general it is a good translation of Percy and the Olympians to a comic-book like style.

Overall I enjoyed reading this to relive the series; I didn't find anything especially compelling about either the illustration or the story itself.  The illustration is well-done but a bit darker; the story is also darker and less humorous than originally.  The author/illustrators did a good job of converting this story to something that has a more comic book feel to it.  I will probably read future installments just because I like the series so much.  I would recommend reading the original books first because they are just hands down better, but this graphic novel does a great job of representing the series and helping readers to relive it.  For those who are interesting in middle grade level graphic novel I have to recommend The Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi and Bone by Jeff Smith...both of these are absolutely spectacular.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Graphic Novels Challenge List
- 100+ Reading Challenge

 

The Last Olympian (Percy and the Olympians, Book 5) by Rick Riordan (5/5 stars)

This is the fifth, and final book, in this series. I was excited to read this book and it didn't disappoint. I actually listened to this on audio book and the audio book was very well done. This was a great conclusion to the series.

In this book Percy and crew head to New York in an attempt to protect Mount Olympus; Kronos is hot on their tails giving our heroes quite the difficult time. Meanwhile the Olympian gods struggle to contain the titan Typhon as he rampages across the United States.

This book was well done and an excellent conclusion to the series. I love the humor in this series and enjoy all the action as well. While previous books were more of the questing variety, this book was mainly one huge epic battle between the demi-gods and Kronos. I personally enjoy reading about heroes questing more than I enjoy epic battles; but that being said, the epic battles were really well done.

The whole way that Riordan dealt with the battles, Kronos, etc was excellent. The pacing of the book was great, never a dull moment. The heroes make believable decisions and mistakes, as do the villains. The ending was very satisfying and tied up most of the loose ends. There were a couple interesting twists to the plot that should keep readers on their toes. Riordan does hint at a future series set in this world at the end of the book. Whether it will involves Percy or a different group remains to be seen.

Anyone who has read the previous books in this series won't be disappointed with the way this is all wrapped up. Anyone who hasn't read the series should; both adults and kids can really enjoy this series.

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (5/5 stars)

This is the 4th book in the Percy and the Olympians series. I have heard that there are supposed to be 5 books in the series. This book was as good as the previous ones and follows the same basic formula as those ones. I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done!

Percy is going to orientation at yet another new school. This time more is at stake because he was allowed into this school on a recommendation from his mother's boyfriend. As usual trouble ensues and he is attacked right off the bat by evil monster cheerleaders. So starts another fun fast-paced adventure with Percy and his buddies.

Percy flees the scene meeting Annabeth on the way and they end up back at camp half-blood where Annabeth is finally given a quest. Her quest will take her, Tyson, Percy, and Grover through the depths of the fabled Labyrinth and through many other fantastical areas of Greek mythology. As Aphrodite promised Percy's "love life" begins to get difficult with the addition of Elizabeth Rachel Dare to the story.

This was another great book. I continue to love how the Greek myths are woven in with everyday reality. I love the characters. I love how even Percy's everyday normal mortal life is kept track of and not forgotten about. This is just an all-in-all great book. I love this series and am very excited to see how it ends.

Great book!

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (5/5 stars)

This is the third book in the "Percy and the Olympians" series by Rick Riordan. I listened to this book on audio book and the audio book was excellent. This book follows much in the same vein as the first two. I really like these books, they have all the grand mystery of a Harry Potter book, but they also have a quick sense of humor and are not nearly as serious.

In this book Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia are contacted by Grover; he needs their help to collect two half-bloods at a military school (Bianca and Mico). When they arrive they find that Bianca and Mico have been being watched by a horrible monster. In the ensuing fight Annabeth falls over a cliff and the goddess Artemis shows up with her hunters to help out. After the fight Artemis leaves to track the biggest-meanest monster of them all and she ends up lost.

Back at Camp Halfblood it is determined that someone needs to find Annabeth and Artemis before the Winter Solstice. Percy is excluded from the quest, but eventually, of course he makes his way into the action.

This was another great book. I really like this series. There is a lot of excitement, humor, and I love the incorporation of all of the mythology. It is a riot to see all of the gods given such human personalities and flaws. I like that you still hear about Percy's mom some too. Meeting Annabeth's father was fun too! This book was very similar to the first two in writing style and content-type. If you liked the first couple you'll definitely like this one.

There is a growing sense of doom overshadowing these books as the Titan King continues to awaken and gain power. I am anxious to read the next book.

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (4/5 stars)

This is the second book in the "Percy and the Olympians" series by Rick Riordan. This was a good book and followed much in the vein of the second book. I listened to this book on audio and the quality of the audio book was wonderful!

Percy is having strange dreams about Grover, his satyr friend who recently left on his quest to search for Pan, being in trouble. Percy and his new friend, Tyson, are attacked by some questionable students during gym class and when Annabeth turns up to help them out Percy is in for a lot of surprises. Percy finds out someone has poisoned the protective pine tree at half blood camp and tons of monsters have been attacking while Percy's been away for the school year. Percy and crew find out that Grover has found the Golden Fleece and he is being held captive by the Cyclopes Polyphemus. When a quest is granted to go after the Golden Fleece it is not given to Percy and crew. Now they are stuck with trying to decide if they should leave school anyway and go after the Fleece.

This was a great book. It was action packed, fun to read, and full of a lot of good humor and great Greek mythology. This book follows in the footsteps of the first book. There is the addition of a lot of good evil characters, as well as some good helpful characters. The plot that ties these books together, the release of the Titan lord, is not resolved in this book but promises to continue full speed in the next book. Other than that this book wraps up nicely with one big surprise at the end.

I liked this book and am looking forward to the third one!

The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan (4/5 stars)

This is the first book in the series by Rick Riordan about Percy and the Olympians. I've been wanting to read this series for quite a while and finally got around to it. I listened to this on audio book and the audio book production was very good; I have no complaints about that at all! The content of the book itself was also very enjoyable.

This book follows Percy who has been labeled as a juvenile delinquent because of his ability to always get into trouble and his learning disabilities (dyslexia and ADD). Percy quickly finds out that there is a reason for his problems. Percy is actually a half-blood; his father is a god. More shockingly his father is one of the three main Greek gods that promised never to sire another child. Percy is framed for stealing Zeus's lightening bolt and must find the bolt to prove that he is innocent. Percy gets assistance from a couple of unlikley sources; his best friend Grover (whom he finds out is a satyr) and another half-blood named Annabeth who is a daughter of Athena. The would be heroes encounter many familar foes along their travels; among them Medusa, Cerberus and Ares.

I surprisingly really liked this book. I liked the incorporation of Greek mythology (which I've always really enjoyed) into a young adult fantasy novel. The book had a little of a Harry Potter tone to it with Percy being sent off to camp half-blood. This book is more tongue-in-cheek and uses a lot of slang and modern language and this makes it much different from Harry Potter. I also found myself drawing comparisons between this book and Abarat. Percy lives in a similar home situation to what Candy Quakenbush did. I always felt bad for Candy's mom being married to such a horrible man and kind of angry at Candy's mom for not changing her situation. I liked Percy's mom a million times better because she had a reason for living with her idiot husband and once his usefulness was done she...took care of him.

It was a quick, fun listen. I didn't necessarily like Percy as a character a whole lot but his character worked well for the book and the situation he was in. It is a creative book and an interesting book. My only complaints would be the quality of the writing. It's definitely written in a very off-hand style, most likely to appeal to the young reader age group. Sometimes the slang and frequent fits of self-pity Percy went through got kind of distracting and annoying. These are minor quips though; all-in-all it was a very good book and I am already listening to the next one.