Thoughts on the Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
Monday, April 11, 2011
I don’t read a ton of young adult books, but I find that they’re the best kind to listen to on audio. I especially like YA fantasy books, and the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series was recommended to me by my brother-in-law whose taste I trust.
The basic premise is that the Greek gods are real, Olympus has been transplanted to America (it moves to wherever the seat of Western culture lies), and the gods go around having children with mortals. Percy Jackson, 12 years old at the beginning of the series, is one of these demi-gods.
My thoughts:
~These books work really well on audio. The narrator (Jesse Bernstein) is engaging, and although I think he gets his voices mixed up at times (there ARE a lot of characters), I enjoyed his style quite a bit.
~I love the way Riordan takes the old Greek myths and makes them new again. I actually learned several things along the way about Greek mythology that I didn’t know before. This is a great way to teach kids about it, too.
~If I had to put the books in order from best to worst, I’d say: The Last Olympian #5, The Lightning Thief #1, The Battle of the Labyrinth #4, The Titan’s Curse #3, The Sea of Monsters #2. It’s worth mentioning that I think I liked the last book best because it wrapped everything up.
~Fun adventures, likable characters, fairly extensive (though at times predictable) plot, and a mix of action and dialogue make these a great read. I recommend!
~There’s a spinoff series called The Heroes of Olympus and I’m sure I’ll be listening to them soon.
From Scott:
I agree across the board. These books encouraged me to read more about Greek mythology, which was a lot of fun.
I’ve read the first spinoff book (or listened to it) and it was pretty good, though I have some complaints I’ll save until you get around to reading it. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series – hopefully it lives up to Percy Jackson.
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From Mom:
I totally agree as well, especially the part where you put the last one as the best. I was worried about Percy the whole way through! Heartily recommend for fun mostly, and bringing a potentially dull (per today’s students) subject to life!
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