Revisiting The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I'm so excited to kick off this project of mine with Percy Jackson and the Olympians! This book is special to me because when I was a kid I HATED reading. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it, until I was convinced to pick up this book in 3rd grade. From that point on, I was obsessed. So since one of the reasons I'm doing this project is because I want to read more, it felt like a great way to start off!

Title: The Lightning Thief
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: July 28, 2005
Pages: 375
Genre: Fantasy, YA
My Rating: 4.5/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.31

A brief summary

I'm sure most of you have some faint idea of what this book is about: 12 year old Percy Jackson is a neurodivergent New Yorker living with his mom, "...a queen among women (pg. 346)," and his emotionally abusive asshole of a step dad. Weird things have been happening to Percy for his whole life, but things take a turn when his math teacher Mrs. Dodds turns into a monster and tries to kill him. When he returns to his classmates, nobody seems to remember a Mrs. Dodds, almost as if she never existed.

A few months later, Percy overhears his Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner, and best friend, Grover Underwood, discussing the danger he is in, his trust in them fades and he rushes home to his mom and stepdad's apartment. When Percy arrives home, his mom and him take a trip to a cabin on the beach but are forced to flee when Grover mysteriously shows up and tells them they need to leave, even odder however, is that from the bottom down, Grover is half goat. A satyr, to be precise.

The three of them get in the car and are driving through a heavy storm to get to safety when they flip into a ditch. Percy shakes himself out of his daze, and sees in the distance a giant silhouette walking towards him. As he nears, Percy comes to the frightening realization that what he thought was a tall man is a creature of myth and legend: the minotaur. Percy's mom sacrificers herself to save the boys as they finally reach safety at Camp Halfblood, a summer camp for children of the Greek gods. 

A way too in-depth summary and review

One of the things I appreciated early in this book was the pacing. The book hooks you in right away with the action, foreshadowing, and mystery (though I'm not a fan of the first few paragraphs as quoted earlier). While I think the speed of the story is a bit of a detriment in the latter half of the book, the next few chapters is a great showcase in how to introduce a whole new world without overloading the reader with exposition.

After the inciting incident that causes Percy to end up at Camp Half-blood, we see him explore the camp and be introduced to some of the camp activities such as sword fighting, archery, and climbing walls that pour lava if you are too slow. He meets the camp director Mr. D (short for Dionysus, the god of wine) who has been been punished with the curse of teaching children and sobriety, and is reintroduced to Mr. Brunner, who is actually a 3,000 year old centaur named Chiron.

There are also the other campers like Luke Castellan, son of Hermes and camp counselor of the Hermes cabin who welcomes Percy in and shows him the ropes of camp life, or Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares, who tries to haze Percy by shoving his head into a toilet, but instead gets herself soaked when the toilets mysteriously explode. But most importantly we meet Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, an intelligent warrior who becomes a close friend of Percy, no matter how much they bicker. 

After a week of trying to discover things he's good at, settling into camp life, and missing his mom, Percy finds himself fighting for team Athena in a game of capture the flag against team Ares, but is disappointed when Annabeth stations him by a creek far away from the action. The action doesn't take long to find him however, as Clarisse and five of her siblings come looking for revenge over the failed bathroom hazing situation. Percy finds himself fighting for his life as he is tased by an electric spear, sliced, and beaten up.

At this point I would like to remind you that Percy is 12, and Clarisse is said to be a couple years older. Bloodied and beaten Percy says, "no maiming," in reference to the rules of the game, but one of the Ares kids replies, "Oops, guess I lost my dessert privilege (pg. 121)."

...

Now I know the world is dangerous for half-bloods and they have to learn how to defend themselves, but the punishment for torture is NO DESSERT???

Moving on from that crazy oversight as swiftly as the book does, Percy is thrown in the creek and suddenly finds his strength again. He takes on all five of the Ares kids just in time to see Luke run past with the opposing team's flag. Percy was merely a distraction for team Athena's victory. While Percy is rightfully upset at Annabeth for her strategy, she points out the wounds Percy had received are now fully healed by the water. She directs him to step out of the water, and he is once again exhausted.

But just as Annabeth starts to grapple with the truth of Percy's lineage, a hellhound jumps from the forest to attack Percy, almost killing him before the campers shoot him down. As Percy reenters the water to heal from his new wounds, the campers bow to him as his father, Poseidon, claims him as his son.

Why the big three gods (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades) don't have kids: World War II

This was the craziest part of rereading the book to me, because I had no memory that Rick Riordan decided to rewrite history and say HITLER WAS A SON OF HADES.

I'm not going to get into all of the implications of that, but I just want everyone to know that it is heavily implied that HITLER WAS THE SON OF HADES, GOD OF DEATH AND LORD OF THE UNDERWORLD.

It's also implied that the opposing forces were children of the other big three, my fiance seems to think Roosevelt would be Poseidons kid, and Stalin would be a son of Zeus.

Oh, and also George Washington was a child of Athena.

Anyway, World War II resulted in the three brother gods vowing to never have kids, and if you would believe it, the olympians that have so so so many myths about them having so so so many children didn't honor the vow because instead of just using a condom they would rather risk World War III.

Now, Poseidon was not the only god to break this vow, Zeus did so as well. However, his daughter Thalia sacrificed herself and became a tree protecting Half-blood Hill. Spoilers: but it's revealed in book 3 that Hades also broke the vow.

So I guess vows among gods mean nothing these days.

Percy gets a quest

After Poseidon claims Percy as his son, we get some exposition to explain the monsters that have been attacking him. At the winter solstice, the symbol of Zeus's power, his master bolt, was stolen. According to some ancient laws, gods cannot take another gods symbol of power. Because of this, and some old resentments at a past attempted coup, Zeus believes Poseidon employed his son to take the master bolt, making Percy Zeus's target.

To Percy, Chiron, and the others, it is believed that Hades stole it, as he would have much to gain. He could usurp power from Zeus and end his banishment to the Underworld. There would be a resulting war that would expand his kingdom. So now, Percy must find the master bolt and deliver it to Mount Olympus for the Summer Solstice... which is 10 days away.

The second act of this book is where I take some issues with the pacing, and honestly, there isn't much to say about these scenes. The pacing feels almost break-neck as Percy, Annabeth, and Grover set off to confront Hades in Los Angeles, California. But flight is forbidden, due to Zeus not liking demigods in his domain.

So let's just knock these out:

• First they get on a bus in Manhattan, only for the bus to be boarded by the furies, servants of Hades (one of which being Mrs. Dodds from the first chapter). The kids escape but the bus with all of their belongings blows up in the process.
• Then they walk through the woods, only to stumble upon "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium." Aunt Em, is revealed to be Medusa, who Percy (as his namesake Perseus once did) beheads her and sends the head to Mount Olympus via Hermes Overnight Express. He also finds an invoice to the Underworlds billing address: DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. And I assume DOA stands for "dead on arrival."
• From there they take a train to Denver, Colorado, with a layover in Saint Lous. In Saint Louis there's another monster they have to fight that leads to Percy discovering he can breathe underwater.
• Then they get back on the train and end up at a diner in Denver where they meet Ares. Ares sends them to retrieve his shield and rewards them with a backpack full of stuff and a way to Las Vegas, Nevada.
• The kids get to Las Vegas and end up at a casino where what feels like a couple hours ends up being days, and now it's the day before the deadline.
• They take a taxi to Santa Monica where Percy walks into the ocean and gets three pearls from a lady.
• They find a water bed store run by Procrustes, who tries to kill them by stretching them to the length of the beds, but Percy outsmarts him by attaching him to the bed.
• Finally, they end up at DOA recording studios, take the ferry to the underworld and befriend Cerberus, the three headed Rottweiler.

Now, if that felt like a lot of "they did this, then this, then this," imagine how it felt reading it. All of this takes place in about ~150 pages.

At no point did I feel like setting the book down, I was engaged through everything, and there were some good moments of character development and growing the relationships with our three main characters. However, it felt almost exhausting to read. I believe the point was to convey how these characters feel, but some of these moments felt unnecessary, the most egregious being the water bed store where the only thing that comes from it is an address which they could've gotten from Medusa or Ares, or anything else that could've just eliminated this unnecessary chapter.

Nevertheless, now we're in the final stretch.

A short intermission: thoughts from a fellow neurodivergent

I am diagnosed with a lot of stuff, one of my diagnoses being ADHD (combined-type). While I didn't receive my diagnosis until I was an adult, as a kid I always felt a connection to Percy and his experiences with his ADHD. He struggles with school, has some minor memory issues, and is as impulsive as I was as a kid.

But when Percy gets to Camp Half-blood, what was once a deficiency that labeled him a "troubled kid," is reframed into a strength: it's his battle senses keeping him alive, keeping his head clear while he fights.

I can't speak for the dyslexia, I'd love to know if any dyslexic kids tried to read Ancient Greek after reading this book, but at least for the ADHD it helped me view my own ADHD as a strength. A strength that causes me to write a 4000 word book report instead of doing the dishes, but a strength nonetheless.

Talking to some of my ADHD friends who read this book as a kid, it's incredibly validating to have an explicitly stated neurodivergent kid use what are normally considered disabilities to be his superpowers. And thank you Rick Riordan for that.

Everything is not what it seems

Earlier in the book as the gang are leaving Camp Half-Blood, Luke gives Percy a gift: a pair of sneakers with wings. But Chiron advises Percy not to use them, seeing as the god of the sky is currently not happy with him. So Percy gives the shoes to Grover, who tries his best to control the shoes, but is not the most graceful in execution.

However, as the three kids walk through the Field of Asphodel to Hades palace, the shoes start charging off course taking Grover with them. The shoes start to pull him into a cavern where he is almost pulled down into a pit before he hits a rock and the shoes come flying off (no pun intended). Percy and Annabeth help Grover up, and hear whispering coming from the pit, which Annabeth identifies as the entrance to Tartarus, where only the most evil people are sent. And no, Andy Dwyer was not the one they heard whispering.

I LOVE this moment. A series is only as good as its villain, and what better way to subtly hint at what's to come.

The kids finally reach Hades, a large looming man sitting on a throne of bones. He reveals that his symbol of power, his helm of darkness is missing as well, and he also believe Percy is the one to blame. And when Hades instructs Percy to open his backpack (the backpack he received from Ares), he finds the master bolt.

Hades believes Percy is there to use the master bolt as a bargaining chip for his mother, who is indeed alive and being held hostage. Surrounded by skeletons with guns and monster demon ladies, Percy pulls out the pearls he received from the lady in the ocean.

Three pearls for three of them to escape.

Grover and Annabeth both offer themselves so that Percy can take his mother, but Percy decides to save his friends, and promises to come back for his mom. They throw the pearls at the ground, leaving Hades and his horde of undead monsters behind.

Percy fights a god and wins kinda

Once ashore, Percy is again confronted by Ares. He admits to stealing the helm of darkness, but after some further questioning, it seems it was not his idea at all despite his protests.

At this point you gotta ask yourself, why did nobody suspect the god of war of trying to incite World War III?

Percy and Ares make a deal: they will fight. If Ares wins, he gets the bolt, if Percy wins he gets the helm of darkness.

While the fight is cool and climactic, I won't bother summarizing it here. The gist is that Percy gets the upper hand and out maneuvers Ares. He gets the helm (which he promptly gives to the furies), and a curse for winning.

This line is a great way to get me excited to read the following books. I can't remember if anything ever comes of it, but I'll be watching. Rick Riordan has shown he's a huge fan of foreshadowing, and he always reveals the foreshadowing at a great climactic point.

It is now the day of the deadline, and the kids are thousands of miles away from Mount Olympus. So what do they do? Risk the skies.

As they land in New York City, Annabeth and Grover leave Percy to tell Chiron everything while Percy heads to the Empire State Building, floor 600.

An anticlimactic family reunion

When I say anticlimactic, I do not mean it in a negative way. No, when Percy meets his dad it's not a family reunion of hugs and stories and suddenly his dad and mom get married, etc, etc, etc. It's realistic.

How would you react when you have never met your dad, and when you finally do he is a giant sitting in a throne and oh, he's also the lord of the sea? Not to mention, you've lead a pretty shitty life in a rundown apartment with an emotionally abusive stepdad and got kicked out of every single school you have ever gone. Percy's reunion with his dad is bittersweet in a way, they're strangers and don't know how to converse, but Poseidon is still filled with pride for his son.

Percy returns the bolt to Zeus, and is informed that his mother has been returned. After numerous battles and arguing with gods, Percy returns home to his mother.

The meeting with Percy's mom is a bit more climactic. They cry and hug each other, and Percy tells her of his wild adventure. Only to be interrupted by his step dad, Gabe. Gabe has trashed the apartment, blames Percy's mom for having to give up her life insurance money, and it's implied that he's been cheating on her. But when she flinches when Gabe lifts his hand, Percy comes to the horrifying realization that he has hit her before.

And when Percy walks into his bedroom to find the package he once addressed to Mount Olympus, he tells his mom he can make it all stop. He can save his mom just as he saved the rest of the world. But his mom tells him that he can't, it's a decision she must make for herself.

I love the way Percy's mom is written. She's strong and capable, but loving and fiercely protective of her son. And in the next chapter after Percy has returned to Camp Halfblood, he receives a letter from his mom, stating that Gabe has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. She has also sold a life-size statue of a poker playing man to a museum, setting her up with enough money to get a new apartment, reenroll into a college program, and put a deposit down on a new school for Percy. And this is why I love this character: she is the sweetest person in the world, but to be good and kind you don't have to be walked over. She's not a passive damsel in distress for Percy to save, she is a woman who can take matters into her own hands and find a better future for herself and her son.

The prophecy

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I love a good prophecy and I think Riordan handles them well. He has a way of making the prophecy not be so set in stone, he creates wording that can be played with so the ending is not clear.

So let's break this prophecy down:

"You shall go west, and face the god who has turned."

Originally thought to be Hades, it turned out to be Ares. Who Percy did face in the West.

"You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned."

Turns out two things were stolen: the master bolt and the helm of darkness, both of which were returned to their owners.

"You shall be betrayed by one who calls you friend."

We'll put a pin in this one for a minute.

"And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end."

In the book, Percy hypothesizes that this was his mother as he did fail to save her in the Underworld. But I disagree, he did save her "in the end." I think you could argue he fails to save the next character we will be discussing, resulting in the events of the next few books. So I'm kinda hoping this isn't about his mom, and has something to do with the next books. But I guess we'll see!

Percy finds himself on the last day of camp, still not sure if he will return home or stay as a year-rounder. He goes to the sword-fighting area to clear his head and finds Luke. Luke persuades Percy to take a walk with him in the woods, even though something feels a little off about the whole thing.

Once in the woods, Luke summons a scorpion that would kill Percy in 60 seconds if bit. It's revealed Luke summoned the hellhound that attacked Percy during capture the flag, he cursed the flying shoes to pull Percy to the depths of Tartarus, and he stole the master bolt and helm of darkness from the gods. Luke is working for Kronos, trying to raise him from his permanent torture and exile to overthrow the gods.

And the third line of the prophecy comes true.

He leaves Percy to be bitten by the scorpion, only making it back to the safety of camp with the help of the nymphs.

Luke is another fantastically written villain in my opinion. I think some of the foreshadowing is a bit heavy handed, seeing as his dad is the god of thieves and he gave Percy a pair of shoes that tried to kill him. Honestly, I don't know how nobody saw it sooner. But what makes Luke well written is that he makes sense. The half-bloods have been shown to just be pawns in a bigger game. Their parents procreate with mortals to satiate their own desires and leave the kids behind. The gods are not kind benevolent people, they're beings that can ruin civilization with a temper tantrum. Why should they be in power? I don't think Kronos is the answer for obvious reasons, but it places a seed of doubt in the readers head. It causes the readers to question if there is some legitimacy to Luke's claims.

Conclusion

To wrap things up quickly, Percy decides to return home to his mom for the school year, and the story ends there.

I said at the beginning of this very long post that I was obsessed with Percy Jackson as a kid, and yep, it still holds up. I've been holding off on reading the second book until I finished writing this because I wanted this to be solely about The Lightning Thief, and I plan on immediately picking up the book once I hit publish.

There are a few things that I didn't mention here for sake of this not being a novel in itself. I barely mentioned Annabeth or Grover or Chiron, and I'm hoping next time I can get into their characters a bit more. I'm also hoping the next few posts won't be as long, as we covered a lot of the expository information here.

In terms of my Tiny Bookshop project, I won't always be reading series or the most popular books on the list every single time, but damn this was a good way to get me started.

Let me know your thoughts and I hope you join me as I read Sea of Monsters!