Monday, January 16, 2012

Book Review: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & The Olympians Book #1) by Rick Riordan

Gooodreads summary: In this stunning collectors' edition of The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson’s world is brought to life with eight full-color plates by the series jacket artist John Rocco. The edition comes in an elegant slipcase with a ribbon bookmark, rough edges, and cloth cover—a perfect keepsake for fans of this truly epic series.

After getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities: He is a demigod, half human, half immortal. Even more stunning: His father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There's little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus.

This first installment of Rick Riordan's best-selling series is a non-stop thrill-ride and a classic of mythic proportions.

My Review: So for this book, I made the mistake of watching the movie first before I read it. This is one of those rare cases where the movie is SO MUCH BETTER than the book. I really enjoyed watching the movie.I thought it had a great foundation, the events made sense, and it had a sense of completeness.

I was less than thrilled with the book. In fact, I kept reading it thinking, "OK, maybe it'll get better this chapter ... or this chapter ... or this chapter ..." but to no avail. I'll save the "I didn't like this, and this, and this," because I don't feel like sounding like a broken record. But I was not happy overall.

It's amazing to me how a book and a movie can be called the exact same thing yet be completely different. I did like the gripping beginning but after that ... not so much. The events were SO MUCH BETTER in the movie, I can't even believe it. Everything made so much sense whereas in the book I kept thinking um ... what?

I love Greek Mythology. I think this concept is great. Absolutely, 100% great. But the execution in the book not so much. The movie? YES. I know, I keep going off about the movie. I'm sorry.

So, this is one of those rare cases that paints me, but I have to say it. Don't read the book. Watch the movie instead. I hate to do it, and I'm sure that there's going to be people out there who disagree, but oh well.

Rating: 3/5

And I'm giving it a 3 BECAUSE the movie was so much better than the book. If it was just on the book alone, I would've given it a 2. That's my honest opinion.

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