I have recently just finished the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series written by the genius Rick Riordan and his genius writing deserves a 10/10 for this series. Here are my personal opinions about every book.
The Series as a Whole
When I was merely eight years old I remember my classmates talking about the Lightning Thief movie that just came out and all the girls falling head over heels for the alluring Logan Lerman. But I would have never known that the movie was based on a book until I saw it in the library. I only just started to read the books two weeks ago and I was hooked. Percy’s sarcasm and humor had me in stitches. Annabeth’s emotional strength amazed me. Grover’s scared nature left me awwing. Luke’s redemption in the last pages of The Battle of the Labyrinth left me in tears. Riordan brings humor, drama, and action to age-old tales I would read in English class and I loved the references to classic Greek mythology and the ones that aren’t so popular.
The Lightning Thief
Originally Published: July 1, 2005
Review: I LOVE the sarcasm. I LOVE the chapter titles. I LOVE Percy Jackson and his narration. It has some realism to the absurdities that occur in the book (Percy’s initial incredulity to what was going on and his denial that gods aren’t real at the beginning of the book.) I love the scene where he first meets Annabeth and their relationship dynamic. I love how Riordan wrote his version of the Greek Gods. I love how he wove the Greek Gods into modern society (i.e. Poseidon wearing Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirts and all, Ares wearing “biker” clothes, Hephaestus using advanced modern tech to try to catch Ares and Aphrodite together.) The monsters were great too! I love how human they were. At first, I was absolutely in love with Luke, but his betrayal broke my heart, but I couldn’t say I didn’t suspect it. The second I saw that he ran over to hand them flying shoes, I doubted his loyalty. But the speculation would have never prepared me for his betrayal. This book was overall an amazing introduction to the five book (and eventual spin-off) series.
The Sea of Monsters
Originally Published: April 1, 2006
Review: The sequel was almost as good as the first! The beginning was interesting, it caught up the reader with whatever happened at the beginning of the book in a simple manner. I liked Percy’s surprise when he saw that Tyson could deflect the fireballs of the Laistrygonians. Tyson is probably my most loved character of the series. He was so loveable and adorable and he had such a tough backstory that would make anyone go bad, but he stayed loyal to Percy and he earned a big chunk of my heart almost immediately. I cried when Percy thought he was dead and I gasped when Tyson made his comeback by saving Percy and Co. right before their doom (such a cliche but since it was so cliche… 5 points to Riordan.) I liked how we got somewhat of a backstory for Clarisse (that Ares is a violent dad) I’m glad we got to know more about the crazy daughter of the war God. Percy and Annabeth’s journey was interesting and it let the reader explore their relationship deeper. Percy’s power’s development has grown and the results were awesome. When Thalia woke up at the end of the book was nail-biting. Sea of Monsters is probably my favorite book in the series.
Titan’s Curse
Originally Published: May 1, 2007
Review: This book was interesting. Here we see how strong and just how powerful Percy is becoming. We see all new characters: Bianca and Nico di Angelo, the Hunters, etc. Luke was just as scary as he’s always been. Thalia was just as I wished her to be, she was cool and sarcastic. She was a born leader and although some may have seen her as a rival to Percy. I saw her as an awesome big sister figure to the younger demigods. Zoë Nightshade and the rest of the Hunters were amazing and I loved how there was a group of strong independent girls in the series (because we don’t need no men!) Even Blackjack has an awesome part in this book. In the beginning, I was confused with what was going on and I thought I may have missed a book (since Thalia’s sudden appearance wasn’t really discussed) but eventually, I realized that it was just the start of the book. As I read the book, I felt the same desperation the characters felt as they fought to save Annabeth and Artemis. Percy’s narration was A+ as usual and I found myself laughing at his sarcasm, which seems to only intensify as he ages. I cried when Bianca died and I gaped at Nico’s reaction and his anger. Percy meeting Rachel Elizabeth Dare was interesting and, admittedly, quite hilarious. Overall, this book was good.
The Battle of the Labyrinth
Originally Published: May 6, 2008
Review: Okay, so at this point, I feel really bad for Percy…he keeps blowing up his schools. I really liked this book of the series. Honestly, the labyrinth wasn’t as scary as I thought it would’ve been. I was scared mostly when Percy had to fight the Telekhines, I honestly thought he was going to get seriously hurt, which he did but it was mostly because of using his power. I was scared when he fought with Antaeus. I was genuinely surprised when Quintus revealed himself as Daedalus (because THAT WAS COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED AND I’M STILL SCREAMING) I love Mrs. O’Leary too. The tension between Rachel and Annabeth (mostly because it served as awesome comebacks and burns) was so funny and revealed us about Annabeth’s jealous nature. And it was fun watching Percy’s obliviousness. AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THAT ANNABETH KISSED HIM BEFORE HE BATTLED THE TELEKHINES (Do you hear that in the distance? Those are my screeches.) My heart broke when I saw Calypso. At first, I hated her because I have already read the Odyssey before I read this and I was kinda mad that she wanted to get with Percy too just like she did with Odysseus, but after I saw how heartbroken she was when she had to let Percy go, she earned a place in my heart. This book had A+ OTP content. And finally seeing Percy fight Kronos for the first time was so scary that I bit my nails off.
The Last Olympian
Originally Published: May 5, 2009
Review: This book was so freaking amazing! This was so well written and I loved how all the good guys made a comeback. The book was action-packed since the first chapter (a tear may have slipped when Charles died.) I loved that Percy got the Curse of Achilles. It absolutely amazed me that Percy was practically invincible and it was refreshing to see Percy’s skill unleashed. However, Percy’s personality kinda changed — he became more aggressive, more confident — after he got the curse and it might have been a side effect. Luke’s backstory was heartbreaking and so sad and I was so relieved we finally got the reason why he ran away. There were three redemption arcs and it was so good! Silena Beauregard was the spy and my heart broke and I remember tears pouring when she revealed herself as the spy and when she died. I’m glad she redeemed herself by dressing up as Clarisse and then leading the Ares cabin in battle, where they were really needed. Ethan Nakamura, even though he had a minor part in the books, redeemed himself at the end after turning away from Percy in The Battle of the Labyrinth and having to fight him a couple times. And Luke’s redemption arc at the very end of the battle absolutely broke me in so many ways. Seeing so many half-bloods work together for the first time was so awesome. And Annabeth jumping to save Percy before Ethan struck him in his weak spot was an amazing addition to the fight scene. It added some tension because we all knew that there was no way that Annabeth just knew that was his weak spot because Percy told no one and Nico wasn’t around to tell her. So it was probably this whole soulmate telepathic communication thingy and Annabeth just knew that the small of his back. Okay, that’s just a theory… leave me alone!
So that’s my opinion on the series. It is definitely one of my top favorite series and I loved being able to share my love for these books with you guys. So far, I’m halfway done with the Heroes of Olympus, so expect a HoO book review soon
