The Lightning Thief

He killed off Beckendorf.  BECKENDORF!

If I could get away with only a couple of sentences to cover what I thought about the Percy Jackson series, those would cover it.  Rick Riordan, damn him, killed off Beckendorf.

I started reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians after a recommendation from Tialessa, an old friend and co-worker.  I'm a big fan of fantasy, and enjoy a good Young Adult (YA) book at times.  I am also fascinated by Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology.  The adventures of demi-god Percy sounded like just my kind of series.

The first book of the 5-part series is "The Lightning Thief".  Here, we are introduced to 12-year-old Perseus (Percy) Jackson, an underachieving, often troublesome, middle-schooler.  The situation quickly deteriorates, leaving Percy facing some interesting and quite unbelievable MONSTERS.  Monsters?  In NYC?

It turns out that our Percy is actually a demi-god - child of a mortal and a god.  His mother is mortal.  His father.....

....is Poseidon.

As it turns out, demi-gods are not as rare as one might think.  The Gods frequently parent children with mortals.  But Poseidon is one of the Big Three - along with his brothers, Zeus and Hades, he is forbidden to sire a mortal child.  The law forbids it to such an extent that there is even a prophecy - if one of them fathers a child, that child is destined to decide the fate of the world before his or her 16th birthday.  There hasn't been a child of the Big Three in many, MANY years.

The five books of the series cover the next five summers of Percy's life, summers spent at Camp Half-Blood, the camp for demi-god training, summers spent on quests, summers spend battling gods and monsters.  Percy exploits are chronicled in detail, as are his relationships with Annabeth, Grover, Mr.D, Chiron, the Stoll brother, Luke, Beckendorf, Clarisse, Silena, Nico, Tyson, and many more.  As he learns what it truly means to be the child of a god - and he comes closer and closer to the final act that will fulfill the prophecy.

Take a ride out to your local Barnes & Noble, or check out your local library.  Pick up Percy Jackson and the Olympians book one, "The Lightning Thief".  I don't think you'll regret it.

Once you're done, go to wherever you rent movies and rent "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief".  Not as good as the book, but still quite enjoyable, IMHO.