I first saw this as a film by Director Chris Columbus and Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson.
Meet the protagonist, Percious Jackson aka Percy. Dyslexic and hyper, trouble is always on his sleeves. Never been loyal to any school because each year, freak accidents occur that causes him being kicked out and blacklisted!
His only friend, Grover, limping, a favorite victim of bullies in their school like Nancy Bobofit, was always being defended by Percy...
Until, he accidentally vaporize his Pre-Algebra Teacher, Mrs. Doods! He needed to defend himself against Mrs. Doods who was attacking him while transforming from a regular teacher to a monster! Thank goodness his Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner throw him a pen, that when uncapped became a three-foot long bronze sword that vaporized her!
After trying so hard to keep his identity from himself, Mr. Brunner and Grover finally have to spill the beans!
Mr. Brunner is actually Chiron from one of his stories in Latin class, a centaur that helps heroes and Grover is a satyr. Grover smelled Percy was a hero, hence from then on, keep him from the monsters at bay. After realizing all these, he needs to go to Camp Half-Blood.
- Chiron - the centaur
Things got worse, when he was summoned by his recently known father, Poseidon, god of the sea, to go to a quest and retrieve the lightning rod and search for the thief. Because, Zeus was accusing Percy of as the thief!
Zeus and Poseidon was at a dawn of war because during winter solstice, Zeus' symbol of power, lightning rod was stolen and he is giving Poseidon until the end of summer solstice to search for it. Or else, world war 3 will approach.
His new friend Luke, son of Hermes,; god of thieves and travelers, gave him a pair of rubber shoes that has wings, but since he should avoid air for Zeus might snap him to death like a fly, Percy gave the magic shoes to Grover, who delightfully accept it... Percy, leaves the camp with his new-found friend, Annabeth, daughter of Athena and Grover, the satyr.
- Grover, Percy and Annabeth
Along their journey, they've met several mythological characters and monsters including:
- Three Fates - three old ladies whose on the other side of the highway, sitting on rocking chairs of an old-fashioned fruit stand, knitting a huge pair of socks using an electric blue yarn. The lady on the right and left were each knitting a sock, while the middle one was holding the yarn. Clotho spins the Thread, Lachesis decides how long a life is to be, and Atropos cuts the lifeline with her shears. All three decide on the destiny of all things.
- Aunt Em - who sells human size garden gnomes. She is actually Medusa, a woman cursed by Athena to have skin for hair and eyes that makes everyone a stone.
- Medusa
- Fat lady with Chihuahua - instead of being a chihuahua, the fat lady's dog in the elevator of St. Louis Arch actually turned out to be a Chimera, a fire-breathing monster.
- Chimera
- Haunted Hotel - where kids never grow old, sleeps in condo units with an access card unlimited to video games! This part totally creeps me out!
- Crusty - a man who owns a Mattress Shop where customers who tried to test the size of the bed either get stretched to death until they fit the bed or get axed in the head and feet if they are too tall.
- Kindly Ones - includes the fury Mrs. Doods and two others during their bus trip, Minotaur and other monsters on the lose, that can be killed but can never be destroyed.
- Charon - is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx. Percy, Grover and Annabeth rode the boat using a golden drachma as payment and promise him to tell Hades to increase his salary.
The truth came in the end, the titan, Kronos, was the one behind the thief.
Long ago, titan Kronos used to eat his children, but her wife hid Zeus that later on trick Kronos on barfing out his brothers and sisters (which he cannot kill even if he eats them because they are gods) who grew up inside his stomach. After which, Zeus defeated his father, sliced him into pieces and scattered his remains in the darkest part of the Underworld, Tartalus. But, if gods cannot die, so does titans.
Kronos, tricked gods and demigods (half human, half god) to do his will.
Percy found out later that there are two missing objects; Zeus' lightning rod and Hades' helm of darkness, which are the reasons Mrs. Doods attacked him. Luke was a thief and a traitor, Ares, god of war, kept the helm of darkness and was forced to give it to Percy after being defeated in a battle...
This book was a modern story of mythology like the Adventures of Hercules. Rick really did a great job. The twists just kept on coming, keeping the readers addicted from page one to the end. As for me, it kept my eyes reading until I finish the book! All it took me was one day!
Have you read about Percy yet?
