Book(s) Review: "Percy Jackson and the Olympians"

It’s rare to find a children’s book in which the characters curse in ancient Greek.

But Rick Riordan has written it. In the (first?) three books of his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, we discover a cool juxtaposition of Greek mythology (all that stuff you learned in 10th grade English class, remember?) and 21st century American culture. What’s more, it’s adolescent culture: our hero, Percy Jackson, is struggling with all the things that come the way of a middle-school boy, even while he struggles with the Greek gods. They’re both action-adventure and wily coming-of-age commentaries.

Over the span of these three books (The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan’s Curse), we discover that Percy Jackson is a half-blood: he is half mortal, half immortal. This makes him, in the Classical Greek sense, a hero. He is heir to all the power, responsibility, challenge, and joy of someone who straddles two worlds. But he’s a hero in today’s world, with Maseratis, capture-the-flag, and cell phones.

As someone who belongs to a faith that believes God has chosen to dwell with and in us, I find great joy in reading Riordan’s rendering of a contemporary Greek mythological worldview. Not to worry: he dodges the great metaphysical questions that might challenge present-day religiosity. Instead, he is focused on telling the mythological stories in the same way the Greeks did: with gods as reflections of humanity, only more powerful. They act more as commentators on the human condition than on true divinity. It’s all about the struggle of humankind. And his eon-bridging synergy makes for great conflict and character development.

If you’re looking for great books on metaphysics and syncretistic philosophy, then these are not the books to read. If you’re looking for something (for you or your middle-school child) that struggles with the problems of responsibility, friendship, bravery, and good and evil on the level of today’s youth, look no further. Riordan’s novellas offer a fast-paced, intriguing, and at times laugh-out-loud symphony of the ancient, the modern, and the timeless.

What’s more, Riordan is the master of chapter titles. If you don’t immediately want to read a chapter called, “The Vice-Principal Gets a Missile Launcher,” then you need to check for your pulse.

Let me recommend to you Percy Jackson and the Olympians, by Rick Riordan. I’m tearing through The Titan’s Curse right now. (Don’t worry: he translates that ancient Greek for you.)

~emrys