There are five Percy Jackson books that take place from when
Percy is twelve to when he turns sixteen. In the first book he learns that some
of his teachers are not as he thought and that there seem to be an awful lot of
monsters interested in killing him. There is a reason for this. He is half-god.
His father is the sea god Poseidon. Having escaped the monsters, he makes it to
Camp Half-Blood where he meets other demigods who have a Greek god as a parent.
As Percy learns from experience, it’s not easy having a god for a parent. Percy
and his friends, Annabeth, Thalia, Tyson and Grover, go on a quest in each book
to try and prevent the end of the world.
I was late coming to the Percy Jackson books because I was
just too old when they came out for me to hear about them. I’m glad I finally
got around to reading them though. They draw you in and they are different.
Percy does actually grow up throughout the books and you see him mature and
come to terms with the fact that his life will never be normal. Percy would
never have survived each book without the help of his friends, and occasionally
from a god or two.
There is never a dull moment in any of these books and the
action is well written. It’s simply written so you can picture the characters
tackling the monsters. There’s not a string of fancy moves that leaves your
head hurting trying to figure out how that was physically possible. The
relationships between the characters is entertaining to read. As Percy grows up
he gets awkward around girls, not really sure how to act and spending the whole
encounter with a red face. As is becoming a teenager weren’t difficult enough,
he has these powers that he needs to learn how to control and discovers new
things that being a son of Poseidon allows him to do. Being a son of one of the
three most powerful gods, Percy takes it upon himself to keep the world safe
from threat and to look after all his friends and the Camp. He really matures
in to this role by the last book and is slightly less reckless. He doesn’t try
and take everything on himself.
Having read the first to books I was a bit worried that they
would be all the same, just with a changing setting and different monsters. I
think having a break after the first two and reading something else was the
right thing to do. Had I tried to read them all or waited and had a break after
three, I may not have finished the series. I would have missed out. In a way
the first three books and pretty much the same but they are gradually
introducing the complete cast of heroes. In the last two books things start to
get interesting. The tension heats up and the biggest threat to civilisation is
on its way. The last book brings everything together and was the perfect
ending.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action and
adventure books. I think it would appeal to both boys and girls because
Annabeth is right by Percy’s side through every step of the way. The female
characters aren’t just background, they play a major part fighting, planning
and discovering. As this book is aimed at the 8-11 year old, I think this is a
good series to read before starting Harry Potter. As long as you have a break
after the second or third book, I think adults would also enjoy this series as
a bit of light reading in between more serious books.
Overall series rating 4 out of 5.
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