The Lightning Thief
The Lightning Thief Main article: The Lightning Thief The Lightning Thief is the first book in the series. It was released on June 28, 2005. Percy Jackson is a 12-year-old with ADHD and dyslexia. Percy goes to a middle school called Yancy Academy, which is a school for troubled kids. During a field trip, Percy is attacked by Alecto, a mythological creature known as a Fury, who was disguised as his pre-algebra teacher Mrs. Dodds. Percy kills Mrs. Dodds with a pen sword that his Latin teacher threw to him. He is unaware that it is a powerful important sword. After Mrs.
Dodds is gone, everybody acts like she was never there and Mrs. Dodds was replaced. Percy Jackson does not know this at this point, but this is because of the Mist (a magical aura that can manipulate thoughts and memory to keep humans from knowing the truth). Now only Grover, Mr. Brunner, and Percy ever knew she existed. After the field trip, Percy is expelled like on any field trip and on the last day and sees three old women cutting yarn, and gets freaked out. He rushes home and abandons his friend to go on a vacation with his mom to Montauk, but terrible weather strikes.
Once Percy tells his mom what happened, his mom gets horrified that he didn’t tell her. A satyr named Grover Underwood, and his mother Sally Jackson, then bring him to Camp Half-Blood, a camp for demigods: children with an Olympian Greek god for one parent. While avoiding the Minotaur’s attacks, his mother is killed (or at least that’s what Percy thinks). Percy then finds a strange strength inside of him and kills the Minotaur. He carries Grover down to Camp Half-Blood and faints on the front porch. Once he revives, he realizes he is in Camp Half-Blood.
The camp is located off Long Island. There, he meets Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. They become good friends by the end of the novel. Not long after his arrival, Poseidon, the sea god, claims Percy as his son during a game of demigod-style capture-the-flag, when he is almost killed by a hellhound. Percy is accused of stealing Zeus’ masterbolt and then he, Annabeth, and Grover are given 10 days to return the thunderbolt to Mount Olympus, in order to stop a war between the gods and save his mother, who has been held hostage in the Underworld by Hades, Lord of The Dead after eing captured by the Minotaur. They go on a quest across the United States and encounter various monsters on the way, such as Medusa, Echidna, and many others. It is revealed that Luke, a son of Hermes who Percy befriended at camp, and Ares god of war stole the bolt for Kronos who is attempting to rise from Tartarus. The book has been adapted into a film by Chris Columbus and 20th Century Fox, under the title Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Rick Riordan relies on Bibliotheca for his characters and plot.
In three books, it provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. [11] Listed are the major characters in the series. Percy Jackson: age 12–16, demigod son of Poseidon; he is the protagonist of the series. Grover Underwood: age 28–32, equivalent to 14–16 in human development, Satyr, best friend of Percy. Annabeth Chase: age 12–16, demigod daughter of Athena, strong friend, and later, the girlfriend of Percy. Very intelligent, skilled in architecture and strategy. Luke Castellan: age 19–23, demigod son of Hermes who is revealed to be working for Kronos.
Thalia Grace: age 15 and one day from 16 (permanently), demigod daughter of Zeus, first appears at the end of The Sea of Monsters and becomes lieutenant of Artemis in The Titan’s Curse, making her immortal with the exception of death in battle or breaking her vow to never date. Nico di Angelo: age 10–12 (75) , demigod son of Hades, holds a grudge against Percy temporarily, because he thinks his older sister Bianca died because of Percy, commands the dead and always wears black clothing. Later it is revealed that he spent time in the Lotus Casino, a place that makes time run slow while the outside world goes by normally.
Tyson the Cyclops: age 13–15 (4–7 in human years), Percy’s half-brother through Poseidon. He first appears at the beginning of The Sea of Monsters, assists Percy frequently throughout series. He is skilled with machines and he is taught by campers from Hephaestus’s cabin. Clarisse La Rue: age 14–18, demigod daughter of Ares, does not get along with Percy or Annabeth. She is very fierce, considered a bully. Rachel Elizabeth Dare: age 14–16, a “clear-sighted” mortal girl who assists Percy, later becoming the Oracle of Delphi. Bianca di Angelo:age 12, daughter of Hades.
She becomes a huntress of Artemis and is killed by one of Hephaestus’s creations while on a quest. Ethan Nakamura:age 16–17, a son of Nemesis, the Greek goddess of revenge. He joins Luke’s army and becomes his right hand man. Chiron: Centaur, son of Kronos, activites director of Camp Half-Blood, and trainer of heroes, including Hercules, Perseus, etc. Sally Jackson: Percy’s mother. Rick Riordan Richard Russell “Rick” Riordan, Jr. (born June 5, 1964)[1] is an American author best known for writing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series.
He also wrote the Tres Navarre mystery series for adults[2] and helped to edit Demigods and Monsters, a collection of essays on the topic of his Percy Jackson series. He helped develop the 10 books in The 39 Clues series, published by Scholastic Corporation, and wrote the first book in the series, The Maze of Bones. [3] He is currently working on the third books of two new series: The Kane Chronicles, which focuses on Egyptian mythology; and The Heroes of Olympus, which is the sequel to the Percy Jackson series and which focuses on Greek and Roman mythology.
