So... my local Tesco (the smaller one at any rate) has a habit of occasionally putting books on shelves a couple of days before the release date. Now, this never happened with anything like Harry Potter, but for the Percy Jackson / Heroes of Olympus series? It's happened a couple of times. It happened with the newest book: Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods (or Percy Jackson's Greek Gods in the U.S.) Being the big Percy Jackson fan that I am... I had to pick it up. So I did, and I've read it and... yeah, now I'm going to share my thoughts on it with you.
Yes, that is the UK cover, and yes, it took some searching to find. It's from Google, and I am clearly not the copyright holder to Percy Jackson and related media so .... yeah, not claiming any credit for the cover image. Anyway, first thing to note about this book? It's Percy writing it. If you know anything about the series, you know that means you're in for a lot of sarcasm and general disrespect towards the Gods, as well as funny moments and the occasional line that will pull at your heart and make you remember that demigods do not really have the best lives. And yes, you get all this even when he's trying to tell you the stories he's been told about the Greek Gods.
Right at the very beginning, a disclaimer is made: he knows there's different variations of the stories out there, these are just the ones he's heard that seem to make the most sense. Of course, being Percy, he adds in his own dialogue and speech mannerisms to the Gods and Titans which, again, is hilarious to read. He starts at the beginning and as he warns: "Wear your safety glasses and your raincoat. There will be blood."
He's really not wrong.
As a guide to Greek mythology, this book stands up fairly strongly. It's clearly aimed at a younger audience - we even have moments of Percy covering his legal bases in a way that makes the reader aware he doesn't adhere to the behaviour he's suggesting at all - but as an older reader? I actually still found the book to be really informative. It doesn't talk down to it's audience, which is probably why Riordan chose to write it as if it were Percy writing the thing. Yes, the language used is more simple than you would find in many mythology texts, but its Percy telling us these stories. He avoids complicated words, mostly because he has difficulty spelling a lot of them.
Apart from the fun retellings of the Greek myths, you also get a very strong grasp on Percy's own character as he recounts the history of his Godly family. He throws out the idea of visiting the Gods in terms of 'importance' and does it in chronological order instead - meaning all the ladies came first, and Zeus was the last of the Big Three he spoke about. You can tell, as the stories go on, how frustrated he's getting with the information he's telling us, and towards the end he is out right calling out certain Gods on their creepy behaviour - while at he same time telling his readers that if someone is a creep to you (and yes, the implication is very clear even though the word is only used once in the book) it is NEVER your fault. Percy Jackson: he's what I'd affectionately refer to as a little brat (polite version) but he's a decent guy. Kudos, Sally Jackson, for raising him. It's been a constant characterisation in the book that he can't stand bullies, and to him, the Gods are the biggest bullies of them all. He admits his bias in favour of his Dad, but even then he can't stand the creepy stuff he pulls.
So, yeah, is it a book worth reading? Yes, yes, and yes again. It is highly entertaining. Seriously, I couldn't stop giggling to myself at four in the morning when I was reading through the book. There's just something refreshing about reading a Greek mythology book that, while giving us the facts as this person has understood them, also goes "no, seriously, this behaviour is creepy, can we get them therapists or something?"
Only Percy Jackson guys. Brat, demigod, hero, and surprisingly funny writer.
Let's see if we can get a follow up.
Right at the very beginning, a disclaimer is made: he knows there's different variations of the stories out there, these are just the ones he's heard that seem to make the most sense. Of course, being Percy, he adds in his own dialogue and speech mannerisms to the Gods and Titans which, again, is hilarious to read. He starts at the beginning and as he warns: "Wear your safety glasses and your raincoat. There will be blood."
He's really not wrong.
As a guide to Greek mythology, this book stands up fairly strongly. It's clearly aimed at a younger audience - we even have moments of Percy covering his legal bases in a way that makes the reader aware he doesn't adhere to the behaviour he's suggesting at all - but as an older reader? I actually still found the book to be really informative. It doesn't talk down to it's audience, which is probably why Riordan chose to write it as if it were Percy writing the thing. Yes, the language used is more simple than you would find in many mythology texts, but its Percy telling us these stories. He avoids complicated words, mostly because he has difficulty spelling a lot of them.
Apart from the fun retellings of the Greek myths, you also get a very strong grasp on Percy's own character as he recounts the history of his Godly family. He throws out the idea of visiting the Gods in terms of 'importance' and does it in chronological order instead - meaning all the ladies came first, and Zeus was the last of the Big Three he spoke about. You can tell, as the stories go on, how frustrated he's getting with the information he's telling us, and towards the end he is out right calling out certain Gods on their creepy behaviour - while at he same time telling his readers that if someone is a creep to you (and yes, the implication is very clear even though the word is only used once in the book) it is NEVER your fault. Percy Jackson: he's what I'd affectionately refer to as a little brat (polite version) but he's a decent guy. Kudos, Sally Jackson, for raising him. It's been a constant characterisation in the book that he can't stand bullies, and to him, the Gods are the biggest bullies of them all. He admits his bias in favour of his Dad, but even then he can't stand the creepy stuff he pulls.
So, yeah, is it a book worth reading? Yes, yes, and yes again. It is highly entertaining. Seriously, I couldn't stop giggling to myself at four in the morning when I was reading through the book. There's just something refreshing about reading a Greek mythology book that, while giving us the facts as this person has understood them, also goes "no, seriously, this behaviour is creepy, can we get them therapists or something?"
Only Percy Jackson guys. Brat, demigod, hero, and surprisingly funny writer.
Let's see if we can get a follow up.
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