Customer Reviews

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Paperback Boxed Set (Books 1-3)

5 star:		(172)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I am a 24 year old married woman, and like many Harry Potter fans I have been reading unfufilling series after unfufilling series for the last few years trying to find something to fill that void. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is fantastic. I have to say I did like the second and third books a little more than the first. They were more colorful and funny than the Lightning Thief. Everything that you loved about Harry Potter is in this book, but not in the haphazard, copycat, money-maker way that some other series have tried (*cough cough Charlie Bone and Septimus Heap to name a couple). This is totally original and you will find yourself with the same love of Camp Half-blood that you had for Hogwarts. While this book is for children it is meaty. It has substance, thoughtful characters, interesting plots, and an intricate world I cant get enough of. I had a hard time putting the books down. I cant wait for the next book to come in so I can start right back up again. My cousin recommended this to me and I just cannot thank her enough. Thanks again Debbie!

My 4th grade son who does not love to read absolutely loves this series. I can't get him to stop reading; he is reading instead of TV, video games, outside, etc. I read a few chapters of each of the 4 and they are well written, funny, and full of action/adventure. Great books!

I bought this set for my daughter, who's a fan of Greek mythology, and ended up enjoying them myself as well. Like the "Harry Potter" and "Narnia" series, these books appeal to readers of all ages. I also appreciated the prominent featuring of strong female characters.

Some of the plot twists I did find a bit on the predictable side but I still thought the books were highly entertaining.

I actually posted this on a discussion thread on books for fifth graders. But I decided it fit well in a review, so here it is. I feel (as a mom and as a teacher) that this series is great for everyone from strong fourth grade readers through eighth grade and beyond.

My now 14-year-old son introduced me to this series: relatively new, from Rick Riordan. The Olympians have apparently moved Olympus over the years, following the westward march of civilization - in fact, Olympus is now floating above the Empire State Building in New York City! The main character is Percy (Perseus) Jackson, who is a half-god (Demigod), introduced in the first book, "The Lightning Thief". This first book is not as engaging as the following ones, but this is mainly because it first introduces all of the characters and has to give a lot of background quickly.

Each subsequent book covers roughly one year (well, usually one summer) of Percy's adventures. They generally start out from Camp Half-Blood, the magically protected space on Long Island Sound set aside for Greek/Roman gods' half-human children. They need this special summer camp for protection from all the monsters and evils that we mere mortals can never see because of "the mist" that makes us interpret what we see only in ways that make sense to us. So, that evil substitute teacher might actually be a harpy, sent to weed out another half-blood. :-)

This creative and engaging series introduces or reinforces ancient myths from Greek and Roman mythology, and does a wonderful job of painlessly increasing cultural literacy for the "history of Western Civilization". In fact, it covers many legends beyond that as well, because the premise is that the Olympians have always existed, and they just keep moving their base every few hundred years, through major civilizations on several continents. Really an awesome series, especially for fairly competent, but possibly reluctant, readers in 8th grade and up.

I've read all four books and I have found them pretty good. Not as good as the Harry Potter books in my opinion- they don't have quite the descriptive and immersing storyline- but the Percy Jackson novels are full of adventure throughout the entire book, which I found to be entertaining enough to make up for lack of detail. My only disappointments are that the books are really written for a younger audience (unlike many other YA books, which are written so teens can enjoy them and older adults can get even more out of them, i.e. HP), also that he either assumes you have a bad memory or that you haven't read the previous books.

My opinion is based from someone who is 25. If your the parent of a teenager or preteen, then my nags do not apply to them. They will likely love the books without any complaints! I'm more speaking to those closer to my age or older.
My 16 yr old brother loved the first book and is reading the second- and he hardly reads. He never finished the 3rd HP book, and hasn't read much of anything else except half of a zombie book. I thought he could use some new books, and I hoped to enjoy them as well. - Which I did.

Each book gets better. the story becomes much more developed with each book, but it always seemed like Riordan tried to keep them short. I personally like more immersion- which needs more detail. But don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to put down the books! I think their great books, and I would recommend them to anyone under 20, and many adults who enjoyed the HP books.

*Edit: My little brother is now finished with the fourth book and my family is excited that he is actually reading! He very much liked these PJ books and is telling his friends about them. I've already said he could lone the first one to a friend. I'm looking for other books now that he might like. Think I'll go with the Bartimaeus Trilogy next.

Almost as well crafted as the Potter series, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" is full of adventure and suspense, heroic deeds and triumphs. Imagine being a 10-year-old in modern US who suddenly discovers that his life depends on understanding Greek mythology--because all those gods are relatives, and one is your dad. Percy has to fight off monsters and discover some truths about himself along the way.
The books bring a delightful turn to learning the Greek myths, and the premise works. Placing Mount Olympus in Modern New York City (600th floor of the Empire State Building) --and Hades in Los Angeles--sets up a whole new look at American culture from the point of view of a young person just trying to figure life out.
My daughter and I gulped the first three books down in less than 2 weeks. She's discovered the whole new richness of Greek mythology for the first time and I am having great fun remembering it all.
You need to read the first book before the movie comes out! You'll be glad you did.

I have been looking for an adventurous series for my almost 9 year old boy and finally found it. I read the first book first then gave to him to read. The author wrote with such wit and it is interesting to combine mythology in the story. Now I want to go back to look for some mythology books to read. It is truly enjoyable.. my son is not avid reader but yesterday he read this book 1 for 4 hours on our long road trip. He is ready to read book #2. I just finished book #2 so we can discuss... He couldn't put it down because he wanted to know how the story develops..

I have been looiking for a Harry Potter replacement and tried many of the series, and I liked this one best. Likeable characters, interesting situtations, and you learn a little mythology along the way. The set is almost as inexpensive as one book.

This was an exciting read, the characters were great (I ADORED Grover, the klutzy but earnest satyr) and my seven-year-old loved it to pieces. BUT I found myself rolling my eyes a lot as I was caught up short by the holes in the fabric of the story and Riordan's manipulation of his characters.

Specifically, Mr. Riordan makes it clear that these kids are smart. They're smart enough to figure out that there's a spy in the demigod summer camp, for example, and Our Hero, Percy Jackson, spends the length of the book wondering who that spy is. But though he's fed increasingly clear clues as to the identity of that spy, he never stops to figure it out--he just continues to wonder. Moreover, when he and his companions have completed their mission and returned to camp, the question of the spy's identity and role in Grover almost meeting an untimely end are completely forgotten. Time drags by and no one so much as mentions the spy or is the least concerned that they might still be a threat--which, of course, they are. Since I'd figured it out long, long before (because of the numerous unsubtle hints), this was more than a little frustrating. Most frustrating of all was the way Riordan literarily forces the reader to look away by simply not addressing the subject.

The nature and powers of gods and other supernaturals are also vague and inconsistent. Sometimes characters knew things in detail that they had no reason to know and other times things took place right out in front of mortals and gods alike that the gods seemed to take no notice of despite the fact that Percy's movements were supposedly of dire import. I was continually wondering, "Well, if they know THIS how can they possibly NOT know THAT?" The characters seemed to know what the writer needed them to know, and not know what he needed them NOT to know regardless of the situation. It made me doubt that Riordan had a clear picture of the powers and nature of his supernatural characters.

I also found the end of the book disappointing emotionally. Percy's mom, who is married to this nasty piece of work for reasons that become clear, finally has every reason to leave the buffoon. Riordan makes a big point of the idea that though Percy could take care of this for his mom through supernatural means, she shows courage by electing to do it herself. But in the end, she offs the guy (off-stage at that), employing the same supernatural device that Percy was going to use, thus sidestepping the issue of personal courage entirely. And I have to ask if the punishment fit the crime.

Without divulging too much, there's also a logistical problem in Riordan's solution with regard to Percy's step-father. The mom does him in using a device that would have had the same deadly effect on everyone in the room. We know he was playing poker when he, er, folded, and poker is not a solitary pursuit. But there's no mention of the other guys at the poker table.

I will buy the rest of the books for my daughter, 'cause like I said, they're fun to read with lots of cliff-hangers, and I love the kid characters. I've also heard from several readers that the series improves with regard to Puppet Master Syndrome. I hope those readers are right and Mr. Riordan has come up with plots that don't require so much manipulation of the characters AND the reader.

I'm a eleven year old bibliophile and let me tell you I loved this book! I remember when I got the first one, my dad and I were at the store ( I had nothing to read at this time ) and I asked if I could get it because the movie was coming out and I always read the book first. He said yes and that night at eleven p.m. and I was half through with in the hour! That was the fastest I had ever read anything! and it's been my favorite series ever since! and all the other books are really good too!