Percy Jackson & the Olympians Boxed Set (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, 1)

Product Information

I had just attached a second jar of Greek fire to the control panels when I heard the pounding of feet on metal steps -- so many creatures coming down the stairwell I could hear them over the engines. Not a good sign. Thalia Grace-I've always loved Thalia. She kind of reminded me of myself in a way that is kind of hard to put into words, although Annabeth reminds me of myself much more. Thalia is such a strong and amazing character and I wish we got to see more of her. I read the five volumes of PJ and the Olympians to my 9 year old granddaughter. She absolutely loved them all, so this rating is an average of her 5++++ and my 3+ ish stars.

Add to that the wonderful setting, an urban fantasy based on Greek mythology. That's just box office . And the author used the setting very wisely so much so at times you are kept wondering what is actually mythology and what is inspired. As with the Potter books, one of my favorite characteristics if that the books focus on friendship rather than moving into any type of romance. In book one, THE LIGHTNING THIEF, Percy (short for Perseus) is 11, and becomes a year older in each book. Now, I know you're thinking, Wow, that was really irresponsible of him, blah, blah, blah, but Paul knows me pretty well. He's seen me slice up demons and leap out of exploding school buildings, so he probably figured taking a car a few hundred yards wasn't exactly the most dangerous thing I'd ever done.generally I love the fantasy which happening in our world, low fantasy. I call them: Fantasy in reality. She pursed her lips. "Look, just forget it for now. Let's pretend we're a couple of normal people. We're out for a drive, and we're watching the ocean, and it's nice to be together." The gods expect their kids - whom they never even see! some kids don't know who their godly parent is! - to fight their own battles while they do nothing until the last book. Percy firmly enjoins a few characters to support their godly parent 'because he's your dad/mom'. Okay, so I'm not gonna talk about the plot cause then I'll just be spoiling it, but here's something about all the characters: Apollo-Enough with the haikus Apollo. I can't wait to read The Hidden Oracle to get more of Apollo's weird personality.

Poseidon- I love the idea of him always wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts and find it oddly amusing. When fantasy elements bind in reality; we know a boring world of reality & then... magic revealed! or myths, travel between universes. I live in that world & I feel happy. To preserve my sanity (and where Ms. eagle-eyes wasn’t reading along) I omitted the exact route from the Williamsburg Bridge to downtown Manhattan, the giant pig’s taking a flying right “at East 42nd St to 5th Avenue” and many more. Did Riordan write this with a Lonely Planet guide open? Sheesh!Sure, there are three friends going on dangerous fantastical adventures and saving the people they love slash the world. And yes, there are also lessons to be learned from these adventures. But that's where the similarities end.