Having heard from many of my students in the creative writing workshop about their favorite writer Rick Riordan and also having got a glowing reco from Vardha, who also graciously lent the book to me, I got down to reading the book after many months of having it in my possession. It flows through easy and is a fun read about gods, half bloods and so on. Now the series has been turned into some major movies.
So we have the Gods and the half-bloods, who are born to Gods. They have mortal lives but also god like qualities. And the gods are Greek gods and they have a snazzy office on the 600th floor of the Empire State building and Mt. Olympus is someplace near New York. Rick Riordan brings the gods down to the earth and at the same time elevates the reader from a humdrum existence with the promise of a super power to a most ordinary person. Percy has no father and has an evil and smelly step father (his real father is a god, which is what all of us want in our childhood I guess) and a wonderful mother Sally Jackson. Kicked out of school for some misdemeanour and guided to the Olympus hill by his best friend and his master, both who are looking out for the young hero in the making, Percy discovers he is Perseus, and is the son of sea god Poseidon, who had an affair with his mortal mother. Ha, we have had enough of those in the Mahabharata! Anyway the god son now is accused by the god of gods of stealing his thunderbolt (how easily we can do this in the Indian context with Indra) and he has to return it to Zeus to prevent a war between the gods. Of course someone is playing the mischief. Percy he has lost his mother too who is now in the underworld (someplace near Los Angeles) so he decides to go and get this lightning bolt and hopefully his mother. Annabeth, daughter of Goddess Athena accompanies him and provides possible future love interest and Grover Underwood, faithful goat becomes a satyr and best friend. Onwards then!
Fun, quick and interesting. Lovely characters and I loved the way he played around with this gods business and made them normal. Apart from being a good read, it also got me thinking of the Greek gods. Some research there is in order for my own sake. Good fun and thanks Don for sharing.
So we have the Gods and the half-bloods, who are born to Gods. They have mortal lives but also god like qualities. And the gods are Greek gods and they have a snazzy office on the 600th floor of the Empire State building and Mt. Olympus is someplace near New York. Rick Riordan brings the gods down to the earth and at the same time elevates the reader from a humdrum existence with the promise of a super power to a most ordinary person. Percy has no father and has an evil and smelly step father (his real father is a god, which is what all of us want in our childhood I guess) and a wonderful mother Sally Jackson. Kicked out of school for some misdemeanour and guided to the Olympus hill by his best friend and his master, both who are looking out for the young hero in the making, Percy discovers he is Perseus, and is the son of sea god Poseidon, who had an affair with his mortal mother. Ha, we have had enough of those in the Mahabharata! Anyway the god son now is accused by the god of gods of stealing his thunderbolt (how easily we can do this in the Indian context with Indra) and he has to return it to Zeus to prevent a war between the gods. Of course someone is playing the mischief. Percy he has lost his mother too who is now in the underworld (someplace near Los Angeles) so he decides to go and get this lightning bolt and hopefully his mother. Annabeth, daughter of Goddess Athena accompanies him and provides possible future love interest and Grover Underwood, faithful goat becomes a satyr and best friend. Onwards then!
Fun, quick and interesting. Lovely characters and I loved the way he played around with this gods business and made them normal. Apart from being a good read, it also got me thinking of the Greek gods. Some research there is in order for my own sake. Good fun and thanks Don for sharing.
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