The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
389 Rating(s)
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The Lightning Thief
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book 1

Author: Rick Riordan

Narrator: Jesse Bernstein

Unabridged: 9 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/14/2005


Synopsis

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school . . . again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself.

Until the Minotaur chases him to summer camp.

Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. The gods of Mount Olympus, he's coming to realize, are very much alive in the twenty-first century. And worse, he's angered a few of them: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy has just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property, and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. On a daring road trip from their summer camp in New York to the gates of the Underworld in Los Angeles, Percy and his friends–one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena–will face a host of enemies determined to stop them. To succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of failure and betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Author Bio

Richard Russell "Rick" Riordan, is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and former teacher of English and History. His career started with teaching in various schools in Texas, after earning h I s double major from the University of Texas at Austin. His favorite subject that he taught in almost every class was Mythology, since he enjoyed it and most students really enjoyed it. That interest gave way to his very popular series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and The Kane Chronicles, a trilogy focusing on Egyptian mythology. In 2014 came The Heroes of Olympus, which was the sequel to the Percy Jackson series about Roman and Greek mythology.

Twentieth Century Fox purchased the rights to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and released a full feature film in February of 2010. Riordan has written many successful book series for children and adults. His newest series, Magnus Chase and the God's of Asgard begins in October of 2015, with the release of the first book, The Sword of Summer, focusing on Norse mythology.

Riordan lives in Boston with his wife and their two sons, who inspired the Percy Jackson series through its beginnings as a bedtime story.

Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Lisa the Librarian on 2007-07-14 14:30:56

The Lightning Thief is not the best book ever written. But it is hardly the worst, either. Incorporating Greek mythology with a magic road trip to California, it is enjoyable to listen to. Younger listeners probably won't notice that the protagonist took a class in Latin but somehow knows all the Greek names for the gods. Perhaps they won't notice to incredible spottiness of his knowledge of the stories. Expert at times, neophyte at others. Jesse Bernstein does a capable job narrating.

AudiobooksNow review by CrazyOphelia on 2009-11-02 20:00:31

These books are wonderful - very family friendly! They successfully incorporate Greek mythology in a meaningful, yet fun and playful way. Once you get involved in one, it's difficult to stop listening. The only criticism I have is the guy they chose to read the books - the character voices he uses are so over the top at times that it's difficult to listen to the story.

AudiobooksNow review by Brett G. on 2011-03-12 03:40:30

This book gives u a dose of Greek mytholigy and some action, a lot of times i found myself biting my nails. When the movie came out i liked it but as always the book was better. Rick Riordan sertanitly has quite an imagination to think up a best seller such as this. me and my friends swollowed this book hole and was still hungry for more...