The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is a story about a boy that discovers his father is really a Greek god and his life is turned upside down as he discovers the real world. After a brief interlude at Half-Breed Hill Percy, the main character, must travel across the land to recover an artifact stolen from Zeus.

Characters:

Percy: Son of Poseidon, a bit hot-headed and, really, not that bright. The story is told from his perspective so we get lots of insight into how this 12 year old thinks.

Grover: Best friend to Percy and a Satyr who is not very good at what he does, but is helpful and the comedic relief of the story.

Annabeth: Daughter of Athena, a fairly smart girl who finds herself tied to Percy and eventually becomes friends with him.

Story:

The story follows Percy as he is discovered in middle school to be a half-blood, and is attacked by one of his teachers, who is actually a Fury in disguise. After the attack Percy returns home then is pushed to a 'summer camp' by his mother, who knows the truth. Percy's father is one of the Greek gods and the monsters are hunting him down because of this. On their way to the summer camp Percy is attacked by a minotaur that he kills, but not before his mother disappears after being struck. Percy ends up awakening in camp Half-Blood Hill, a camp for children of the gods. Though his previous life appears to be ruined, Percy finds he finally fits in here, with other children, learning to be a hero. Unfortunately that doesn't last and Percy, Gordon, a satyr who was watching over him in his previous school, and Annabeth, daughter of Athena head out on an adventure to rescue Zeus' lightning bolt.

Review:

This story is, effectively, Harry Potter with a new paint job. Percy is picked on and doesn't fit in until he finds out about this other half of the world, where he learns new techniques and such that will allow him to become a hero. His first day he kills a minotaur, marking him as a special and he is the only child of Poseidon in the last 60 years. The story is neat in some cases, including a lot of mythical creatures from ancient greece, but the stories keep getting mixed up, to the point where they are sometimes no longer even recognizable from the source material. If I weren't such a greek nerd it probably wouldn't bug me too much, but the story just rubs me the wrong way.

Overall the writting is solid, the story is a rehash of existing ideas, and the plot is very predictable.

3/5 stars, 4/5 if you're under the age of 14.

The Oblivion Society

Overview:

The Oblivion Society by Marcus Alexander Hart is a novel that takes place in an alternate future, where the world really did end as the clock struck midnight on December 31, 1999. The book follows a group of people that are lucky enough to survive the end of the world, and their journey to find civilization, and the perils they face along the way.

Characters:

Vivian: An incredibly intelligent woman (able to clear Jeopardy nightly) who is stuck working a dead end job and unable to get any other job that she applies to.

Robert (Bobby): Vivian's brother, a programmer that used to head the branch of a company that closed and now mooches off of his sister, refusing to accept any job that doesn't meet his standard.

Erik: Bobby's best friend, runs a comic book store and hangs out with Bobby.

Sheri: Vivian's coworker, a non-conformist that refuses to follow the 'norms' of society.

Trent: A preppy west coaster that is in town for the holidays, acts and talks like he is a Gangster and thinks he is God's gift to woman. The only really religious member of the quintet.

Story:

The story starts by setting up an outlandish, but hilarious, situation in which the world comes to an end through a series of misunderstandings and mishaps that result in everyone thinking everyone else is preparing to launch their missiles, then people freaking out when a missiles (re-armed for science research) is launched during the crisis. Our 5 heroes each survive the blast and aftershock through blind luck. One is locked in a military grade Humvee, one is in the sewers, and 3 get trapped in a submarine in a local bar that was there for 'ambiance'. After the missles fall our heroes find themselves alone with no other survivors, or so they think. After a series of mishaps with mutated wildlife, they learn that not everything is dead and that cells have begun to grow at an alarming rate. Each member of the party in turn 'grows' body parts related to the DNA of their attackers. One gains bat wings, another gains and extra pair of arms, a tail, etc. The journey continues as they struggle with the basic needs and survive by scrounging in gas stations for fast food and non-perishables, as well as looking for people.

Review:

The story has some great ideas in, fabulous ones really. The entire explanation for how things occur with the radiation and mutation while not scientifically possible, is at least believable. Unfortunately it suffers from bad writting. The characters are, for the most part, one dimensional, and talk the same almost always. Trent in particular is hard to believe is real as his every move seems to be him pushing towards having sex, and he never gives up. While this is somewhat explained as the book goes on, it doesn't make for a believable character. Similiarly the other characters are, basically, a single idea and beyond that don't really have any character traits. Vivian is smart, Sheri is a nonconformist, Bobby is a mooch and Erik is a nerd. As the story progresses we do get some character development, but it's limited.

I enjoyed the story itself, it was very logical and well thought out, the presentation, however, was lacking.

2/5 Stars.