The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief is a 2005 fantasy/adventure novel written by Rick Riordan. The first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, it chronicles the adventures of Percy Jackson, the son of a mortal woman and a Greek god, and his friends on a quest to avoid a war between the gods. The story contains a multitude of encounters with characters from Greek mythology still alive in modern days. It is young-adult fiction, written in a playful style while also trying to be faithful to the original myths.

Chapter list

 * 1) I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-algebra Teacher
 * 2) Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death
 * 3) Grover Unexpectedly Loses his Pants
 * 4) My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting
 * 5) I Play Pinochle with a Horse
 * 6) I Become Surpreme Lord of the Bathroom
 * 7) My Dinner Goes Up in Smoke
 * 8) We Capture a Flag
 * 9) I Am Offered a Quest
 * 10) I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus
 * 11) We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium
 * 12) We Get Advice from a Poodle
 * 13) I Plunge to My Death
 * 14) I Become a Known Fugitive
 * 15) A God Buys us Cheeseburgers
 * 16) We Take a Zebra to Vegas
 * 17) We Shop for Water Beds
 * 18) Annabeth Does Obedience School
 * 19) We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of
 * 20) I Battle My Jerk Relative
 * 21) I Settle My Tab
 * 22) The Prophecy Comes True

Synopsis
Percy Jackson is a twelve year old boy diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, who has been expelled from several schools. On a trip with his mother, his friend Grover, revealed to be a satyr, urgently tells Percy's mother that Percy must go to a certain camp. As they drive towards camp, they are attacked by a Minotaur which grabs Percy's mother. She dissolves into a golden shower of light, while Grover and Percy narrowly escape.

Percy later wakes up and discovers that he has arrived in Camp Half-Blood, a secretive training ground for demigods. Thereafter, Percy is moved into the Hermes cabin under the care of Luke, the Cabin counselor. During a Capture the Flag game, Percy is attacked by the children of Ares. He heals when he steps into the adjoining river and is revealed as the son of Poseidon when Poseidon's trident appears on his forehead. Poseidon had broken an oath taken with Hades and Zeus after World War II of not having any more children because of the prophecy given by the Oracle of Delphi. It stated that a child of one of the Big Three gods (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) would make a decision on their sixteenth birthday that would either save or destroy the world. Percy is then granted a quest to find Zeus's master bolt which Chiron believes Hades has stolen. However, Zeus, who discovered Poseidon had broken his oath, believes Poseidon had Percy steal the bolt. Percy, who has ten days before summer solstice to find the bolt, is given magic shoes by Luke before leaving. However, Chiron tells him that it is a bad idea to use them, so they are given to Grover. Percy, accompanied by Annabeth and Grover, decide to travel west to reach the entrance to the Underworld in Los Angeles. They encounter several Greek monsters, and also the war god, Ares, who tells Percy that his mother is alive. As they approach the pit of Tartarus, Luke’s shoes try to pull Grover into it, but he manages to slip free his hooves. Percy confronts Hades who also believes Percy stole the Master Bolt as well as his Helm of Darkness. Percy realizes that Ares has tricked him when he discovers the bolt in his backpack. He flees from the Underworld, forced to leave his mother. Percy then fights and defeats Ares by hurting the god's heel. Ares gives Percy the Helm of Darkness which Percy returns to Hades. Percy reaches New York City to give the master bolt to Zeus at the top of Empire State Building where Olympus is now located. Zeus accepts the master bolt and thereafter Percy returns to camp, after learning that his mother is alive. He meets Luke, who reveals that he stole the bolt for Kronos. He calls out a poisonous scorpion which stings and nearly kills Percy. Chiron cures him and Percy leaves to attend another school found by his mother. The camp bead for Percy's first year is a black bead with a green trident in the middle.

Characters

 * Perseus "Percy" Jackson is a twelve year old half-blood son of Poseidon. He initially knows nothing about his heritage and disbelieves the magical events occurring around him. Over time he accepts his genealogy, becoming more confident and capable.
 * Grover Underwood is a satyr who befriends Percy while secretly assigned to guard him at boarding school, and later accompanies Percy on his quest. After revealing to Percy his true intentions,he and Percy remain has close friends how they were before. re bond is so strong they begin to create an empathy link. A string bond that connects there lives together. It is Grover's dream to find the satyr god Pan, who disappeared long ago.
 * Chiron is the centaur and healer of legend, now assistant director of Camp Half-Blood in disguise to visit prospective students, as he did with Percy under the disguise of Mr. Brunner, a wheelchair-bound Latin teacher. He is concealing a prophecy that may apply to Percy. Chiron gives Percy Anaklusmos (Riptide), a magic sword said to have been used by Poseidon.
 * Annabeth Chase is a twelve year old half-blood daughter of Athena. She has a Yankees cap that bestows the power of invisibility to the wearer. Annabeth is very intelligent and loves to read. Like all children of Athena, she is averse to spiders, the children of Arachne.
 * Luke Castellan is a half-blood son of Hermes. He has a scar under his eye. He is Percy's initial counselor when he is put in the Hermes cabin, but is no longer when Percy is moved to the Poseidon cabin.
 * Sally Jackson is Percy's mother. She is around 33 to 43 years old. She is an aspiring writer, but unfortunate circumstances in her life led her to drop out of college and work in a candy shop. She attempts to protect Percy by concealing his true nature from everyone.
 * Gabriel 'Gabe' Ugliano is Percy's obnoxious, smelly poker-playing stepfather. The stench of his human banality can mask the scent of Percy's divine blood, which is why Sally Jackson married him in the first place.

Many gods of the Greek pantheon appear, including Ares, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. The most notable is Dionysus, aka "Mr. D", who is being punished by Zeus with a 100-year alcohol-free stint as the director of Camp Half-Blood. Dionysus hates his job, disdains the campers, and ignores them as much as he is allowed.

Percy and his friends also encounter numerous monsters of Greek mythology, including the Minotaur, the Furies, Medusa, Procrustes, and many more.

Prophecy
This book's prophecy was given to Percy Jackson.


 * You shall go west, and face the god who has turned,
 * You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,
 * You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend,
 * And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

Film adaptation
In June 2004, 20th Century Fox acquired feature film rights to the book. The following November, screenwriter Joe Stillman was hired to adapt a screenplay based on the book. . In April 2007, director Chris Columbus was hired to helm the project. . The film has gone into pre-production. The budget hasn't yet been set, concept art is being created, and the script is being finalized. It has been announced that the release date of the film will be February 12, 2010. The offical title for the movie is Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief opening the growing chances of a sequel, and eventually the entire series. Logan Lerman has been cast as Percy Jackson and Brandon T. Jackson as Grover Underwood. Alexandra Daddario will be playing Annabeth Chase in the Percy Jackson adaption. Uma Thurman will be playing Medusa, and Pierce Brosnan will be playing Chiron. Joining them will be Kevin McKidd as Posiedon, Sean Bean as Zeus, and Melina Kanakaredes as Athena. Richard Harmon has been cast as a mortal kid who chased Percy and his friends into a waterbed shop. Tim Aas has been casted as Procrustes.

Awards

 * Mark Twain Award 2008 (Missouri Association of School Librarians)
 * Bluebonnet Award Nominee (Texas Library Association)
 * Askews Torchlight Award (UK) Winner
 * Best of the Best Book List (Chicago Public Library)
 * Top Shelf Fiction List (Voice of Youth Advocates)
 * Notable Book (American Library Association)
 * Best Book for Young Adults (Young Adult Library Services Association)
 * Red House Children's Book Award Winner (UK)
 * Choice Award; Notable Children's Book (Cooperative Children's Book Center)
 * National Council for Teachers of English, Publishers Weekly National Children's Bestseller
 * Warwickshire Book Award Winner (UK)
 * Beehive Award Winner 2006 (Children's Literature Association of Utah)
 * Maine Student Book of The Stupids