Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, released on June 28, 2005. I first found the book when I was around 7 or so, and it permanently altered my brain chemistry.
With such a popular series, we have various ways of telling the stories, from books, to musicals, to the new series on Disney+. I’m here today to talk about each of the iterations and why they’re worth the while or not.
There will be spoilers in this article, so please be wary (the books are also almost 15 years old so please read if this at all interests you).
The Book Series
What is a story without a beginning? The original 5 books follow Percy and Co. completing the first “Great Prophecy”- someone stole Zeus’ lightning bolt and they need to get it back and plot twist- it was stolen by the emo god of war son and his half-nephew-whatever-relation-they-actually-are… but let’s frame the sea god’s nephew, right?
I will say, I meme on the series sometimes but it was the first thing that I can truly say got me into Greek mythology with the modern-day inspirations. For something to have really had that much of an impact over 10 years later… I’m going to have fun with it. Not only does this series offer a relatively accessible entry into Greek mythology, but this pentalogy sets up the next four series of books and numerous spinoffs (my personal favorite series in the Riordanverse is The Kane Chronicles). Through these series and spinoffs, Rick dives into other mythologies, namely Roman, Egyptian, and Norse. I’ve talked to various Percy Jackson readers, and many have said that this was their gateway to learning mythology.
The Musical
I’m not talking about a fan made musical like the Phineas & Ferb TikTok musical that came out a few years ago. This is a legit, been-on-Broadway musical. And it occupies my brain every second of every day. It’s a problem.
On the real, the musical was actually written not by Rick Riordan, but instead by Joe Tracz and Rob Rokicki, and it is regarded as a fairly accurate representation of the first book. Unfortunately, only the first book got the musical treatment– however it was and still remains one of my personal favorite renditions of the story. Good Kid has been on repeat for so long now that I think I can do a rendition in my sleep…
The TV Show
An adaptation that does involve Rick’s input, the show has recently been renewed for a third season on Disney+! The first season followed the story of The Lightning Thief, and if the patterns hold true, each season is a different book… how that would work after the first five books are TVified is beyond me, but maybe they’ll get sister series? Who knows, only time will tell.
The show was widely received positively by the fandom, with main valid criticisms talking about the pacing of the show, and ultimately removing some notable or even key moments- it’s hard to encapture 22 chapters in 8 40-minute episodes, an entirely different problem that could have its own essay.
The Movie
There are little words to describe my annoyance of the existence of the Percy Jackson movies. However, I’m going to try.
As movies go, cinematically I will admit it’s not the absolute worst movie- if you forget that it’s attached to Percy Jackson, they’re great! But then you remember that they are attached to Percy Jackson- with no input from the original author, by the way- and well… the quality does drop a little. I will say we got some very iconic quotes like Luke’s “What are you doing? Stop walking on my roof.” line from the Sea of Monsters movie. That’s about all the good I can say for the movies.
Conclusion
Percy Jackson has been a beloved series for almost 15 years now. From the original books to the new series, the fandom has grown across generations of people and it’s provided a place for many to be introduced to new mythologies that aren’t necessarily taught in school.
Featured image by Aleishka Ruiz on Canva.
