★★★☆☆ Dark urban version of Harry Potter

The Lightening Thief

Rick Riordan

I read this book in 2006. I was not very impressed. I posted the following review on Amazon

What a disappointment! After seeing the reviews, I had high hopes for this book. Alas, I was not prepared for the extraordinary similarity to Harry Potter. Percy Jackson, as you will have read in the other reviews, is the young teenage son of a Greek god and a mortal woman. He's a boy with extraordinary powers, of which he's initially unaware, living among muggl..., excuse me, ordinary people. He goes to halfbreed camp (Hogwarts), where, with other demigods (wizards and witches), he studies the things a demigod has to know. (No Quidditch, I was relieved to find, although "capture the flag" seems to more or less play that role.) Then he goes on a quest with a satyr (Ron) and a teenage girl (Hermione). There's a even a Voldemort-like evil eminence gris behind all the trouble, who we are assured will become more important in sequels.

So, it's pretty similar to Harry Potter, but there are differences. I'm not sure I'd agree that it's "hipper", as so many other reviewers say. It's more that it's gritty and dark. Percy was born out of wedlock, but now has a beer-guzzling, wife-beating redneck stepfather. He's a failing student with psychological problems. This may sound a bit like Harry and the Dursleys, but whereas the Dursleys are so exaggerated as to be comical, Percy's domestic troubles are seriously depressing. In fact, I couldn't help feeling that the mood was borrowed from "Holes" in the same way that the plot was borrowed from "Harry Potter". Unfortunately, Riordan doesn't have either Rowling or Sachar's sense of humor. There are jokes in Percy Jackson, but they are forced, without delight, and they are decorations to the story, not a real part of it.

At that time it was possible for shoppers to comment on Amazon reviews. This one got quite a few. I remember one from a teenager who was totally outraged that anyone could compare Percy Jackson to Harry Potter. Also there was a supercilious note from some idiot telling me that "Readers who are new to fantasy often think that everything is like Harry Potter."

I just (28-Jun-2022) logged on to Amazon and tried to look at that review. I got the following message:

We apologize but Amazon is not accepting reviews on this product from this account. If you would like to contact us about this decision, please email community-help@amazon.com.

Apparently some sort of tripline was engaged. Interestingly, if you look at the reviews of The Lightning Thief on Amazon, there are now hundreds, both positive and negative, that say it is like Harry Potter.

The Lightening Thief on Amazon

Goodreads review

Comments

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