Percy Jackson series....

[happyninja42]

So I picked up the Lightning Thief on audible the other day. Mostly because I had a few credits to burn, and felt like listening to something that reminded me of Scion.

And...I'm not sure what I think of this book so far. I'm about half way through, maybe a bit more, and...I think I'm just frustrated with some of the writing tropes the author is using?

Like how all of the suspense of the story, isn't due to actual mystery, but because various people just simply refuse to tell the protagonist (and by proxy us) what's going on. Their reasons? Stupid things like "not right now" or "I'll tell you later" or "I don't want to ruin his innocence just yet", or my favorite "I am starting to tell you but I get interrupted by something."

Hell early on in the book, they even actively cover up some of the supernatural stuff he encounters, and then flat out lie to his face. And pretend it didn't happen so well, that eventually Percy starts to convince himself it didn't happen, and that he just imagined it.

And then...THEN...later, a character asks him to tell her about what happened at school that year, and when he doesn't mention that, she gets frustrated. "Why didn't you tell me that happened?!" Um, because I thought it was in my head! It was a literal conspiracy to keep him clueless, and then people get frustrated with him for *gasp* being clueless!

Now I get that you have to have an audience proxy, to give exposition to about the setting, but when it's so heavy handed and clumsy in why the information is being spoonfed to him in tiny bits, it gets tedious.

So, does the series improve? Because I'm on the fence about bothering to pick up the other books at this point, if this is the quality of the writing that is maintained throughout the series.

 

[Queen Michael]

Lemme put it this way.
You know how some YA series get read by people of all ages? Like Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and so on?
There are reasons why Percy Jackson isn't a series like that.

 

[happyninja42]

Lemme put it this way.
You know how some YA series get read by people of all ages? Like Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and so on?
There are reasons why Percy Jackson isn't a series like that.

...so no, the writing doesn't improve then. I see.

 

[Hawki]

I got it on sale earlier this year, for about $1. Thought it was quite good.

Not to say it's perfect - there's time when the humour just doesn't work, especially when they see

Spoiler

Hades

but I didn't really get the same issues. Percy's meant to be kept in the dark at the start, and it's only because of the lightning bolt issue that he's dragged into the world of myths and monsters, so to speak. Annabeth belittles him, but that's more her character.

That said, as Queen Michael pointed out, I don't really put it on the same level as Harry Potter or The Hunger Games, or heck, even Artemis Fowl, as far as YA books go. Harry Potter is an excellent series IMO for many reasons, primiarly that the books mature at the same rate as Harry, and for those my age, the same rate as the reader. The Hunger Games (I actually like the movies more) isn't as well written, but does sell me on the world it creates, how it acts as a parable for Rome and consumer culture. The Lightning Thief is, IMO, better written than the first two Hunger Games books, but it doesn't drag me into its world as much. Greek gods, mythology, it's been done. I'm also admittedly put off by the sheer scope of the "Riordanverse," whereas in HP and HG, I can read 7/3 core books and call it a day, before moving onto supplementary works.

On the flip side, it IS better than some other YA books out there (Throne of Glass, Medoran Chronicles, Divergent, etc.), so there is that I guess.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I read some of the books like 7 years ago so I can't remember too much. I thought the first one was okay, but I got sick of the series by the third. Can't remember exactly why, the plot was just getting kind of dumb.

 

[Fox12]

Lemme put it this way.
You know how some YA series get read by people of all ages? Like Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and so on?
There are reasons why Percy Jackson isn't a series like that.

...so no, the writing doesn't improve then. I see.

I've been reading, writing, and editing for a long time. The one and only rule I've learned is that the writing never improves.

Go read Ender's Game if you want a kickass YA book.

 

[happyninja42]

Lemme put it this way.
You know how some YA series get read by people of all ages? Like Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and so on?
There are reasons why Percy Jackson isn't a series like that.

...so no, the writing doesn't improve then. I see.

I've been reading, writing, and editing for a long time. The one and only rule I've learned is that the writing never improves.

Go read Ender's Game if you want a kickass YA book.

I've already read Ender's Game, as well as Speaker for the Dead before I became tired of Card's writing. And since that is scifi, and not "children of the god's" concept, it's not going to scratch my Scion itch that I described at the start.

And who's "the writing never improves" are you referring to? Your own? The Percy Jackson's author? Authors in general? If you mean authors in general, I would strongly disagree, as many of them vastly improve as they continue to write over the years.

 

[09philj]

Lemme put it this way.
You know how some YA series get read by people of all ages? Like Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and so on?
There are reasons why Percy Jackson isn't a series like that.

...so no, the writing doesn't improve then. I see.

I've been reading, writing, and editing for a long time. The one and only rule I've learned is that the writing never improves.

Go read Ender's Game if you want a kickass YA book.

But don't buy it new unless you want your royalty money going to nutcase homophobes and transphobes.

 

[Fox12]

Lemme put it this way.
You know how some YA series get read by people of all ages? Like Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and so on?
There are reasons why Percy Jackson isn't a series like that.

...so no, the writing doesn't improve then. I see.

I've been reading, writing, and editing for a long time. The one and only rule I've learned is that the writing never improves.

Go read Ender's Game if you want a kickass YA book.

I've already read Ender's Game, as well as Speaker for the Dead before I became tired of Card's writing. And since that is scifi, and not "children of the god's" concept, it's not going to scratch my Scion itch that I described at the start.

And who's "the writing never improves" are you referring to? Your own? The Percy Jackson's author? Authors in general? If you mean authors in general, I would strongly disagree, as many of them vastly improve as they continue to write over the years.

I mean that the writing never improves within the same novel. If chapter one is badly written, then chapter twelve probably won't read like Faulkner. There can be a huge change from book to book.

 

[happyninja42]

Lemme put it this way.
You know how some YA series get read by people of all ages? Like Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and so on?
There are reasons why Percy Jackson isn't a series like that.

...so no, the writing doesn't improve then. I see.

I've been reading, writing, and editing for a long time. The one and only rule I've learned is that the writing never improves.

Go read Ender's Game if you want a kickass YA book.

I've already read Ender's Game, as well as Speaker for the Dead before I became tired of Card's writing. And since that is scifi, and not "children of the god's" concept, it's not going to scratch my Scion itch that I described at the start.

And who's "the writing never improves" are you referring to? Your own? The Percy Jackson's author? Authors in general? If you mean authors in general, I would strongly disagree, as many of them vastly improve as they continue to write over the years.

I mean that the writing never improves within the same novel. If chapter one is badly written, then chapter twelve probably won't read like Faulkner. There can be a huge change from book to book.

Ok so I guess I didn't make my initial question clear then. I'm not really expecting a huge improvement in book 1. I'm asking if books 2+ show an improvement in the quality of writing. Because I kind of want to see how the series goes, but if the quality of writing for the followup books is just as horrible as Lightning Thief, I'll save my money for something else.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

I read it all and some of the sequel series (which is worse btw and I never finished it).

It starts getting "Naruto syndrome", by that I mean they introduce too many prominent characters that I'm supposed to care about and dedicate entire chapters to their personal little bubbles. I found myself skipping the boring characters, cutting to the parts with Percy himself because his life runs like a DBZ episode[footnote]Takes forever to get anything done[/footnote], so I guess, to answer your question, no... it's doesn't get better. It was enjoyable for the humor and modern to mythology connections, which is why I kept reading it but in retrospect, it's just meh in my memory.

 

[votemarvel]

I enjoyed all the books but the problem is that Percy just doesn't grow as a character. He's the same person in the Lightning Thief as he is in The Olympian.

And that is a big problem because the other main characters do have growth, all while Percy remains static.

The Heroes of Olympus series is a little better in that regard but the change in Percy is mainly that he is now being openly romantic with Annabeth.

In short the story can be good and entertaining but if you don't like Percy by the end of the first book, you are never going to like him.

 

[Baffle]

On a scale of Brandon Sanderson's Mystborn (being zero) to The Martian (being ten, because I can't remember anything else I've read lately), how is it?

 

[happyninja42]

On a scale of Brandon Sanderson's Mystborn (being zero) to The Martian (being ten, because I can't remember anything else I've read lately), how is it?

Well, first off, I like your scale, as I really hated the Mystborn series, though I did like the first book. The ending was so shit it soured the whole series for me.

Anyway, on your scale, I'd give it a 5-6/10. I can only speak about the first book. The writing quality isn't that good, and yes I know it's written for children, but that's not an excuse for bad writing. The structure was bothersome, the Circle of Friends dialogue between the characters was annoying. But my biggest issue, was that instead of actually creating mystery with his "who done it" story, the author just falls back on "i'm just going to arbitrarily control the information given to the reader, even if the methods I do this are blatantly obvious, and also unrealistic in the story world" I lost count of the number of times, when Percy asked for information about what the fuck is going on, that people either just flat out said "I'm not going to tell you that now, because reasons" or they would start to tell him, and then something would happen nearby to distract them, and then they would say "nah, nothing, nevermind, don't worry about it". That kind of shit REALLY gets on my nerves.

So yeah, 5/10. Average story, some good bits, but dragged down heavily by all the clunky dialogue and poorly used tropes.

 

[Baffle]

Well, first off, I like your scale, as I really hated the Mystborn series, though I did like the first book. The ending was so shit it soured the whole series for me.

I think Mystborn started well, and the world building is good, but the author just makes characters do pretty much whatever advances the plot (even when the plot is shit). Battle Angel Alita (sorry, can't recall her name in the book) veers from wise old crone to hormonal lovestruck teen from the beginning of a sentence to the end. If the book were converted to film, it'd be an entire show of whacky wavy inflatable arm tube men with crap, unbelieveable dialogue.

 

[Queen Michael]

...the Circle of Friends dialogue between the characters was annoying.

You mean the corny kind of Shonen Jump dialogue?

 

[happyninja42]

...the Circle of Friends dialogue between the characters was annoying.

You mean the corny kind of Shonen Jump dialogue?

I guess? Never really watched much shonen jump anime, as they annoyed the shit out of me, what little I saw. What I mean is how they would do this round robin of emotional support in a scene, and it just felt so forced. "Gosh Percy, you're not a bad kid, you're my best friend! And you're a really good monster slayer! Not like me, a terrible satyr, not worthy of my horns" "Gosh Grover, thanks! And hey, you aren't a bad satyr! You're the best there is ever in the history of everness! I just KNOW you'll find Pan, because you're just so peachy keen, by golly!" "Awh gosh, thanks Percy! You're the best friend a satyr could have!" And then they would move on to Annabeth, and repeat the process. It was just so, blech.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I read the Percy Jackson series right around the time I was the same age as most of the characters, so I really enjoyed the books.

I actually haven't read Lightning Thief in a while, but I do think the series itself does improve over time. Its really quite similar to Harry Potter in terms of structure (and in a lot more things too, kind of too much in hindsight). The first couple of books are all shonen-y, there's a middle book where shit goes down and the characters need to grow up, and there's a finale where everything is put together and all loose ends are tied, and some longtime characters bite the dust.

But the sequels? Holy shit, they sucked. In combo with the pathetic follow ups to the 39 Clues series, Heroes of Olympus made me lose any interest in Rick Riordan's work. Heroes of Olympus was basically romantic fan fiction, and I am so sure that it is the only reason it selled. It's one of the few series I never finished, and I have finished some really shitty ones.

Speaking of Mystborn, can you say wasted opportunity? Loved the first book, but by the end I could not believe what I had just read.

 

[happyninja42]

Well, first off, I like your scale, as I really hated the Mystborn series, though I did like the first book. The ending was so shit it soured the whole series for me.

I think Mystborn started well, and the world building is good, but the author just makes characters do pretty much whatever advances the plot (even when the plot is shit). Battle Angel Alita (sorry, can't recall her name in the book) veers from wise old crone to hormonal lovestruck teen from the beginning of a sentence to the end. If the book were converted to film, it'd be an entire show of whacky wavy inflatable arm tube men with crap, unbelieveable dialogue.

Lol, well, for me it was the very cliche "this is what an athiest must feel like" reaction the historian character had

Spoiler

when he learned that everything he believed was wrong. the whole "non of it's true, so what's the point in living?" bullshit, that really pisses me off as an actual atheist. Sitting there, reading the character's stupid rationalization for why he stopped giving a shit about everything, made me want to rip off my headphones. I have a very sore spot for representations of skeptics and atheists in literature/media, because they're pretty much always wrong. Beyond that, most of the other plot points were resolved in a "meh" sort of way for me. They didn't really add up to much tension or drama. They just sort of happened.

I read the Percy Jackson series right around the time I was the same age as most of the characters, so I really enjoyed the books.

I actually haven't read Lightning Thief in a while, but I do think the series itself does improve over time. Its really quite similar to Harry Potter in terms of structure (and in a lot more things too, kind of too much in hindsight). The first couple of books are all shonen-y, there's a middle book where shit goes down and the characters need to grow up, and there's a finale where everything is put together and all loose ends are tied, and some longtime characters bite the dust.

But the sequels? Holy shit, they sucked. In combo with the pathetic follow ups to the 39 Clues series, Heroes of Olympus made me lose any interest in Rick Riordan's work. Heroes of Olympus was basically romantic fan fiction, and I am so sure that it is the only reason it selled. It's one of the few series I never finished, and I have finished some really shitty ones.

Speaking of Mystborn, can you say wasted opportunity? Loved the first book, but by the end I could not believe what I had just read.

Yeah pretty much same here. The first book, I found really damn intriguing, but the follow through and conclusion was just, ugh.