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The introduction’s full episode is at https://frozenhistory7publishing.wordpress.com

By Andrea Menzies

Review for 03/07/2023

Episode 5 of Season 6 – The Lightning Thief

Welcome to the Frozen History 7 Book Reviews Podcast I am your host Andrea Menzies. J.K. Rowling ruled the fiction world for so long, but the strangle hold has lapsed. Who will be king or queen of the fiction writer world? A serious contender for the crown is writer Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book On The Lightning Thief. Disney made it into a movie in 2010 called “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” staring Alexandra Daddario of the AMC show the “Mayfair Witches”, but how do the books REALLY stand up to the film? Read this episode transcription to find out!

I love the writer Anne Rice, and have been a fan of the bestselling author for years. I even have a photo of school friends and myself standing next to Trent Reznor at the Anne Rice Fan Club Ball I went to for years. (Trent was a fan, and used to pose with fans asking for autographs. My school buddies are in that camp.) I went to the fan club for years, and read the books, and I lived in New Orleans for school. So when AMC remade the books into the TV shows I downloaded the streaming episodes weekly, and was not disappointed in the shows. Even the episodes with basements I ended up liking, but New Orleans is built on a SWAMP so basements cannot be built there. That is why they have hundreds of above ground graves there as things cannot be burred. One thing seemed odd when I saw the actress Alexandra as she seemed familiar. Where had I seen her before? It vexed me. I looked her up, and behold! She was in Percy Jackson’s movies! Then I remembered I always wanted to compare the movies and books, and quickly I ordered them on Amazon.

No book will every be the SAME as the movie. I personally loved a mythology movie called “Clash of the Titans” as a kid, and so at first was angry the movie was not a clone of that one. However, at second look the books reminded me of an even better series: “The Sandman”. The Sandman graphic novels are Greek in nature and The Sandman himself is Morpheus the Greek and Roman version of the God of Sleep. Orpheus the Son of Morpheus famously goes into the Underworld Land of the Dead to rescue the dead, and so does Percy in the books. In the Sandman Morpheus angers the Kindly Ones, and they attack him. In “The Lightening Thief” the same thing happens. Young Sandman could have been the name of some of these books. I wished that aspect had been explored more fully.

When people try to join Fraternities and Sororities in Universities it is called “Going Greek” because the University system used in North America greatly had foundations in ancient Greek government, gods, and culture. It is the format of choice for many artists making commentary on systems of power and education. Rick Riordan’s biography on Amazon shows he taught middle school for 15 years in San Francisco and Texas so he talks about education from experience. The books confront the idea that disadvantaged or problem students have as much to contribute as other traditional students.

I like the books better than the movies, and highly recommend them. I give them 5 out of 5 stars. I feel the story was somewhat “sized down” for the big screen. Yet both formats have a good story, and people should check them out.

Internet Questions From E-Mail:

How many books are in the Percy Jackson series?

Five books so far. A big advantage of the books over the movies is the story goes on longer.

What is your favorite quote?

Mr. Riordan’s voice really captures the flow of a teen boy accurately. They go to Elysium of the Underworld in the Land of the Dead, and the chapter is called: “We Find Out the Truth Sort Of” Seeing all birth life and death as a snooty kid is Riordan’s real talent.

That is it for this week’s episode. Tune in next Tuesday for more reviews.