Plot-wise, The Lightning Thief is a page turner, but Jackson stumbles into random circumstances that often feel contrived. For example he lands in a magical Vegas hotel that serves no purpose other than to shave five days off of his remaining time to find Zeus's master bolt before the summer solstice.
As a character Percy is woefully blind. He is told he will be betrayed by a friend and not to trust gifts. He then receives gifts from friends and doesn't think twice about it? (Spoiler alert!) The second Luke gives Percy a pair of winged shoes and checks to make sure Percy is wearing them it is painfully obvious to the reader which hero is acting as the gods' thief. Of course, this does not cross Percy's mind even after the winged shoes try to fling Grover down into the pits of Tartarus. Let's not underestimate our tween readers' inferencing skills, please. On the other hand, even as an adult reading Harry Potter, I rarely figured much out before he did.
My main qualm with The Lightning Thief is Jackson's story telling voice. Coming from the mouth of a 12 year old the story seems trivial. For example Percy tells us, "I'd love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, et cetera. The truth? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!" It's as if Percy is recounting the story to a group of friends at recess. There is appeal in this tone, especially for reluctant readers. Just don't ask me to call it quality literature- and don't get me started on how poorly it served him when reflecting on the loss of his mother.
The Harry Potter series is infinitely more successful at humor. Kids talk like kids, but only in the context of trying to entertain their peers, not just for affect. Consider Lee Jordan's commentary during a quidditch match:
Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides.
"So- after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-"
"Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.
"I mean, after that open and revolting foul-"
"Jordan, I'm warning you-"
"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could
happen to anyone, I'm sure..."
I claimed that both boys must fight to save the world, but this is only partly true. While 11 year-old Harry does have to confront Lord Voldemort as early as the first book in the series, he does not fully understand Voldemort's aims or the implications of his return. Perhaps more importantly, he does not understand his own identity or his connection to Voldemort. These concepts are leaked out slowly, sometimes painfully slowly (for fans waiting for the next book to come out) over the course of the series. It is perfectly timed so that each step of the way Harry comes to understand more about his past, Voldemort's life, and the magical world in which they live. Initially Voldemort is a personal enemy- his parents' assassin, someone trying to kill him. This fits with a younger child's egocentric view of the world. As Harry ages he sees Voldemort's plans for the magical and muggle worlds, he realizes the greater threat. Not until the last three books does this struggle realize itself as an epic showdown between the forces of good and evil.
Percy Jackson has a different pace. He not only learns the entire premise behind his world of Greek gods, mortals, and demigods, or heroes, in the first book, but there was also an infusion of politics that seemed watered down for the 12 year-old hero. The gods are siblings vying for power over the mortal world and they bicker like siblings. Compare this to the grabs for power in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Wizard politicians, set on maintaining power, manipulate the press and education system in order to suppress news of Voldemort's return. It is a much more powerful political commentary and a more sophisticated read. The saving grace of this aspect of The Lightning Thief (spoiler alert!) was that the driving force behind the conflict turned out to be Kronos, the father of the gods. In that context, the sibling rivalry works as Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades could only be manipulated by a force greater than themselves.
The difference in pacing and quality of the books is not entirely surprising in light of their release dates. The Harry Potter series was seven books published over ten years (1997-2007). During that time Rowling did not publish anything else (with the exception of two short HP supplement books, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Throughout the Ages). On the other hand Rick Riordan put out five Percy Jackson books in just five years (2004-2009) during which he also published two books in the Tres Navarre series and started to publish the series 39 Clues by 2008. While well-researched in terms of mythology, The Lightning Thief is a fast read that reads like it was a fast write.
Marla,
ReplyDeleteI agree on all accounts! This isn't one of my favorite books on the reading list, but it is one of the most popular and worth reading simply because of that fact. It means so much to tweens and teens when we have read the books they are reading and talk to them about it. It puts us in the same club, so to speak, and builds an immediate trust. It doesn't matter if we liked it, only that we read it:)
I do think the voice and tone are intended to be that way, and to draw in the reluctant reader. Perhaps Percy's blindness is the result of him being an authentic dippy-do middle schooler with a learning disability. I just spent a week with 7th graders and most of them can't hold on to directions and/or warnings for more than 5 minutes. I had the opportunity to host Riordin at school before he was famous, and discovered he was a middle school teacher for many years, so he knows how to grab their attention. Having said that, I am always shocked at how little the mother's death seems to bother kids who have read this, so you may be right in assuming the tone has something to do with that.
I agree there were too many tangents and coincidences and that Harry Potter is much more sophisticated. But Lightning Thief has it's place and while I agree it's not the next Harry Potter (really, what is??) it will find a readership and you will find no end of students to recommend it to.
I loved your in depth analysis (I hope you shared all these points in your small group!), and your last line is killer! I may be borrowing both to use with parents and faculty when discussing the differences between these two series:)
See you in class on Monday.
I totally agree with your assesment. I thought The Lightning Thief was an entertaining read, but definitely found that it lacked the depth and skillful writing of Harry Potter. This is coming from a (mostly) adult perspective though and, as the commenter above pointed out, I see how the lighter tone and simpler writing could appeal to younger/less advanced readers.
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