Sample
  • The Lightning Thief

  • Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1
  • By: Rick Riordan
  • Narrated by: Jesse Bernstein
  • Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (32,395 ratings)

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The Lightning Thief

By: Rick Riordan
Narrated by: Jesse Bernstein
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Publisher's summary

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself.

Until the Minotaur chases him to summer camp.

Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. The gods of Mount Olympus, he's coming to realize, are very much alive in the 21st-century. And worse, he's angered a few of them: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy has just 10 days to find and return Zeus's stolen property, and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. On a daring road trip from their summer camp in New York to the gates of the Underworld in Los Angeles, Percy and his friends, one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena, will face a host of enemies determined to stop them. To succeed in his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of failure and betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Don't miss the other titles in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
©2005 Rick Riordan (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

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What listeners say about The Lightning Thief

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    24,599
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    5,445
  • 3 Stars
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Performance
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
    3,680
  • 3 Stars
    1,062
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    170

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fun and exciting listen

Great series for anyone at any age! A timeless classic. The narrator annoyed me at times with his weird pronunciations of words. Other than that, great story and listen!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

The reader did not do a good enough job of differentiating the characters. Other than that, I really enjoyed it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The book is amazing

I don't love the reader of the book. Wish we could pick who reads to us.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Simply wonderful!

I’ve listened to it ten times and I still can’t get enough of it, I ❤️ it so much!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I vaporize my pre-algebra teacher 

I loved this chapter because like the title name is pretty hysterical and I just really like this whole entire series. I really think you should read this whole entire story series and love it as much as I would!!!!!!😃

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

amazing story!!!

I have loved these stories since I was a kid and I'm always happy to realisten to such an awesome book. the reader is also good and fun to listen to!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good book not the greatest pronunciation

I enjoy the book a lot and I will probably get the second audio book in the series, but the pronunciation of some of the words was a little odd, and the speed at which read was a little off at times. All in all it was a good experience

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great story telling

I have listened to this book many times. Along the same vibe as the Harry Potter series.💕

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Annual Reread

I've listened to this entire series so many times, I think Harry Potter is the only series I've done more often. Super engaging, the narrator is fun and really captures Percy's sass. Love Riordan's work👍

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Like, so awesome

I like LOVE this series, and I love this book, but The Lighting Thief could be better. I don’t like when Percy runs away from the Chimera, or when he thinks his dad doesn’t care about him, but overall, I love the book.

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