The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1

This was a great story. I loved it! I can't wait for the next installment to come out. I can only wish that my brother could have heard this when he was 12 and suffering from the same problems as the main character. I hate to say though that I agree with the first reviewer. The narrator was a little bit distracting. I can only say that he sounded like a California surfer dude. The only time his voice really irritated me was when he was supposed to have a British accent he held it for about a minute then he switched to a southern accent. This still doesn't distract from how great this story is written and put together. Bravo!

The story itself was good - if predictable at several points. Not great literature, but a diverting read for a few summer afternoons. I enjoy young adult literatire, and while this doesn't compare to classics like Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy, or recent greats like Cornelia Funke's Inkheart, the story was entertaining enough.

However, I had a hard time not being completely irritated by the narrator. Generally I give myself over to the story, but I found myself thinking over and over that I wished someone else - anyone else - were narrating instead. Everything he reads is delivered in an over-earnest voice, like a child actor trying too hard to be super cute and precocious. His female voices are grating. And the worst offense was that in an attempt to give the male characters different voices, one of them - who could have been an interesting, complex character, instead sounds just like Keanu Reeves in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure; like a dim-witted surfer with a script in front of him.

To be fair, the reader's delivery may appeal more to children than adults. I mean, there must be some reason kids like Barney but adults can't stand him, right? And if it is appealing enough to children that it encourages them to love literature, then I suppose that's what really matters.

This book is a fabulous tale of a 12 year old boy Percy Jackson who is trying to discover who he is and how he fits into the world around him. He is not like other kids because he was fathered by one of the greek gods and a mortal mom. The book introduces the reader to several of the greek gods and goddesses which allows the reader to remember who they were and what they did. Once you start listening you just can't stop. My 9 year old couldnt put it down for 2 days. he would have never read the actual book because of the length but was mezmorized once he started listening. Believe me you won't be disappointed.

I teach in a special education resource classroom. My students are not reading on grade level so they struggle to read books on their interest level. Audible books allow them to "read" novels that their peers are reading. We listended to the book as a class and the students got more out of the story due to the theatrical read then just myself reading it to them. They can't wait to listen/read the next book in the series.

I've always had a love of mythology so I was intrigued by the series after I saw the movie trailer. I loved the story - but I will purchase the paperback books and read them instead of downloading the next in the series because I could not abide the narrator. I'm usually fairly non-judgmental about the narrator if the story is good - and I totally get that he is suppose to be just a kid and "clueless" but I felt the narrator's inability to bring the characters to life did not do the story justice. My own mind can do a better job while I read the printed page and I won't be as annoyed as I got with this audiobook.

I'm a Mom listening to my kids books...I think if I read this book, it wouldn't have kept my attention. The narrator, however, added color to the story, and I can see why it's a hit with the Youngsters :) It's no Harry Potter, but it's a great introduction to Classical Mythology. Just don't tell the adolescents that. They'll boycott the notion.

I enjoyed this book because it was fun, light "reading." I even learned or remembered a few things from Greek mythology. My 9 year old lost interest quickly, so I recommend it for maybe 13-14 yr olds. I do think the narrator used some strange interpretations of voices. Some of the characters sounded absolutely the same, which left me wondering if they are the same person(but I won't find that out until later), or he has a limited number of voices period. I will definitely download the next book in the series. I think if you like the Harry Potter series, you will probably enjoy these.

We listen to books in the car and enjoyed listening to this book - especially fun for the adults was guessing the mythological characters prior to them being identified by the book... very engaging to all - we are downloading the next book..

This is a wonderful book but the narrator was poor. Not so bad that I wouldn't listen to it again but if you are not driving or listening as you work I would recommend reading it.

I have to start with the confession that I am a Potterphile. It probably makes me biased.
This book wants desperately to be Harry Potter, and it just isn't. There's the boy, the prophacy, the trio of friends, the big bad guy, and even the wise old teacher type, but it lacks the wonder, originality, and the deeply good story telling Rowling can bring.
On its own, it's not a bad story. It is for younger readers, but so were the early HPs. I'm hoping the books will age with the characters . If so, then this is a good way to start. They're told first person narrative, so this is fine.
A lot of reviewers didn't like the narration, but I had no problem with it. This one is really just a matter of taste. I probably wouldn't have picked him out of all possibilities, but he didn't detract from the story.
All this sounds, if not absolutely negative, then at least ambivelant, and it probably is. I'm reserving final judgment for at least one more book. Having said that, I am getting the next book. There is enough good in the first one to make me think it wasn't recommended by mistake.