SageChimpSageChimp
by Rick Riordan
Book 1 in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is on the most dangerous quest of his life. With the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena, Percy must journey across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction—Zeus’ master bolt. Along the way, he must face a host of mythological enemies determined to stop him. Most of all, he must come to terms with a father he has never known, and an Oracle that has warned him of betrayal by a friend.
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I read Dean Koontz constantly in my high school years, and I can honestly say Lightning is so unlike anything else by him I have read. I am unsure if Koontz meant to conceal the fact it was a time travel story, but I realized it from the opening scene—and what a beautifully written opening scene it was. In this story, Koontz almost entirely casts off his horror writing style in favor of masterful characterization and stunning imagery. His portrayal of adolescent girls is particularly spot-on and I know he must have daughters or a multitude of sisters. My only complaint is how it ended—how quickly summed up Laura's new relationship was. Did he skip over so much because he assumed the reader would take it for granted they would end up together? Did an editor chastise him for an overly long book and just start chopping material out? Either way, I felt I was missing out on an emotional payoff that was very out of step with the rest of the book. But really it was my only complaint. I genuinely love this book and I might have to recommit to reading more of his work.