The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

I bought this for my daughter (a long time Percy Jackson fan) for Christmas. She absolutely loved it and was over the moon with this gift. An all around great purchase.

Lovely illustrated version. Bought to encourage my son to read as the colour illustrations hold his attention more easily.

It seems to me that this elegant, and pricey, volume would work well as either a wow! introduction to Percy Jackson for a new reader, or as a nice birthday or special occasion gift for a confirmed fan.The appeal here is two-fold -- the illustrations are right on target, and the book is well made.As to the illustrations, I'm always a little leery about illustrated volumes when I've already read, and possibly reread, a series. I have the characters and scenes fairly well established in my head, and someone else's vision, no matter how well executed, can clash dramatically with what I've already got. (Maybe that's why I've never warmed to any illustrations for "The Lord of the Rings".) Well, I was happy with John Rocco's take. The characters look right enough, (especially the secondary characters), and the action pieces are true to what I saw as the author's intentions. A nice touch is the Camp map at the front of the book and the quest map on the endsheet. The illustrations aren't too numerous, (this isn't a graphic novel), but the choices that were made about what to illustrate, and when, seemed valid.As to quality, this has been made for heavy use. The binding is reinforced. The boards are good. The dust jacket isn't anything special, but it's substantial enough. The paper is glossy and high quality. This isn't a Turtleback style book or library bound, but it's been made to last for a while. There are varied and interesting type fonts that jazz up the text, and give the book a touch of elegance.So, the Percy Jackson series is engaging and ripping and a great series for a younger reader. A classy edition for that young reader is a nice touch, and this book seemed to fit the bill.