“If you like horror shows, bloodbaths, stealing and cannibalism, then read on… If you don’t know me, my name is Percy Jackson. I’m a half-god, half-mortal son of Poseidon, but this isn’t really about me. I’m here to tell you the true story of the gods of Ancient Greece. Want to know how Zeus came to be top god? How many times Kronos ate one of his own kids? Why Athena literally burst out of another god’s head? It’s all here in black and white. But I’ll start with the Greek story of creation – which, by the way, is seriously messed up. Wear your safety glasses and your raincoat. There will be blood.”
What is the book about?
A book filled with the stories you once thought as myths explaining every one of the gods and how they came to be, written by the one and only Percy Jackson son of Poseidon, god of the sea. It shows the true story of the Greek gods and answers many confusing questions. The Greek god family tree is immensely complicated but this book will help you understand it more. It has the story of creation and the story of the Titans along with the gods. It is filled with funny stories and also some rather gory ones. It may be a little confusing but it will answer any questions about the gods and minimise any confusion. Want to know which are the 12 Olympians? Why Zeus is top god? Why the sky, the sea, and the Underworld were split between the brothers? Open this book to satisfy you curiosity and help you understand the truth about the Olympians.
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
I had just recently finished the Percy Jackson series and still had a few questions about the many Greek gods and heroes (which will be explained in another book). I had been a bit confused as to which 12 gods were the 12 Olympians that had cabins at Camp Half-Blood for their kids – I knew most of them but I sometimes got a bit muddled. When I heard about this book, I was very curious to see what stories it would hold and if it could really answer all m strange questions and, I have to say, I was not disappointed. Reading the Percy Jackson books had interested me in Greek mythology and I was very glad to have a book that could explain some of it to me, but I was worried it would be boring seeing as I preferred action to historical stories. The book started off very well with the Greek story of creation and I was very interested in the Titans. The book followed the Greek gods in chronological order and I got to learn a lot about gods that I didn’t know very well, such as Hestia and Demeter. The book started really quickly, with a short and simple introduction, and didn’t bore me at all, which I was fearful of at the beginning, as it was full of a lot more action than I had predicted.
Who was your favourite character and why?
My favourite of the gods was probably Hestia because she was the most reasonable of them all and the least likely to murder a bunch of people just because they were looking after your husband’s child with another woman (it has happened multiple times). She was the most popular goddess among her brothers and sisters because she had the sweetest personality and always wanted to help people. I really liked the way she took the responsibility of looking after the family and making sure that they were not torn apart. She was so sweet that there was no way anyone could not like her and I also remember her being a character in the one of the Percy Jackson books and how kind she had been. I also liked a few other goddesses such as Artemis and Athena who were not the most horrible and could be kind to people of the wanted to, but it would not be wise to get on their bad side because they could probably kill you with just one glance. They were fearless warriors and they were incredibly smart, I especially liked how Artemis looked out for young girls and cared for wild animal, even if she was a hunter.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
As the book is a collection of short stories I think it would be best to pick my favourite story and decide which god or goddess had the most interesting life story. Of course, I enjoyed every single story and all the Olympians had incredibly interesting stories, but some were more interesting than others, namely one in particular. I found that the story about the Olympians destroying Kronos and taking back the universe from their horrible father, or The Olympians Bash Some Heads as it was called in the book was above all the most fascinating. I was very curious about the Olympians and I wanted to know more about how they came to be the top 12 gods of all time. Only 6 of the Olympians were actually in that story but it helped me understand the family tree a little more and get more information on Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, and why Zeus was the top god. I liked this part because it showed the historical side of things and also showed me that, even though the gods like to terrorise humans and kill them, they were still good people (well, decent people) who were fair and just rulers (most of the time).
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods was a very interesting book that answered a lot of questions I still had about Greek mythology and painted a proper picture of what the gods were like. The main reason why I loved the book was, obviously, because it answered a lot of my unanswered questions. I also became a lot less confused about the Greek gods after I had read the books and discovered a lot of interesting things that I didn’t know about them. Another thing that I liked about it was because it made mythical history seem a lot more fun and exciting than I thought it would be. I had initially been concerned about the fact that the book might be a little bit boring seeing as it was mainly explaining the Greek gods but, I have to say, I was rather impressed at how interesting the stories were, even if they were a little bit disturbing. The book was mainly just fights and a lot of murder – I never thought that the gods could hate mortals that much that they would chose to use their powers to torture them, I would think that was beneath them, but they did it a lot more often than I thought. One other reason why I enjoyed reading the book was how it made me sympathise with even the worst of the gods. It was a great example of how bullies have usually actually been bullied before and showed me that sometimes even the most horrible people deserve a little kindness and love. It was strange to think that the gods could suffer or have any pain inflicted on them, but, even though they could really be harmed physically, they could still be hurt emotionally, and it is not good to have an angry, sad or pretty much any emotion other than happy, god. The book was really amazing and I am very glad that I chose to read it.
Would you recommend this book?
I definitely recommend reading this book after you have read the Percy Jackson series. It will help you understand the gods and Greek mythology a lot more. I recommend it for readers aged 10 and up especially if you enjoy action, adventure and don’t mind a little blood.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
A book filled with mythical stories and stories weirder than anything you have ever seen.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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