“If you like mutilations, murders and flesh-eating farmyard animals, keep reading… My name is Percy Jackson. I’m a modern-day demigod – the son of Poseidon. I’ve had some bad experiences in my time, but the heroes I’m going to tell you about were the original old-school-hard-luck cases. So get you flaming spear. Put on you lion-skin cape. Polish your shield and make sure you’ve got arrows in your quiver. We’re going back about four thousand years to decapitate monsters, shoot a few gods in the butt, raid the Underworld and steal loot from evil people. Then, for dessert, we’ll die painful, tragic deaths. Ready? Sweet. Let’s do this.”
What is the book about?
A book filled with short stories about some of the most famous Greek heroes even known. Written by the one and only Percy Jackson, the book explores the tragic stories of the original demigod heroes, who had even worse luck than the modern-day son of Poseidon. 12 short stories about 12 heroes who decapitate monsters, wrestle lions, travel to the Underworld and complete impossible tasks. Get ready for the craziest adventures of all time with even gods fighting against these half-bloods. These Greek heroes have gone through so much suffering and so many battles, helping the good and killing the bad, but they have the worst luck. After everything they go through, in the end, they die painful, tragic deaths and end up separated from their loved ones. Ever wondered who first killed Medusa? What Hercules did to become so famous? How the heroes escaped the Underworld with their lives? Then get ready for adventures beyond your comprehension and start reading…
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
When I heard about this book I knew I had to have it. So many heroes were mentioned in the Percy Jackson series and I barely even knew anything about Hercules, who was the only Greek hero I could even name (other than Percy, obviously). I was curious about the heroes who had given Percy ideas on how to kill the Minotaur, Medusa and get the Golden Fleece successfully, because it is very useful to know where others previously failed or succeeded so you don’t make the same mistakes. Once I read the blurb I was even more intrigued at what sort of adventures these heroes got up to and how many of them would die. I always used to think that heroes always survived and were never killed, but reading has given me a new perspective on things and I was very interesting in seeing how the best warriors ended up dead (mainly stupid things). As soon as I started to read I knew I had made a great decision and I enjoyed the book so much. The first story was amazing, and so were all the others and I loved the book from the very beginning, every word being absolutely perfect.
Who was your favourite character and why?
In my opinion all the heroes were so annoying and I don’t think I would be able to pick a favourite character out of them. They all started out extremely heroic, willing to do anything to get what they wanted or help someone they love or prove their worth. They were kind and helpful and didn’t let their strength get to their head too much at the start. However, once they started getting fans and going on stupid quests and winning, they all became really self-centred and just plain annoying. Imagine the most annoying, spoiled person you can think of and then multiply that by 100 and that wouldn’t even be near what the heroes were like after they saved the world a few times. Of course, some of them deserved a little happiness and they deserved to think they were amazing because of everything they did, but most of them ruined their lives because they thought they could do anything. Quite a few thought themselves to be as invincible as the gods when really they weren’t, but they thought they could do anything and so they all made stupid promises and went on stupid quests when they should have just retired and called it a day. Some of them were a bit better, like Perseus who actually got a happy ending, but mostly they went from the most desirable men in the world, to the most annoying ones in existence. If I had to pick a favourite character in this book it would probably be one of the side characters that aren’t really worth mentioning, but I wouldn’t even think about considering any of the Greek heroes despite the heroic deeds they did. This book teaches a very valuable lesson: if you become famous don’t let it go to your head or you will end up dead.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
The book is a collection of short stories so instead of choosing a part I will chose a story which is just as hard. I loved every story in the book which makes it very hard to choose a favourite but I would probably have to choose either the story about Perseus or the one about Cyrene. Both were amazing heroes and they fought for their lives and the lives of others without looking back. They also both got to have happy ending and I think they both deserved them. I think Percy was the only male Greek hero that didn’t let the fame get to his head and was just happy to have a loving wife and kids. He didn’t become stupid and let it kill him and he risked his life for others. Technically his pride got him into the whole mess of killing Medusa in the first place but, once he succeeded, he didn’t try and prove himself the extra 100 times the other heroes did. It was not a surprise to me that the female heroes were the smart ones that didn’t get themselves killed and that most of them got happy endings and Cyrene was one of them. Cyrene was a great warrior and she tried to help her village in any way she could (as long as it involved killing), but she always wanted to go hunting. Unfortunately, because she was a girl she was not allowed to join the men but she was able to get away from that life and get what she deserved (with some godly help). She was brave enough to not look back on her past life and she was able to give herself a better life than the one she had in her village.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, this book was really great and I loved every bit of it. One of the things that made it so good was that it was narrated by Percy Jackson. Percy commented a lot on people’s names, the promises they made and the heroes’ decisions. This made the book so much better because there was someone that was actually pointing out everything I thought so it was as if I had someone there that understood everything. Percy also made things a lot funnier, even though most of the book was full of murder, and he made the more boring explanations go by in a flash. Another reason I liked the book was because of how much I learnt about the Greek heroes. I knew basically nothing at the start of the book and now I know of about 9 new heroes that I couldn’t even name at the beginning and I know everything that Hercules actually did and not just the stuff in the Disney movie. I loved how I barely even realised how much I was learning and I really enjoyed that while I was reading about amazing adventures I was actually staring to learn some things, even though they are only fictional things. One last thing that I really liked about the book was how it teachers a few valuable lessons. One lesson is that even being good doesn’t guarantee a happy ending, which may seem annoying but it’s true. Another lesson is that you have to work for everything because you aren’t just going to get everything handed to you. Also don’t forget that if you become famous don’t let it go to your head or you will end up dead. I really enjoyed reading the book and I can’t wait to start reading more heroic adventures.
Would you recommend this book?
I definitely recommend reading this book as it will help fill in any gaps from reading the Percy Jackson series. I recommend it specifically for those aged ten and over and if you are interested in Greek mythology then this is definitely the book for you.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
Heroic adventures ending in death, the perfect book to show you that your life isn’t as bad as it seems.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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