The book is a reasonably good read... but the narration is absolutely abysmal

Although I would give the books story a 3/5 the absolutely terrible narration from Jesse Bernstein means this audiobook is an absolute recommended to miss this one, if you have the time pick up the book and read it for yourself and you may have an enjoyable time.
However, I can only recommend you listen to this audiobook if you enjoy listening to Jesse Bernstein’s thin range of voices, mispronounce basic English words like “music” and “elevator” (which sounded something like ‘elvatoire’). And that’s basic English not even taking into account the Small Amount of Greek found in this book.
I understand that some of these words are hard to pronounce, but this is a professional audio production and I can’t let the mispronunciation of basic English go.
Sorry Rick Riordan but whoever hired this man, has messed up your whole audiobook collection.

22 people found this helpful

Hooked!

Would you listen to The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson, Book 1 again? Why?

Bought this to pass the time for my 10 year old daughter on some long journeys on holiday. Picked it mainly on the grounds that it was one of the longest books on offer, but we were all soon hooked - really enjoyed the story and the performance. Will have to listen to it again, as daughter kept sneaking into the car to listen to it by herself!

What other book might you compare The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson, Book 1 to, and why?

We have enjoyed the traditional Greek and Roman myths, Harry Potter and the Philip Pullman books. All have the same way of creating a whole world you can become absorbed in.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The whole bok was great - hard to single out a particular element.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Percy Jackson - half boy, half god, All hero! (has that already been done?!)

Any additional comments?

Loved this book, now read the paper version, and are moving on through the whole series.
Thoroughly recommended.

19 people found this helpful

poorly read

i could barely listen to this audio book and i admit i did not finish listening, the guy reading it just does not sound right.

18 people found this helpful

Loved it

Really loved the book, great characters and storyline and loved the narrator's portrayal.
Re listen regularly.

18 people found this helpful

Bad reading of an amazing novel

I absolutely LOVE the Percy Jackson series, and Rick Riordan’s novels generally, but sadly the narration on this audio book sounds like it’s being delivered by Percy’s extremely confused, and slightly slow, great-great grandfather which utterly ruins the experience.

Any novel that relies on first person needs a convincing narrator and this audiobook’s narrator is so awful that he’s almost as bad as the atrocious film versions of the series.

My advice would be to buy the original (and utterly amazing ) book series and read it for yourself.

10 people found this helpful

A Fantastic YA Series!

This is the first book in the Percy Jackson series. I loved it!

Percy Jackson is a fantastic character. He is a normal young boy with a learning disability. Or is he? He finds out that he is really a demi-god and the son of Poseidon, but his life is about to get even more complicated when he is accused of stealing Zeus's lightning bolt. I really liked this young man. He is not necessarily the strongest person, but when faced with a God's wrath, he certainly is the bravest!

I have watched the movie, but had not read the book, so I decided to get a copy to read. I downloaded a copy in audio format so that I could listen to it whilst doing chores.

I started listening to it and was quickly pulled into the story. I began to really enjoy the tale, but it was a little strange to note all the differences between the movie and the actual book. I understand that making a movie out of a book is not necessarily the easiest thing to do - logistics and time etc., but there were whole scenes that were chopped out in the movie, and others written in that were not in the book. The narrator of the story, Jesse Bernstein, did a wonderful job reading the story and bringing the characters to life. I couldn't help but envision the characters as portrayed by the actors in the movie; it made it easier to imagine.
However, I may be the only one to say this, but I think I preferred the movie to the book. This is not my usual finding after watching a movie, and then reading the book the movie is based on. The book is a lot darker than the movie, and I liked the feeling the movie had. Nevertheless, the story was really engaging and I found myself listening intently. I am looking forward to continuing the series.

Rick Riordan has written a wonderful and exciting novel (and series) for children that brings the old Gods to life. The mythology has been well researched and presented in such a way as to be educational, but have a modern take that will appeal to today's young readers. His writing style is fast paced, but not rushed, and is easy for young readers to follow.

I highly recommend this book to young readers aged 12 to 16 and to adults who love reading Young Adult novels. - Lynn Worton

8 people found this helpful

Demigod Mayhem

This was a fast-paced, fantasy story. I think it's targeted towards children (and perhaps young adults). It started off well, but slowly declined. I found it a little strange how quickly the characters moved on from fighting intimidating creatures from ancient mythology! The narrator, Jesse Bernstein, really needs to work on pronunciation, since he mispronounced far too often. He also put on really strange accents for certain characters: Luke, for example.

7 people found this helpful

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

A brilliant story which will appeal to teenagers, young Percy Jackson is struggling at school with his dyslexic and ADHD if thats not enough his math teacher turns into a monster and trys to kill him!
This book is much better than the film. After listening to this I was pretty sure my dyslexic was because I was also a demi god!
A wonderful story which will inspire young minds!

14 people found this helpful

Enjoyable

Percy Jackson and his friends get into all types of trouble as they go on an heroic quest. Greek Gods and mythical creatures in abundance.

6 people found this helpful

Good story, weak performance

The book itself is quite fun, though aimed at a younger audience, obviously. The reading is awful though - I noticed way too many incorrectly pronounced words throughout it.

5 people found this helpful