The Lightning Thief is a 2005 American urban-fantasy-adventure novel
based on Greek mythology, the first young adult novel written by Rick
Riordan in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. It won the Adult
Library Services Association Best Books for Young Adults, among other
awards. It was adapted into a film named Percy Jackson & the
Olympians: The Lightning Thief released in the United States on
February 12, 2010. On May 14, 2020, Riordan announced that a
live-action TV series for Disney+ would adapt the Percy Jackson & the
Olympians series, with the first season covering The Lightning Thief.
The novel is followed by The Sea of Monsters and spawned two sequel
series (The Heroes of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo) and the
extended universe of the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles.Development for
The Lightning Thief began when author Rick Riordan made up stories for
his son Haley, who had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. His son
had been studying Greek mythology in second grade and asked that his
father come up with bedtime stories based on Greek myths. Riordan had
been a Greek mythology teacher in middle school for many years and was
able to remember enough stories to please his son. Soon Riordan ran
out of myths and his son requested that Riordan make new ones using
the characters from Greek myths with a new twist. Riordan created the
fictional character Percy Jackson and his travels across the United
States to recover Zeus' lightning bolt. In his new story, Riordan made
ADHD and dyslexia part of a demigod's powers - respectively,
heightened battle reflexes and a brain wired to read ancient Greek
rather than English. After Riordan finished telling the story his son
asked that his dad write a book based on Percy's adventures, and he
did.Development for The Lightning Thief began when author Rick Riordan
made up stories for his son Haley, who had been diagnosed with ADHD
and dyslexia. His son had been studying Greek mythology in second
grade and asked that his father come up with bedtime stories based on
Greek myths. Riordan had been a Greek mythology teacher in middle
school for many years and was able to remember enough stories to
please his son. Soon Riordan ran out of myths and his son requested
that Riordan make new ones using the characters from Greek myths with
a new twist. Riordan created the fictional character Percy Jackson and
his travels across the United States to recover Zeus' lightning bolt.
In his new story, Riordan made ADHD and dyslexia part of a demigod's
powers - respectively, heightened battle reflexes and a brain wired to
read ancient Greek rather than English. After Riordan finished telling
the story his son asked that his dad write a book based on Percy's
adventures, and he did.While he gave his manuscript to his agent and
editor to review, Riordan took his book to a group of middle schoolers
to critique. With their help, he came up with the name of the book and
invented Percy's magic sword. Riordan first sent out the manuscript
for The Lightning Thief under a pseudonym, as he did not want to rely
on anyone in the publisher industry, who would have known him through
his previous work. After many rejections, an agent picked up the
manuscript as she liked its premise. In 2004 the book was sold to
Miramax Books for enough money that Riordan could quit his job to
focus on writing. The book has since been released in multiple
versions (including hardcover, paperback, and audio editions) and has
been translated and published all over the world.The Lightning Thief
is narrated in the first person past tense by Percy Jackson, a
twelve-year-old diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. While on a school
trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the chaperones, Mrs.
Dodds, turns into a Fury and attacks him. Percy's favorite teacher,
Mr. Brunner, lends Percy a magical sword-pen to defeat her. After
school lets out, Percy goes on a trip to Long Island with his mother,
Sally. In the middle of the night, Percy's friend Grover Underwood
reveals himself as a satyr and tells them they are in danger. The
three drive to a mysterious summer camp, but the Minotaur attacks
them, grabs Sally, and causes her to disappear in a blinding flash of
gold light. Believing his mother has died, Percy kills the beast with
one of its own horns, drags an unconscious Grover into the camp, and
soon falls unconscious himself. When Percy awakens, he learns that the
camp is called Camp Half-Blood and that he is a demigod: the son of a
human and a Greek god. He settles into camp life and meets several
other demigods, including Luke Castellan and Annabeth Chase. After a
hellhound attacks him after a game of Capture the Flag, he is saved by
Chiron and then claimed by his father, the god Poseidon. Chiron
explains to Percy how the three eldest male godsâ€"Poseidon, Zeus, and
Hadesâ€"swore an oath not to have children more than 70 years ago;
Percy represents a violation of the oath. This, coupled with the fact
that Zeus's master lightning bolt has recently been stolen, has bred
much suspicion between the gods. The Lightning Thief Top Movies & Young Movies