Part of me feels like I ought to be ashamed of the fact that 80% of my Greek mythology knowledge comes from one American man, but Rick Riordan makes it so entertaining! I don’t know how he manages to convey humor while simultaneously making it clear that the gods habits of murdering and raping is abominable…but he does. It’s very impressive.
I liked his book on heroes more than this one on the gods. The style and everything is the same; it’s just that I’m more familiar with the stories of the gods and goddesses, so it wasn’t quite as interesting. Still, it’s a great book, and John Rocco’s illustrations continue to be flat-out gorgeous (although he draws Dionysus as an old fat man despite the story describing him as a beautiful teenage boy with girlish features).
If you like Riordan’s style, you’ll like this book. Honestly, I’m fully in his pocket, and I’ll read everything he ever writes, I think. I hope he makes another one of these massive books – maybe about the minor Greek gods, or about Egyptian gods. Haha, the man is churning out two books a year, but I WANT MORE.
Book Jacket
Who could tell the origin stories of the gods of Olympus better than a modern-day demigod? PERCY JACKSON provides an insider’s view with plenty of ‘tude in this illustrated collection.
A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, “Can we do this anonymously? Because I don’t need the Olympians mad at me again.” But if it helps you know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week.
So begins Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic–and sarcastic asides–to the classics. He explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who’s who of the ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back. “If you like lots of lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that.”
Dramatic full-color illustrations throughout by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco make this volume–a must have for home, library, and classroom shelves–as stunning as it is entertaining.
Release Date: August 2014
It Is Trish 