Percy Jackson Meets Harry Potter?

I’ve read the Riordan series. Basically, I loved the stories, and learned so much more about Greek mythology than I ever learned in school. The mythology draws a reader in and yes, Percy’s stories (and other characters) drew me in, but alchemical, give it a rest!

The stories are good, period!

I seem to recall the contention that there were only around 30 stories in the world and that all else were mere variations. I do not know if that is a true contention. It is however true that human experience is just human experience and that must be overlap in the telling of stories. That is a far cry from totally derivative. And I do recall reading parts of Joseph Campbell’s THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES which makes the point in its title.

The artistry is the measure of the individual author or storyteller’s ability to rivet us. There is considerable difference there. I have not yet read this series so I cannot comment on that.

The LA Times writer must be unaware of the fact that before Harry Potter there was Greek mythology. Rowling didn’t invent magic or mythology, but she wrote a darn good story (why we all are hooked into Harry Potter). She used some mythologic creatures in her novels, but perhaps the LA Times writer is not aware of the mythology in Harry Potter.

Riordan’s books follow Greek mythology to a T, which is one of the reasons why they are successful in the Romance genre. Myths get into the reader; there is a truth to mythology that is hard to dispute. If kids and young adults learn a bit of Greek mythology, well, that’s a good thing, in my opinion!

John,

I had been meaning to tell you about the Percy Jackson books because I recently read them with my son.

As you can tell from my screen name, I adore Greek mythology. In fact, I hesitated reading the series because I have been disappointed with poorly done adaptations of Greek myths in the past. I could not finish watching Disney’s movie Hercules nor did I care for Clash of the Titans.

Using the drama inherent in Greek mythology is enough to work with, you should not invent cutesie creatures to dress up the set and make up new sideline stories. That was my complaint with Hercules.

In reading the Percy Jackson series, I was delighted to discover Rick Riordan’s deep knowledge of his source material as well as his personal twists to the legends. There are many aspects to the series that are enjoyable, but for me it was recognizing the figures from Greek mythology before they were positively identified in the text. It was like a guessing game of sorts. I didn’t always figure it out ahead of time, but I did get to shout out “Echidna” a full page before it was mentioned in the story.

The humor is great and deftly done.

The characterizations for the gods and goddesses for the most part follows my own affinities toward them. Rick Riordan shows a preference for Athena over Aphrodite, does not particularly care for Hera. Those biases mirror my own.

I loved his characterizations of Hermes and Apollo, but I thought his characterization of Dionysus was a tad strange. It was funny, but I thought it was “off” of what I perceived Dionysus to be like.

Hades was funny. Hysterically funny.

I howled when Hades finally made his appearance.

Overall, I inhaled the series as if it were bowls of buttered popcorn.

I am definitely looking forward to seeing the movie. However, I disagree with David’s comments that the actor could have been a finalist for the HP movies. Nah. If anything, he looks like Zac Efron’s little brother.

The actors playing Percy and Annabeth are much older than the twelve year old characters written by Rick Riordan. Perhaps the studio wanted to appeal to older teens from the very beginning of the series. That is, if they wind up filming all five books.

And, well, as for the idea of alchemy in the series…there might be. I am no expert on the matter, and can really only recognize it once the elements have been pointed out to me. There are journeys underground in all of the books. Some of them are into the depths of the Underworld or the realm of Hades. Perhaps once John gets some free time he can read them and see whether or not he thinks Riordan followed some similar alchemical pattern in his storytelling.

Linda

I, too, just recently finished the Riordan series and was immediately struck with the similarities to HP. I just finished blogging about it but here is my ultimate opinion/summation of my experience:

As a literature teacher who appreciates the period of antiquity and the early Greek and Roman mythology, I see value in a series that introduces young readers to these myths. I teach Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid in tenth grade, and I would love for my students to come in with prior knowledge that goes beyond The Children’s Homer. Riordan refreshed my own memory about some of the stories I allude to in my classes. While as a huge fan of Harry Potter, I think my son may have some issues with Percy Jackson, I will encourage him to read the series just to get a handle on the mythology. I’m not suggesting we adopt polytheism here, but these myths permeate much of literature throughout the ages and they are important to out understanding of some of the greatest novels and epics of our time. For this reason I say read Percy and enjoy a little “mind candy.” Don’t expect it to be more than it is, but take the good and let your children (or yourself) run with it.

I’ve started reading these books. I’m not finished with the first one yet, but I’m sure I’ll want to keep reading at least for a while. They’re fun and interesting, with some twists and turns and unexpected things. I don’t know that much about Greek mythology – whatever I didn know, I’ve really forgotten.

They do seem similar to Harry Potter, but Percy Jackson didn’t get into his adventures in the same way. And one of the main differences is that the books are all Greek mythology, not a blending of all sorts of myths and fables and other stories. I think one of the things that I liked so much about HP was that it included so many different things.

Yes, Percy Jackson has a smart mouth, but it’s funny. Might not be if it came out of my own child’s mouth, but since they’re grown, that’s not an issue for me.

Alchemy? I don’t think so, but maybe I’m missing something. And somehow I can’t see myself rereading these books like I have with Harry Potter.

I finished the first book. I liked it. One more comment about alchemy. Earlier I said I didn’t think so. But now I’m not so sure. There were some things that fit, but not in the same way Rowling used it in Harry Potter. It felt more like the alchemical things you see in a movie – put there because the imagery works, not because it’s part of the story.