Jumat, 19 November 2010

Percy Jackson and the Olympian, The Last Olympians

Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a series of fictional adventure and fantasy books authored by Rick Riordan. Set in the United States, the books are predominantly based on Greek mythology. The series consists of five books, as well as spin-off titles such as The Demigod Files and Demigods and Monsters. The Lightning Thief, the first book, is the basis of a film called Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, which was released in the United States and Canada on February 12, 2010.
The protagonist is Percy Jackson, who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. He learns that the legendary beings of Greek mythology still exist and have always existed, including monsters, cyclopes, empousae, Titans, and the Greek Gods, including the twelve Olympians themselves who dwell in Olympus, which is now situated on the mythical 600th floor of the Empire State Building. Percy is frequently attacked by monsters because he is a child of one of the "Big Three": king of the gods and the god of the sky, Zeus, the god of the sea, Poseidon, and the god of the Underworld, Hades, who made a pact after World War II to not have any more children because they were too powerful and unpredictable.The other reason for the pact was a great prophecy ,predicted by the Oracle, that a child demigod of the "Big Three" would decide the fate of Olympus and the gods(good or bad)would be decided when the demigod child reached the age of sixteen.The pact was made in an effort to prevent the prophecy from ever happening: both Zeus and Poseidon break the pact by having demigod children after the war (Zeus had Thalia Grace and Poseidon had Percy Jackson). Hades however ironically (he is meant to be the most untrustworthy god) did not break the pact as he did not have any demigod children after the pact. Still he had Bianca and Nico di Angelo who were born before the war, but were trapped in the Lotus Casino for seventy years. This meant they were still able to fulfill the prophecy. Percy meets many other young demigods, both friendly and hostile, who are also in the process of discovering their ancestry and powers.

Percy Jackson and the Olympian, The battle of THe Labyrinth

Plot summary

After being attacked by Empousai cheerleaders at his new school, Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood and learns about the "Labyrinth", part of the palace of King Minos in Crete that, according to Greek mythology, was designed by Daedalus. He also meets the camp's new swordsmaster, Quintus, who is later revealed to be Daedalus. During a game against giant scorpions at the camp, Annabeth and Percy accidentally find an entrance into the Labyrinth. Percy soon learns that Luke had used this entrance before and will try and lead his army through the Labyrinth straight in to the heart of Camp Half-Blood.
Using the Labyrinth, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson must find Daedalus so that Luke cannot get Ariadne's string, thereby foiling Luke's invasion. Ariadne's string is used to navigate the Labyrinth. Percy and his friends encounter Kampe, a half woman, half-dragon monster, and free her captive, Briares the Hundred-Handed One, who is Tyson's idol but disappoints him by being too scared to help them. After an encounter with the goddess Hera and a battle on the farm of Geryon, the group are reunited with Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, who still hates Percy for the death of his sister Bianca, but is convinced to put it behind him by the summoned ghost of his sister. Following a hint from the Greek God Hephaestus, Percy travels to Mt. St. Helens, where he finds telekhines, which Percy calls "sea demons". Percy attacks the telekhines and they chase him. Percy finds Annabeth and they have a short argument during which Percy tells Annabeth to flee. They kiss, and Annabeth disappears. In an attempt to escape the telekhines, Percy causes Mt. St. Helens to erupt, draining his energy in the process. After being treated for burns by Calypso, Percy gets the help he needs from a mortal girl named Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who is able to see through the Mist. Grover also finally finds Pan, but the god of the wild is dying and wants Grover to tell the other satyrs that they must save the natural world themselves - his spirit passes into all present (Grover in particular) when he dies. They finally discover that Quintus, the mysterious new sword instructor at Camp Half Blood, is actually Daedalus (who has attained a sort of immortality by putting his life-force—his animus into a robot body) and that Kronos has gained a body by possessing Luke. Kronos finds out that Nico di Angelo is a son of Hades and also could be the child of the big prophecy. Luke has already reached Daedalus and got Ariadne's string. Using the magical instrument, he leads his army and attacks camp. Grover comes to the rescue and causes a Panic to scare away the enemy. After the battle, Daedalus sacrifices himself to close the Labyrinth, which is tied to his life

Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The Titan's Curse

When the goddess Artemis goes missing, she is believed to have been kidnapped.And now it's up to Percy and his friends to find out what happened. Who is powerful enough to kidnap a goddess? They must find Artemis before the winter solstice, when her influence on the Olympian Council could swing an important vote on the war with the titans. Not only that, but first Percy will have to solve the mystery of a rare monster that Artemis was hunting when she disappeared -- a monster rumored to be so powerful it could destroy Olympus forever.

Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The sea Of a Monsters

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any normal friends. But things don't stay quiet for long.

Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders that protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia. Only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name: The Bermuda Triangle.

Together with his friends, Percy must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family, one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.

Percy Jackson and the Olympian, The Lightning Thief


There’s been a lot of Percy Jackson 2 talk in recent weeks. So what has been said and how likely is a sequel? There are five books in the Percy Jackson series, so far. The next installment is ‘The Sea Of Monsters’ which sees Percy, Annabeth, and his half-brother Tyson the cyclopes sailing across a dangerous ocean to save the kidnapped Grover and retrieve the Golden Fleece (the only thing that can stop Camp Half-Blood being made vulnerable to an attack by the Titans).
At the London press conference last week director Chris Columbus said “If we are successful enough, I’d love to make another film almost immediately with these guys. We had a wonderful time. I love the enthusiasm and lack of cynicism. I want to go back to work quickly.”
And despite recent Spider-Man casting rumours, it doesn’t sound like star Logan Lerman is going anywhere either. “I’m invested into the whole series. I’m crazy about the story and crazy about the character, I’d love to do all the films.”
The reaction to the first film has been mixed. Critics gave it a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Casual members of the public seemed to half enjoy it. But many fans are angry. According to the feedback on this site and elsewhere, the book wasn’t just compressed (ala Harry Potter), it was “butchered”, its “heart taken out” with major plot re-routing, some characters altered beyond recognition, other key ones dropped entirely, etc. How this will affect repeat viewings and word of mouth we will have to see.
Lightning Thief has made $31 million on its opening weekend in the US. Not terrible, but not spectacular either. Internationally it opened with $28 million, which is underwhelming. It cost around $95 million. As of today, it needs to hold on well domestically and internationally to become a hit. If it does, there will be more.

Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The sea of a Monsters

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any normal friends. But things don't stay quiet for long.

Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders that protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia. Only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name: The Bermuda Triangle.

Together with his friends, Percy must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family, one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.