“The Lightning Thief”, the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan is not an outstanding book, but it is the first book in an otherwise good series.

I didn’t enjoy the way this book was written. First person and rude (very reminiscent of “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Slinger) is a writing style that I don’t really enjoy, especially since frequently some things I like are referred to as being a great torture.

The story itself is flat. Some of the places visited are real, some are not; some are from mythology, and some places are just made up, but all of the places seem to lack history. The highlights came from mythological elements being presented, like when Percy learns that being the son of Poseidon means he can communicate with equine-ish animals, but these elements are not used frequently enough. In fact the greatest strength this book has is that it is a good idea, that the gods (and other things) from Greek Mythology are real and some of us are their children, but the idea just isn’t exploited enough in this book.

Probably my least favorite part of this book is that in the end a murder is committed and is written as though it should be funny. It is a tasteless ending that further diminishes the value of the story.

Sadly, I probably prefer the movie to the book (they are significantly different) and I’m not that fond of the movie. Still, it is worth reading “The Lightning Thief” so that you can read the rest of the series.

Dune - Frank Herbert

“Dune” by Frank Herbert is a very compelling science-fiction classic that probably deserves its acclaim of “Science Fiction’s Supreme Masterpiece”, but that is more because science fiction is often not very compelling than because of this work’s value. This book can be long and tedious, and occasionally lacks clarity, but all in all it is an interesting story.

This book develops slowly. The extreme detail that Frank Herbert put into this work is impressive, but occasionally the detail seems to get a little muddled and it becomes difficult to understand. I would have gladly sacrificed some detail for clarity at these times.

I did love the premise of the story that in times long past mankind had outlawed “thinking machines” (computers). The lack of fancy computers and robots made the space travel and other futuristic experiences seem more authentic.

I also enjoyed the idea that a sacred mystic organization would send “missionaries” to a planet’s indigenous population in order to create religions with “Messiah” prophecies which future generations of the mystic society could fulfill. I find it difficult to suspend my disbelief that this would ever successfully be carried out and remain undetected by any organizations other than the mystic one even after centuries, but it was interesting to see all the pieces of the ancient plan fall together.

One statement in the book bothered me. Paul, the “messiah” and protagonist of the book, at one time flaunts his power over an antagonist and explains that “the power to destroy a thing is the absolute control over it.” I strongly disagree with this statement. Destructive power is easy compared to constructive power, and represents much less control. The power to destroy a beautiful vase is nothing compared to the power to create it, and all control is lost in the former case whereas the latter retains control indefinitely. The power to preserve the vase is also greater and represents more control than the power to destroy it. I find the idea than destructive power is absolute control to be just plain wrong, and the statement diminishes Paul as a protagonist whom you want to succeed. That said, from reviews I’ve read about later books in the Dune series where it seems Paul becomes the antagonist, it is entirely possible that this statement was set in place on purpose by Herbert to foreshadow Paul’s descent from protagony.

I definitely recommend “Dune” by Frank Herbert if you enjoy highly detailed literature and you are a fan of science fiction. However, if either of these criteria do not fit you, I suspect you will find the book tedious, and the storyline not interesting enough to sustain your interest throughout the read.