PERCY JACKSON & THE LIGHTNING THIEF (2010) **1/2 I would have loved this book, as a kid. I can say that, not ever having ever read a word of it. It's the ideas: the imposition of Greek mythology on Vegas, and Nashville, and kids my age. It's so cool anyway, but it would have been sooooo cool, then. I'm going to go buy a copy for my son, right now. Chris Columbus has a lot of action to work with, great effects, and a cast that all fit together. I have to admit that Sean Bean and Steve Coogan wouldn't have been the first two names that jumped to mind when casting Greek gods, but they both bring something out of the roles, and anything more might have dwarfed the rest of the proceedings. Not that they play it down, more that they play it right; same thing for Pierce Brosnan as a centaur, and everyone else and the kids. Uma Thurman has some grotesque moments as Medusa, and she makes it somehow suit her. What? She's seen some of the world? It all fits, it doesn't waste time, it keeps going, it makes the big moments bigger than the rest, and it's fun and full of wild adventure and time-tested ideas and ideals. Yay! Oh, the pomp and valour...
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Reviews won't do it any more! I need sustained brilliance! I want to buy your exciting new terrorist novel!
I've already read both of your novels. Thank you, they're amazing. Now I want to check out your weekly blog on everything