Percy Jackson, half-boy, half-god, and one whole dramatic
queen when he describes about… wait for it… Greek gods. Duh, what else would
that demigod talk about anyway? Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods
is a collection of short stories, but they are not really Percy’s short
stories. If I may put it, the short stories are basically ancient Greek
mythology being retold by Percy, and boy, Percy makes a really good
storyteller.
“Greek mythology? It’s boring!” you said. You know what?
Pray that Zeus won’t zap those butts of yours. Greek mythology is a serious
matter and there are thousands and thousands of stuff related to Ancient Greece
out there, be it stories of gods and goddesses, creatures, demigods and mortals.
I won’t be surprise if Giorgos Sampanis is a demigod… (okay, haha, he’s not…
Who’s that you ask? He’s a really awesome Greek pop artist. Yeah, a Malaysian
listening to a Greek artist. What gives?).
So, this novel is mainly about the creation of the Earth by
the Protogenoi or the primordial entities, the first entities that come into
existence, followed by the Titans, and finally (and this group plays a large bulk
of the book), our peaceful, people-loving Twelve Olympians… okay, I’m just
kidding. They are not peaceful or people-loving. Many other gods and goddesses and
heroes and immortals and mortals and nymphs and satyrs and giants and… well, a
lot of stuff is also touched by Percy.
Honestly, knowing Percy Jackson from his original series and
the sequel series, Heroes of Olympus, Percy is never, never, never a guy who
likes to be serious (unless when he’s fighting, wielding his Anaklusmos or bidding
the water to do his commands). Rick Riodan always makes Percy Jackson likable
with his wit and attitude. We don’t learn much about Greek mythology in our schools,
and usually the teaching of History subject in our school system is ughhhhh,
but Percy, with all his sass, sarcasm, funny anecdotes, and rather ingenuous
dialogues manages to bring the stories of Greek mythology in an all-around fun
and comedic manner. Forget those Homer or Herodotus-styled prose. Percy is a
modern kid, and like a modern kid he brings to us these tales. He even employs
a little bit of dramatic license. I mean, of course, they didn’t have cell phones,
Facebook, One Direction, or Justin Bieber back in Eighth-Century-Before-Common-Era
Greece, but you can bet that the mythical characters all behave like they live in
the current time. It’s a totally hilarious, non-boring way to learn about
Ancient Greek myths. Me? I’m smitten with Percy, so yeah… uhhhhh, moving on…
Of course, I need to tell you that Greek stories can be a
bit, mature I supposed? Besides, we’re talking about Greek gods here. So,
expect rape, or murder, or incest, or revenge, or just about anything bad, but
as usual, Percy Jackson (and Rick Riordan) describes those acts in a total
family-friendly manner. Also, there are some community messages and really good
advice on life, because hey, these Greek tales are also stories of human
endeavours, failures, mistakes, and triumphs. Ancient tales are reminders of
our way of living, even if they are told in a highly super-exaggerated manner
involving immortal beings.
Speaking about ancient tales, Greek myths are a bunch on
messed-up stuff! From this novel, I learn that Greek gods and goddesses were
born out of every imaginable way you can think of (heck, I even think if bread
toaster existed during those days, maybe a Greek god would be borne by jumping
out of it. God of Toasters… think about it). Also, be prepared to be changed
into either plants or animals of you ask for help from the gods. Don’t forget
that they like to kill humans who do wrong things from their own perspectives,
even if the humans are actually innocent. Oh one more thing, the book is
HEAVY!!! I felt like asking a satyr to hold it for me while I’m reading it.
Anyway, this book is a whole pack of smart-arse-ness
courtesy of Percy. Pick this thing up and sacrifice a cow, or maybe a goat, or
a chicken or… you know, I’ll just leave it to your own decision.
0 hecks:
Post a Comment