The Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians adapted The Lightning Thief in its first season, which ran from December 19, 2023 to January 30, 2024.
The battered group finally meets Hades, who reveals that his Helm of Darkness has also been mysteriously stolen and accuses Percy of stealing it.
On the last day of camp, however, he goes into the woods with Luke, who reveals himself as the real thief of Hades's Helm and Zeus's bolt, following Kronos's orders.
[1][5][6] Development for The Lightning Thief began when author Rick Riordan made up stories for his son Haley, who had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia.
Riordan created the fictional character Percy Jackson and his travels across the United States to recover Zeus' lightning bolt.
In his new story, Riordan made ADHD and dyslexia part of a demigod's powers—respectively, heightened battle reflexes and a brain wired to read ancient Greek rather than English.
After Riordan finished telling the story his son asked that his dad write a book based on Percy's adventures, and he did.
[10] The book has since been released in multiple versions (including hardcover, paperback, and audio editions)[11] and has been translated and published all over the world.
One is the fast-paced quest of a young hero and his friends to save the world..." and added, "Another level of fun here – laughing at the wicked ways the author has updated the gods and monsters for the 21st century".
[15] However, it did criticize some aspects of the book, describing the prose as "choppy and attitude-filled" and complaining that "[t]he characters aren't emotionally involving".
The New York Times praised The Lightning Thief as "perfectly paced, with electrifying moments chasing each other like heartbeats".
[16] School Library Journal said in its starred review that the book was "[a]n adventure-quest with a hip edge" and that "[r]eaders will be eager to follow the young protagonist's next move".
"[19] On April 8, 2007, The Lightning Thief was ranked ninth on The New York Times Best Seller list for children's books.
On June 28, 2005, a 10-hour and 25 minute audio book version, read by actor Jesse Bernstein, was published worldwide by Listening Library.
[11][33] Kirkus Reviews magazine said, "the narrator's voice lends a refreshing air of realism to this riotously paced quest tale of heroism that questions the realities of our world, family, friendship and loyalty".
[5] AudioFile Magazine praised the audiobook, "adults and children alike will be spellbound as they listen to this deeply imaginative tale unfold.
A one-hour musical aimed at young audiences was planned to hit the road on a nationwide tour in September 2014 following a stint in New York City in 2014.
Unlike the earlier film adaptation, the series would follow the storyline of the books, and Riordan and his wife Becky would be involved in "every aspect of the show".
[44] In May 2022, Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri joined the cast, respectively playing Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood.
[50] The Lightning Thief is followed by The Sea of Monsters, in which Percy and Annabeth rescue Grover, who has been taken by Polyphemus the Cyclops, and recover the Golden Fleece to save the camp.
[53] It was followed by The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian and The Chalice of the Gods as well as the series, The Kane Chronicles, The Heroes of Olympus, and later, The Trials of Apollo.