The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)
October 2011: Had the urge to re-read this series. Gave in to that urge. It felt good.
December 2009: Fun, but not as fun as I thought it would be. It's probably because -- like a lot of post 1997 books -- it falls under the curse of Harry Potter. The curse of Harry Potter, is of course, when you read a book and you just can't help but compare it to Harry Potter. And Harry Potter almost always wins, because J.K. Rowling, unlike Riordan, has the gift of universal appeal. Her stories transcend age, where this series is obviously meant for children. Or, if you want to use a puppeteer metaphor, Rowling is a master puppeteer who moves her puppets with such skill that you can't tell they're puppets. Riordan's strings show, and sometimes they get tangled and his little puppets fall down.
With that said, I'm enjoying this series. Percy Jackson is an engaging every-man protagonist (despite his demigod status) and the whole Greek mythology thing is just fun.