Like many of us, I had my own “Greek Mythology Phase” when I was younger. But, my phase was a lot different than that of my peers.
I did not read Percy Jackson. (I’ll let you take a moment to let that sink in…) It’s true. I never read the books, probably never will. But, I did read the Cronus Chronicles, a series by the author Anne Ursu. It was probably the first “hero” series I ever read. She uses greek mythology in a way that’s really entertaining, and is actually a little educational. She also gives descriptions of the various gods/goddesses, beasts, etc., in the back of the book. After reading the first book, I pretty much grabbed anything I could find on greek mythology (not including PJ), and began reading. Needless to say, I was pretty excited when I found out that we’d be reading The Odyssey for school later that year.
With Greek Mythology you’re pretty much guaranteed a hero story, and even though the logic might not always make sense, it’s still pretty cool to see these characters interacting with the gods in this way.
But, I still don't understand why books like Percy Jackson get so popular,
while books like the Cronus Chronicles don't.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Modern reading and Greek mythology
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I read the Cronus Chronicles!
ReplyDeleteI think Percy Jackson had a wider audience in part because it was told in first person and in part because it was easy enough to read that it got a wider audience even among people who don't love reading. From what I remember of the first book in the Cronus Chronicles, it took a while longer to get to the true action and, while entertaining, was typically picked up by somewhat nerdier people.
Reading book nine of the Odyssey, I realized that much of Percy's whole meeting-Polyphemus thing is directly drawn from the original (ideas, strategy to escape, etc), and that disappointed me. I didn't love Percy Jackson, but I would have hoped Rick Riordan could have at least come up with something more original...XP I dunno, maybe that's part of why it's so popular, too--transposing the myths in a modern setting or something.
Personally, knowing a...passable amount of Greek and Roman mythology and having read the Percy Jackson series, I think you would like it. You actually do learn about the mythology, and most of it is accurate and presented in an almost modern-ish twist. I think the main reason why Percy Jackson became popular is simple. It came out first. It doesn't mean that it's better than the Cronus Chronicles though. So pretty much, I just agree with most of what Kari says.
ReplyDeleteWow--I'm so used to Uni students always knowing all these books that I haven't read, but I actually have some experience with Percy Jackson, as I read the first in the series to my son at bedtime a few months ago (then he went on and plowed through the rest of them himself). I don't know Cronus Chronicles, but I'll pass on the recommendation. Both sound like great ways to reimagine Greek myths in a contemporary context.
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