Let me be clear.  I do not mean to denigrate, descry or besmirch Rick Riordan’s books (the first of which came out after the first book in the HP series) in any way.  I love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians stories; Greek mythology has been a fascination of mine since I was eleven years old.  I think he’s brilliant, and that it’s a wonderful anthology of original, wonderful books.

That being said, there are a very large number of corollaries between the books.  Let me elucidate:

• Harry = Percy
• Harry starts preteen = Percy starts preteen
• Harry ages 1 year per book = Percy ages 1 year per book (more or less)
• Hermione = Annabeth
• Ron = Grover
• Dumbledore = Chiron
• Mr. D = Snape
• Fudge = Zeus
• Malfoy = Luke
• Voldemort = Chronos
• Voldemort gets a body in book 4 = Chronos gets a body in book 4
• Harry’s hair won’t stay flat = Percy’s hair won’t stay flat*
• Malfoy starts to look weak, wasted and used late in book 6 (being used by Voldemort) = Luke starts to look weak and used late in book 4 (being used by Chronos)

*Sea Of Monsters (Book 2) on Circe’s Island, Percy is frustrated that his hair never lies flat = Harry’s discomfiture that his own unruly hair will never lie flat (throughout the HP series)

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Warning: SPOILER ALERT

Rick Riordan is an author of both adult and teen-oriented books. He has series targeted at teens that focuses on one boy, Perseus (Percy) Jackson.  Percy is the son of Sally Jackson, a mortal woman, and the son of Poseidon, the Greek God of the Sea from ancient mythology.  In the series, the Greek gods are not myths at all, but a vibrant and lively part of Western Civilization.  Along with Poseidon, Zeus, Athena, Hephaestus and the rest of the crew come a host of monsters and mayhem including (but not limited to) the Minotaur, Medusa, the Furies, prophecies, quests, adventure, sword fighting, revenge and true love.  Sounds like the Princess Bride as described by Peter Falk. 

In any case, I am not here to review the books themselves.  I love them, I think they’re grand.  They fall into a similar genre as J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, and Chris Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle, also books I enjoy thoroughly and unequivocally.  I’m a geek boy for sci-fi, fantasy, mythology, and the “weird.”

No, in this review, I am getting specific.  In fact, it would be more accurate to say that I am making a prediction, a prediction about Percy’s mom, Sally Jackson (as you might have guessed from the title of this post).  That prediction is: I think she is a half-blood (half god and half human) herself.  That would, in fact, make Percy 3/4 god, instead of the normal half god, or demigod.  Here’s my thinking:

• Her eyes change color depending on the light
• She can see through mist (something that keeps most mortals from seeing monsters, gods, and the rest of the weirdness)
• In Book 1, The Lightning Thief, Sally isn’t killed when the Minotaur picks her up by the neck, but is captured and spirited away by Hades in a shower of golden light.  Maybe Hades could do that to a mortal, but still…
• I think we need something to make Percy even more special, and that would do it
• plus, it would make an interesting plot twist.  I don’t remember reading any myths about humans who had a god for a grandparent and a parent

I know this post is probably uninteresting to those who haven’t read these books.  Even if you have, maybe this degree of analysis seems like a waste of time.  Don’t care.  I think it’s neat, and I am calling it now.  Maybe in the end I’ll be proven wrong.  But I think Sally Jackson is herself a half-blood.  You heard it here first.  I’ll let you know the results when the series ends.

Oh, and by the way.  The reason I gave this review a 5 has nothing to do with how much I like the books.  I think they’re great.  I gave it a 5 because I’m making a WAG (wild ass guess) and I figure I have a 50/50 chance.  Twisted logic, but if you read this far, you’re probably right there with me. 

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