Michael G. Munz

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Ch 7)

November 3, 2014 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

Yeah, it’d be nice if there were a clever caption here, but we can’t always get what we want.

Something was stolen, monsters are attracted to demigods, and Mr. D’s still cranky. I now present the seventh chapter of Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief…

My Dinner Goes Up in Smoke

This is another chapter that’s primarily given to world-building and character development, both of which are welcome things at the moment. Most of the development goes to Annabeth while she introduces Percy to more of the camp and many of the concepts related to it. I still like her – she’s friendly enough, but she’s got her own agenda as well; this is a good thing. She seems to be her own character rather than just a prop for Percy. Luke, the counselor that’s one of Hermes’s sons, got a bit of development, too, but so far the book hasn’t had a chance to give him too much depth. [Read more…]

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Ch 6)

October 29, 2014 By Michael G. Munz 2 Comments

I was supreme lord of the bathroom once, but then I took an arrow to the knee.

I used to be supreme lord of the bathroom like Percy, but then I took an arrow in the knee.

Something weird is in the attic, and there’s sewage water everywhere! So naturally that means it’s time for the sixth chapter of Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief…

I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom

I liked this chapter. It had a lot of exposition, but it’s exposition that previous chapters have given me an appetite for, so it works. Percy gets a tour of the camp, learns that all the kids (including him) have a divine parent, and then unwittingly empties a bathroom’s worth of toilet water on some of Ares’s kids. [Read more…]

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Ch 5)

October 27, 2014 By Michael G. Munz 4 Comments

FIIIVE GOLDEN…um…
Line?

Rick Riordan drops the capital-G God-bomb and then runs away! “We shan’t deal with the metaphysical.” (But really, can you blame him?) It must be time for the fifth chapter in Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief…

I Play Pinochle with a Horse

In this chapter I met a couple of new characters, got annoyed with Percy, and had a suspicion confirmed. [Read more…]

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Ch 4)

October 24, 2014 By Michael G. Munz 1 Comment

Send Fourth the Minotaur!

Lightning-lit battles, horny adversaries, and even more pantsless-Grover! It must be time for another installment of Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief. It’s the 4th chapter…

My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting

MY mother once taught me how to catch bumblebees. Never bullfighting. Then again, there were very few bulls in our neighborhood, to say nothing of minotaurs. That’s county zoning law for ya. [Read more…]

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Ch 3)

October 22, 2014 By Michael G. Munz 1 Comment

See that exclamation point? It means get excited!
…Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Lousy step-parents, blue candy, prophetic dreams, and missing pants! That can only mean that it’s time for another installment of Michael Reads Percy Jackson! Enter The Lightning Thief, chapter three, a.k.a.:

Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants

I suppose it’s better to lose them unexpectedly. …I’m not sure how to back up that statement. And that’s my favorite chapter title so far. [Read more…]

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Ch 2)

October 19, 2014 By Michael G. Munz 3 Comments

Two comes after one!

Okay, so chalk up two gigantic marks on the “Michael Guessed Wrong” tally. Today I encounter overheard conversations, old women with dangerous shears, and likely centaurs in Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief, chapter two, a.k.a.:

Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death

I’m a big fan of adding the suffix “of death” to pretty much anything. (Though I tend to prefer “-o-death” for a more festive bit of mortal danger…) I therefore liked this chapter right from the title. I was also pretty sure it meant we’d be seeing–or at least hearing about–the Fates (a.k.a. the Moirae). In Zeus Is Dead, the Fates were at once the most difficult and the most interesting characters for me to write, so I was eager to see how Riordan tackled them. [Read more…]

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: Starting Point

October 15, 2014 By Michael G. Munz 2 Comments

Are you excited? I’M excited! Also, I’m caffeinated. That’s probably something, too.

So I’m all set to plunge into the first novel of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, The Lightning Thief. (Here’s my intro blog post if you missed that one.) This will be the first time I’ve ever blogged my experience of reading a book, so I don’t know quite how quickly it will go, but I guess we’ll explore this together.

First, a few ground rules:

NO SPOILERS! I want to experience the book as Riordan intended. The art of crafting how a story unfolds to a reader is something I’m passionate about. I’d hate to think of someone altering that experience for readers of my own novels, and I don’t see how I should hold myself to different standards when I’m reading. Comments are encouraged, but please leave them spoiler free – or at least blatantly spoiler-tagged to give me some warning.
…Actually, there’s really only one ground rule, now that I think about it. But I’ve already typed the “2)” there, so, um, let’s see… Do NOT talk about Fight Club! Which actually makes me think of another rule…
Talk about Michael Reads Percy Jackson as much as you want. Tell your friends if you like. And your family. And Rick Riordan if you know him. In fact, why not hit one of the “share” buttons down at the bottom right now? (Yeah, I’m shameless.)

[Read more…]