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The Lightning Thief book cover by Rick Riordan

Books like The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

by Rick Riordan · 2005

Book 1 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians

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Genre

What it is about

Kind of book

  • Novel

Ages

  • Children's

Awards

  • Bluebonnet Award

About this book

When Zeus's master lightning bolt is stolen, Percy Jackson is the prime suspect and has ten days to find and return it. (condensed from its Library of Congress summary) It is book 1 of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and listed for an audience of children.

Where this comes from: Library of Congress · Wikidata

Books like this one

Last checked: November 7, 2026

See all books like The Lightning Thief

Books like the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

What they share, at a glance

The Lightning Thief next to each book above. A dot means both books' records carry that fact.

BookFantasyChildren'sFriendshipAdventure
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stonesharednot sharednot sharedshared
The Outcastssharedsharedsharednot shared
The Phantom Tollboothsharedsharednot sharedshared
Holesnot sharednot sharedsharedshared
Bridge to Terabithiasharedsharedsharednot shared
Into the Wildsharedsharednot sharednot shared
Keeper of the Lost Citiessharednot sharednot sharednot shared
Midnightsharedsharednot sharednot shared
The Merchant of Deathsharednot sharednot sharednot shared
The Unwantedssharednot sharednot sharednot shared
Slaves of Socorrosharednot sharedsharednot shared
The Hunterssharednot sharedsharednot shared

Tap a dot to open the record the match comes from.

The Lightning Thief: the facts, checked

Each line names the page it was checked on and the date.

First published
First published on July 1, 2005. Source: Wikidata, checked November 6, 2026.
Edition checked
The edition checked here is a 375-page paperback from Disney Hyperion. Source: Library of Congress, checked November 6, 2026. 9781368098168 ... paperback ... 375 pages ... Disney Hyperion
Series
It opens Percy Jackson and the Olympians, a five-book series that ends with The Last Olympian. Source: rickriordan.com, checked November 6, 2026.
Next in the series
Book 2 is The Sea of Monsters. Source: rickriordan.com, checked November 6, 2026. Book 2 The Sea of Monsters
Awards and honors
It won the Askews Torchlight Award in the UK in 2006. Source: rickriordan.com, checked November 6, 2026. Askews Torchlight Award (UK) Winner, 2006
On screen
A film directed by Chris Columbus, loosely based on the book, came out on February 12, 2010. Source: rickriordan.com, checked November 6, 2026. released Feb. 12, 2010 and directed by Chris Columbus, was loosely based on my book

How The Lightning Thief came to be

  1. It began as bedtime stories about the Greek gods that Riordan told his son, and he made up Percy when the myths ran out. Source: rickriordan.com, checked November 6, 2026. bedtime stories about the gods and heroes ... When I ran out of myths
  2. Telling the whole story out loud took about three nights. Source: rickriordan.com, checked November 6, 2026. It took about three nights to tell the whole story
  3. He then wrote it down as a book over the following year. Source: rickriordan.com, checked November 6, 2026. write the first Percy Jackson book over the next year
  4. Camp Half-Blood grew out of the summer camp where Riordan worked as music director in college. Source: rickriordan.com, checked November 6, 2026. This is where I got the idea for Camp Half-Blood.

About Rick Riordan

Born
Born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1964. Source: rickriordan.com, checked November 6, 2026.
Early work
His first novel, the adult mystery Big Red Tequila, came out in June 1997. Source: rickriordan.com, checked November 6, 2026. Big Red Tequila ... It was published in June of 1997.
Other work
He taught English and history in middle schools for fifteen years. Source: rickriordan.com, checked November 6, 2026. For fifteen years, Rick taught English and history at public and private middle schools

More about Rick Riordan

Where does The Lightning Thief sit in its series? See the reading order.

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Common questions

What does the Why line mean?

It names what the two books have in common, using only facts found in both books' catalog records. Tap What both books share to see those facts and where they came from. When the shared facts are few, the line is short. It never quotes reviews, ratings or reader reactions.

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