The Lightning Thief: the first book in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series.

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek god. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That's when things started really going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends and generally trying to stay alive.

This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I've stolen his lightning bolt - and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea . . .

Rick Riordan has now sold an incredible 55 million copies of his books worldwide

Praise for the Percy Jackson series:

'Witty and inspired. Gripping, touching and deliciously satirical...This is most likely to succeed Rowling. Puffin is on to a winner' - Amanda Craig, The Times

'Puns, jokes and subtle wit, alongside a gripping storyline' - Telegraph

'Perfectly paced, with electrifying moments chasing each other like heartbeats' - New York Times

Rick Riordan is an award-winning mystery writer. For the past fifteen years he has taught at middle schools in the San Francisco Bay area and in Texas. Rick lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and two sons. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, the overall winner of the Red House Children's Book Award, was Rick's first novel featuring the heroic young demigod.