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“Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.”
The opening sentence to The Lightning Thief is also arguably the most famous quote in the novel. As introductions go, it’s highly effective, establishing several key elements in a mere eight words. To begin with, the use of the word “I” tells the reader that this series will be narrated in first-person, and Percy’s colloquial phrasing makes it obvious we are reading from the perspective of someone young. This quote is also significant because it introduces the reader to the concept of half-bloods, an effective world-building technique that instantly places the novel in the fantasy genre. “Half-blood” is not a term that one encounters in everyday life, so the reader is prepared to enter a world that is vastly different from their own. Finally, the opening sentence generates a deeply ominous tone that will persist throughout the following introductory paragraphs. Percy does not explain what a half-blood is at this point in the text, but he does claim that they live short and dangerous lives. With this foreboding introduction, Riordan increases the suspense, forcing readers to speculate. Readers will also be able to look back on the novel’s dark but honest opening as every battle, every monster, and every intervening deity only proves Percy right.
