I think I actually preferred the movie version better (and I hardly ever say that!). Perhaps because this is really a children's book rather than YA. I found it a fun, light read but fairly simplistic as you would expect for something targeted at a young audience. Overall though a cool little read and I actually learnt quite a bit about mythology. I bought this for my nephew for Xmas last year though not sure if he actually read it or not. I may or may not read more in the series, but for now am going to read some adult books.