The European logo of Percy Jackson & the Olympians |
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| Author | Rick Riordan |
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| Illustrator | John Rocco |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy, Young-adult fiction, Thriller, Mystery |
| Publisher | Disney Hyperion (formerly Miramax Books) |
| Published | 2005–2009 |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) Audiobook Ebooks |
| Followed by | The Heroes of Olympus |
Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a pentalogy of adventure and fantasy fiction books authored by Rick Riordan. The series consists of five books, as well as spin-off titles such as The Demigod Files and Demigods and Monsters. Set in the United States, the books are predominantly based on Greek mythology. The Lightning Thief, the first book, is the basis of a film called Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, which was released in the United States and Canada on February 12, 2010. All 5 books are written in the point of view of the main character, Percy Jackson.
More than 20 million copies of the books have been sold in more than 10 countries.[1]
As of October 28, 2011, the series has been on the New York Times best seller list for children's book series for 223 weeks.[2]
Contents |
The Lightning Thief is the first book in the series. It was released on June 28, 2005.
The first (1st)book of the series introduces Percy Jackson,a 12-year-old with ADHD and dyslexia. Percy attends Yancy Academy, a middle school for troubled kids.
The book starts off with Percy and his best friend Grover on a field trip. During the field trip, Percy is attacked by Alecto, a mythological creature known as a Fury, who was disguised as his pre-algebra teacher, going by the alias Mrs. Dodds. Percy kills "Mrs. Dodds" with a powerful sword called Anaklusmos, or Riptide, which is disguised as a pen that Mr. Brunner, his Latin teacher, threw to him. After Mrs. Dodds is killed, everybody behaves as if she never existed, which, unbeknownst to Percy, is because of the Mist, a magical aura that can manipulate thoughts and memories of mortals. Then, on his way home at the end of the year with Grover, Percy sees three old women cutting yarn, which troubles Grover, and he starts muttering odd things.He rushes home, abandoning his friend Grover Underwood,who is using the bathroom, and runs into his stepfather Gabriel "Gabe" Ugliano at his mother`s apartment. Percy portrays his stepfather to be an ugly man in his forties that gives off a peculiar scent. After coercing with his stepfather he goes on a vacation to Montauk with his beloved mother, Sally Jackson, but terrible weather strikes. Once Percy tells his mom what he had seen, however, his mother, along with Grover (who is revealed to be a satyr) then bring him to Camp Half-Blood, a camp located off Long Island for demigods: children with a Greek Olympian god or goddess for a parent. En route to Camp Half-blood, they are attacked by the Minotaur, who seemingly kills his mother; Percy, in turn, kills the Minotaur. After getting both himself and Grover to Camp Half-Blood, he meets Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena, and, surprisingly, Mr. Brunner, who is really Chiron, a skilled centaur and the camp's Activities Director.There are 12 cabins that correspond with the twelve Olympians. Percy stays in the Hermes cabin, a place where unclaimed demigods stay. Not long after his arrival,Poseidon, the sea god, claims Percy as his son during a game of capture-the-flag.He is placed in the Poseidon cabin, it`s only resident. Percy receives strange looks and treatment from fellow campers for being a child of one of the "Big Three", Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. Percy is then accused of stealing Zeus' master bolt and then he, Annabeth, and Grover are given 10 days to return the thunderbolt to Mount Olympus in order to stop a war between the gods and save his mother, where Percy discovers she has been held hostage in the Underworld by Hades, Lord of The Dead. They go on a quest across the United States and encounter various monsters on the way, such as Medusa, Echidna, and many others. It is revealed that Luke, a son of Hermes who Percy befriended at camp, and Ares, god of war, stole the bolt for Kronos who is attempting to rise from Tartarus. They make it back to the camp at the end of the book, where Percy makes a decision to stay home during the year, and only go to camp during the summer against the wishes of Chiron.
The book has been adapted into a film by Chris Columbus and 20th Century Fox, under the title Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.
The Sea of Monsters is the second installment in the series, released on May 3, 2006.
Percy and his half brother friend Tyson are attacked by Laistrygonians at the very beginning of the book, later towards the end of the battle, it is revealed that Annabeth is there, and something awful has happened at Camp Half-Blood.
[Thalia Grace|Thalia]'s tree, the magical border of Camp Half-Blood, has been poisoned. This has broken down the barriers that keep out monsters from entering Camp Half-Blood. Chiron is blamed for the poisoning because he is the son of Kronos and is dismissed from camp. The only thing able to rid the tree of its poison is the Golden Fleece, which is located on the island of Polyphemus, in the Sea of Monsters, also known by mortals as the Bermuda Triangle.
Clarisse La Rue, the daughter of Ares and rival of Percy since his first day at Camp Half-Blood, is given the quest to go to the Sea of Monsters to find the Golden Fleece. Percy,Annabeth, and Tyson sneak off to start their own quest, not just for the Golden Fleece, but for their friend Grover Underwood, who is trapped in Polyphemus' cave. They sail on the Princess Andromeda, which is a staging point for Luke and his forces. Luke finds them, but they escape into Chesapeake Bay. They encounter the Hydra, and are inevitably going to die until Clarisse shows up with the ghost of a Civil War ironclad. She reluctantly takes Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson aboard.
As they enter the Sea of Monsters, they have to get past Scylla and Charybdis. Instead of trying to sail in between the two, Clarisse heads towards Charybdis. The ship is cast adrift, into the path of Scylla who begins eating the crew. The engine can't take the strain and the ship blows. Everyone appears dead except Annabeth and Percy, who got on a life raft before the explosion. They continue through the Sea of Monsters, where Annabeth nearly drowns in Siren Bay and Percy temporarily becomes a guinea pig at the hands of Circe. They locate the island of the Fleece, where a fight ensues and Clarisse and Tyson are revealed to be alive. They all fight the giant Polyphemus and recover the Fleece.
When they return to the mortal world, they send off Clarisse on an airplane with the Fleece to camp alone. Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson are kidnapped by Luke. In a duel with him, Percy is nearly killed. He is saved by Chiron, who is proven innocent, and his relatives, the Party Ponies. When they return to camp, the Fleece is put on the tree. The Fleece not only revives the tree, but Thalia too, who appears as she looked in Percy's dreams. It turns out that this was actually Kronos's plan, done so that he would have another chance to manipulate the prophecy which governs the future of Olympus and the Twelve Olympians. At the end, Percy and Annabeth win a chariot race and Annabeth kisses Percy on the cheek. Then in a dream, Tyson is sent a message from Poseidon that he can go to the underwater palace to learn more of forging and smithing.
This book is being adapted into a film by 20th Century Fox, under the title Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters
The Titan's Curse is the third installment in the series. It was released on May 1, 2007.[3] Grover has gone undercover to a school in search for half-bloods, and finds two powerful siblings, Nico and Bianca di Angelo. While on this mission, they are attacked by a manticore, but are saved by the Hunters of Artemis, who arrive just in time to help. Annabeth falls off a cliff in an attempt to kill the manticore, and as Percy learns later, has somehow survived and been captured by Luke. Bianca joins the Hunters and they, along with Nico, Percy, and Thalia, go to camp. Soon after arriving at camp, Percy learns that Artemis has been captured as well.
A quest is issued and the group is made to go on a quest for Artemis. However, Percy is not part of that quest. Grover, Thalia, Bianca and Zoë Nightshade, Artemis's lieutenant, go to rescue Artemis. Percy secretly follows and soon joins the quest as the fifth member. They travel to various places such as the Hoover Dam and the junkyard of the gods. In the junkyard, Percy is visited by the goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite, who tells Percy that she is quite interested in Percy and Annabeth's relationship. In the junkyard, the guard of the junkyard, Talos, comes to life due to a theft; the giant bronze guard kills Bianca in her suicidal attempt to save her friends. They learn that Atlas, a powerful Titan, has escaped his punishment (holding up the sky) at the Mountain of Despair on California's Mount Tamalpais, replacing himself with Annabeth and then eventually Artemis, and is intent on stopping the heroes from success, especially Percy and his friends, because they are travelling with Zoe, his least favorite daughter. They defeat him, losing both Hunters in the quest. During the winter solstice, Thalia replaces Zoë as Artemis' lieutenant at a meeting with the gods in which they decide whether they would kill Percy and his friends. Thalia's induction as a lieutenant of Artemis ensures that she never reaches 16, thus escaping the prophecy but leaving Percy as the only one who can fulfill it, leading him to be a threat to the gods. Fortunately, Percy and his friends remain untouched. The gods, Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Thalia, then celebrate the victory of defeating Atlas and everything else the heroes have accomplished. But as soon as they return, Nico is told about Bianca's death. He blames Percy, accusing him of failing to protect her as he had promised. When a crack in the ground appears, and the dead come out, Nico thinks that Percy is now trying to kill him as well. He tells them to leave and they are banished to the Underworld; Nico then runs away. Percy realizes that Hades is Nico's father. At first, Percy, Annabeth and Grover think that this might go against the promise of the Big Three, which was to never have demigod children, but they immediately realize the two siblings had been in the Lotus Hotel and Casino (visited in the first book where time is nonexistent, and one loses complete track of time), before the pact between the Big Three was ever made. Thus, Nico is still a part of the prophecy, and Percy has to hide Nico's parentage, in case Luke tries to recruit him to manipulate the prophecy to Kronos' advantage.
The Battle of the Labyrinth is the fourth book in the series. It was released on May 6, 2008.
After being attacked by monster cheerleaders at his new school, Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood and learns about "The Labyrinth", part of the palace of King Minos in Crete that, according to Greek mythology, was designed by Daedalus. During a game/battle with giant scorpions, Annabeth and Percy find an entrance into the Labyrinth. Percy soon learns that Luke had used the entrance and will lead his army through the Labyrinth straight into the heart of camp. Annabeth also finds out that she is going to lead a quest for the first time in her life. To exit the Labyrinth, find a blue Delta Symbol (Δ) (representing Daedalus) on a passageway, touch it, and then exit the Labyrinth. Then Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson learn that the Labyrinth is known to grow on its own, and causing madness that could lead to death. While in the Labyrinth, they (with Nico) discover Pan, and he speaks words of wisdom to all of them. When he dies, part of Pan's spirit enters each of the characters except Nico. Percy later notices that Pan didn't speak to Nico. Afterwards, Percy blows up Mt. St. Helens and lands on Calypso's island, which Annabeth later finds out and becomes jealous of.
Using the Labyrinth, Percy tries to find Daedalus using Ariadne's string, (a string that can help anyone travel through the Labyrinth without getting lost), and face and kill Luke thereby foiling Luke's invasion. He gets the help he needs from a mortal girl named Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who can also see a path in the Labyrinth leading to Daedalus. While they are searching the Labyrinth, Luke is letting Kronos take over his body, so that Kronos can come back fully. Kronos finds out that Nico di Angelo is a son of Hades and could also be the child of the prophecy. Kronos reaches Daedalus and gets Ariadne's string which he uses to lead his army to attack Camp Half-Blood. Grover comes to the rescue and causes a Panic (a scream that symbolizes the wild god Pan) to scare away the enemy. After the battle, Daedalus sacrifices himself to close the Labyrinth, which is tied to his life. In the end, the campers are recovering and preparing for the battle to come.
The Last Olympian, the fifth and final book in the Percy Jackson series, was released on May 5, 2009.[4]
Percy (Perseus) Jackson and his friends fight in a war resembling the original war between the Greek gods and the Titans, and in a final battle with the powerful Titan, Lord Kronos. Typhon (a colossal monster that nearly destroyed Olympus in the first war) is released from under Mount St. Helens, forcing the gods to leave to fight with Olympus virtually undefended. Seeking to defeat Kronos, Percy bathes in the River Styx, like Luke, to make his body invulnerable except in one spot (mortal point; in Percy's case, the small of his back). Percy and his friends then fight in a last stand to protect Mount Olympus from the oncoming invasion of Kronos. They find out that Rachel Elizabeth Dare is destined to become the Oracle. Percy also finds out the last Olympian is Hestia and gives her Pandora's jar, telling her she is the last and most important Olympian, "because Hope survives best at the hearth". Percy and Luke (Luke having been taken over by Kronos) battle at the top of Mt. Olympus. During this battle, Percy turns 16, making the Great Prophecy come into effect. Luke is shocked back into himself (banishing Kronos from his body) when he nearly kills Annabeth in battle. Annabeth tells Percy to give Luke her knife, leaving himself unarmed. He does, and Luke stabs himself in his mortal spot to destroy Kronos and save Mt. Olympus. Percy had made the worst decision to save Olympus, losing plenty of his friends, and finding out that Luke was the true hero, in the end. A shroud is made for Luke when the gods return to Olympus. The gods reward Percy and his friends, they even offer him immortality but he refuses and they grant him one request. He requests the gods to recognize all their children by claiming them at the age of thirteen or by the time they reach Camp Half-Blood, and also to make a place at Camp Half-Blood for Hades. He also requested that the minor gods and their children are given a regular amnesty. Once this happens, there are many fewer kids in the Hermes Cabin. At the end Percy and Annabeth make their relationship official, by kissing in an underwater bubble at Camp Half-Blood. Rachel becomes the new Oracle, and predicts a new Great Prophecy, and this one sounds much worse than the first.great prophecy: seven half bloods shall answer the call to storm or fire the world must fall an oath to keep at the final breath and foes bear arms at the doors of death
The Demigod Files, also written by Rick Riordan, is the first companion book to the series. It was released February 10, 2009, featuring three short stories, interviews with the campers, puzzles and pictures.[5] It is set between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian.[6] The book received mixed reviews, with some reviewers criticizing the lack of substantial material and others commending the writing of the short stories.[6]
The book contains the following stories:
The Ultimate Guide is a companion book, second to the series, released on January 19, 2010. This book has a magnetic cover and holographic character pictures that change into four different characters. Its 156 pages include trading cards, full-color diagrams and maps.[7] It also includes a dictionary of almost every monster Percy faces in the series, with pictures beside some, as well as various activities. The book tells of Percy Jackson's starting life as a half-blood, a tour of the Underworld by Nico di Angelo, and items used throughout the series.
A graphic novel based on The Lightning Thief was published on October 12, 2010. It follows a shortened version of Percy's adventures in The Lightning Thief with full color drawings.
Demigods and Monsters is an unofficial companion book and was released on February 10, 2009.[8] With an introduction by Riordan, it features essays written by various young adult authors that explore, discuss and provide further insight into the Percy Jackson series. At 196 pages, it also contains information on the places and characters of the series, as well as a glossary of Greek myths.[9]
The fansite PercyQuest was asked to author a companion book on January 25, 2011. It is called The Unofficial Heroes of Olympus Companion: Gods, Monsters, and Myths and What's in Store For Jason, Piper, and Leo, authored by Richard Marcus, Natalie Buczynsky, and Jonathan Shelnutt. The tome was released on November 15, 2011.
Rick Riordan relies on Bibliotheca for his characters and plot. In three books, it provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends.[10]
Listed are the major characters in the series.
While all the books rely heavily on Greek myths, each book has certain definite characteristics of one or more myths as the central plot. The Lightning Thief takes from the Odyssey, especially in regards to the Lotus Hotel and Casino, as well as the adventures of Perseus with Medusa, and of Theseus. The Sea of Monsters takes from Jason and the Argonauts and also from the Odyssey, as Polyphemus, Scylla, Charybdis and Circe make appearances. The Titan's Curse includes the deeds of Hercules, especially Percy's slaying of the Nemean lion, and Percy holding the sky that Atlas holds. The Battle of the Labyrinth has stories of Daedalus, Calypso, the Labyrinth, etc. The Last Olympian takes from the earliest of Greek myths about the Titans, Typhon, the war against the gods and the Titans along with parallels to the story of Achilles and the Trojan War in the Iliad.
Development for both The Lightning Thief and the Percy Jackson series as a whole, commenced when Riordan first began making stories for his son Haley, who had just recently been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. His son had been studying Greek mythology in second grade and requested that his father come up with bedtime stories based on Greek myths. Riordan had been a Greek mythology teacher in middle school for many years and was able to remember enough stories to please his son. Soon Riordan ran out of myths and his son then requested that he make new ones using the same characters from Greek myths and add new ones. Thus, Riordan created the fictional character Percy Jackson and made the story of how he would travel across the United States to recover Zeus's lightning bolt. After he finished telling the story to his son, he then requested that his dad write a book based on Percy's adventures.[11]
In June 1994, Riordan had completed his manuscript and began looking for agents. During that time, he visited multiple local colleges looking for good editors until he eventually found an agent.[12] While he left his manuscript to his agent and editor to review, Riordan took his book to a group of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to read and give their critique. Ultimately he gained their approval, and with their help, came up with the name of the book and created the way Percy's sword worked.[13] In June 1997, Riordan signed with Bantam Books to prepare the book for publishing.[12] In 2004, the book was sold to Miramax Books for enough money for Riordan to quit his job to focus on writing.[14] After it was released on 28 July 2005, it sold over 1.2 million copies. The book was released in multiple versions including hardcover, paperback and audio editions.[15][16] It has been translated into multiple languages and published all over the world.[17]
The Lightning Thief received mostly positive reviews and won awards including the School Library Journal Best Book of 2005.[18] The New York Times praised The Lightning Thief as "perfectly paced, with electrifying moments chasing each other like heartbeats".[19] Author Rick Riordan said of the various awards:
"The ultimate compliment for a children's writer is when the kids like it."[20]
Like its predecessor, The Sea of Monsters won several prizes and received generally positive reviews as well.[21][22] It sold over 100,000 copies in hardcover by the time it was released in paperback[23] and reviewers have praised the storyline, themes and the author's style of writing.[24][25][26] Matt Berman, of Common Sense Media, praised the book, saying "The Percy Jackson series continues to be pure fun, with the author doing nearly everything right to produce a book that few kids will be able to resist."[25] Kirkus reviewed The Battle of the Labyrinth as, "This volume can stand alone, but no one will be able to read just one...look no further for the next Harry Potter, meet Percy Jackson as legions of fans already have."
Chris Columbus directed and produced Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief for 20th Century Fox through 1492 Pictures.[27][28] The film was released in 2010 in the United States, Canada and in the United Kingdom on February 12 and in Australia on February 11.[29] Columbus has stated that he was drawn to directing the Percy Jackson movie because it gave him the "opportunity to do a movie that we haven’t really seen before for this generation. When I was a kid, there were movies that dealt with Greek mythology, which in terms of visual effects was really primitive. So I thought this was an opportunity to deal with Greek mythology which children and adults all over the world are fascinated by and it was not a new genre but a new avenue, dealing with mythological creatures in a contemporary setting." It has been announced that a movie based on The Sea of Monsters is scheduled for a March 27, 2013 release.[30][31]
Michael Splechta gave it a 6/10, saying “Percy Jackson might not make a splash when it comes to movie tie-in games, but fans of turn-based combat might find some redeeming qualities in this otherwise bare-bones game.”[32]
A sequel series, also based on Camp Half-Blood and the Greek mythology universe, was written and the first book released on October 12, 2010. Like the first series, there will be five books. Riordan has also stated that the time between the two occurrences of great prophecies is not as long as Apollo assumes it will be.[33] The series has been named The Heroes of Olympus, and the first book is The Lost Hero.[34] The official website requires a password, revealed as newhero. On June 1, 2010, the site went live.[35] A medal with a password was needed to unlock the first two chapters. The cover was revealed on June 20, 2010, along with the password.[36] The second book in The Heroes of Olympus, The Son of Neptune, was released in October 2011. The third book, The Mark of Athena is set to be released in October 2012.
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