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Percy Jackson & the Olympians

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This article is about the book series. For the film, see Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians
The logo for Percy Jackson & the Olympians
The Lightning Thief
The Sea of Monsters
The Titan's Curse
The Battle of the Labyrinth
The Last Olympian
AuthorRick Riordan
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy, Young-adult fiction, Thriller, Mystery
PublisherDisney Hyperion (formerly Miramax Books)
Published2005–2009
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Audiobook

Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a series 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.

The protagonist of the series is Percy Jackson, who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, Greek god of the sea. He learns that the legendary beings of Greek mythology still exist, and have always existed, including monsters, cyclopes, empousae, Titans, and the Greek gods, including the twelve Olympians themselves, who dwell on Olympus, which is now situated on the mythical 600th floor of the Empire State Building. Percy is frequently attacked by monsters because he is a child of one of the "Big Three": king of the gods and the god of the sky, Zeus, the god of the sea, Poseidon, and the god of the Underworld, Hades, who made a pact after World War II to not have any more children because they were too powerful and unpredictable. The other reason for the pact was a great prophecy, given by the Oracle, that a child demigod of the "Big Three" would decide the fate of Olympus and the gods, when the demigod child reached the age of sixteen. The pact was made in an effort to prevent the prophecy from ever happening: both Zeus and Poseidon break the pact by having demigod children after the war (Zeus had Thalia Grace and Poseidon had Percy Jackson). Hades, however, ironically (he is meant to be the most untrustworthy god) did not break the pact, as he did not have any demigod children after making the pact. Still, he had Bianca and Nico di Angelo, who were born before the war, but were trapped in the Lotus Casino for seventy years. This meant they were still able to fulfill the prophecy. Percy meets many other young demigods, both friendly and hostile, who are also in the process of discovering their ancestry and powers.

As of December 5, 2010, the series has been on the New York Times best seller list for children's books for 177 weeks.[1]

A sequel series was released, entitled The Heroes of Olympus. The first book, The Lost Hero, was released on October 12, 2010.

Novels

The Lightning Thief

Main article: The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief is the first book in the series. It was released on June 28, 2005.

Percy Jackson is a twelve year old boy with dyslexia and ADHD. During a field trip, Percy is attacked by Alecto, a mythological creature known as a Fury, who was disguised as his pre-algebra teacher Ms. Dodds. After this, he discovers that he is the son of a Greek god. His friend, a satyr named Grover Underwood, and his mother Sally, then bring him to Camp Half-Blood, a camp for demigods: children with a Greek god for one parent. The camp is located off Long Island. There, he meets Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena: they become good friends by the end of the novel. Not long after his arrival, Poseidon, the sea god, claims Percy as his son during a game of demigod-style capture-the-flag. Percy is accused of stealing Zeus' masterbolt, the model from which every lightning bolt is made. He, Annabeth, and Grover are given ten days to return the thunderbolt to Mount Olympus in order to stop a war between the gods and save his mother, who has been held hostage in the Underworld by Hades after being captured by the Minotaur. 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 friend Percy had met at camp, stole the bolt for Kronos, who is attempting to rise from Tartarus. 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

Main article: The Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters is the second installment in the series, released on May 3, 2006.

Thalia's tree, the magical border of Camp Half-Blood, has been poisoned. 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, known as the Bermuda Triangle.

Clarisse La Rue, the daughter of Ares and enemy 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 and Annabeth decide to go also, not just for the Golden Fleece, but for their friend Grover, who is trapped in Polyphemus' cave. Tyson, a young Cyclops whom Percy befriended, joins them on their journey after saving Camp Half-Blood from two metal, fire-breathing bulls. He is also Poseidon's son and Percy's half-brother.

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. After that, Percy and Annabeth journey to many dangerous islands, and Annabeth tells Percy many things about how Thalia died and she also mentions her prophecy. She also tells Percy that he has a choice to make when he becomes 16 years old, how a child of one of the "Big Three" has to make a choice whether or not to save the world. That was the reason the "Big Three" swore off children. Fighting their way through many other obstacles, such as the Sirens and Circe's island, they join up with Clarisse and Grover, who had been captured by Polyphemus, and later Tyson. After fighting Polyphemus, they leave with the Golden 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 Thalia's 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 so he can go into the underwater palace to learn more of forging and creating.

The Titan's Curse

Main article: The Titan's Curse

The Titan's Curse is the third installment in the series. It was released on May 1, 2007.[2]

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, too.

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 on a quest to rescue Artemis. Percy secretly follows and soon joins the quest as the fifth member. They travel to various places such as Hoover Dam and the junkyard of the gods. In the junkyard, Percy is visited by goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite, who tells Percy that she is quite interested in Percy and Annabeth's romantic tension that is shown discreetly within the books but becomes more pronounced throughout the series. They learn that Atlas, a powerful Titan, has escaped his torment (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. They defeat him, having lost both Hunters in the quest. At the winter solstice, Thalia replaces Zoë as Artemis' lieutenant at a meeting with the gods in which they decided whether they would kill Percy and his friends. Thalia had escaped the prophecy, leaving Perseus alone in it. 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 accomplished. But as soon as they return, Nico is told about Bianca's death. He blames Percy, accusing him of failing to protect her like 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 goes against the promise of the Big Three, which is to never have demigod children, but then they realize that the two siblings had been in the Lotus Hotel and Casino (a hotel/casino where time is nonexistent and makes you lose complete track of time, and is visited in the first book) before the pact between the big three was ever made. But still, Nico is still apart of it, so now Percy has to hide Nico's parentage, in case Luke tries to recruit him, so Nico can destroy the world at 16

The Battle of the Labyrinth

Main article: The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Battle of the Labyrinth, released on May 6, 2008, is the fourth book in the series.

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 get into the Labyrinth, Percy has to find a blue Delta Symbol (Δ) (representing Daedalus) on a passageway, touch it, and then enter the Labyrinth to find Daedalus. Then Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson learn that the Labyrinth is known to grow on its own, and can cause 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 except Nico. When he dies, part of his essence enters each of the characters except Nico. Percy later notices that Pan did not even speak to Nico.

Using the Labyrinth, Percy tries to find Daedalus so Luke cannot get Ariadne's string, (a string that can help anyone travel through the Labyrinth without getting lost), 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. Kronos finds out that Nico di Angelo is a son of Hades and could also be the child of the prophecy. Luke 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.

The Last Olympian

Main article: The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian, the fifth book in the Percy Jackson series, was released on May 5, 2009.[3]

Percy 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. 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 a mortal girl that Percy met in the third book, The Titan's Curse, was 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 (possessed by Kronos) battle at the top of Mt. Olympus. Luke is shocked back into his normal self after hurting Annabeth. Just before this battle, Percy turns sixteen, making the Great Prophecy come into effect. Annabeth tells Percy to give Luke the knife, leaving himself unarmed. He does and Luke commits suicide to destroy Kronos and save Mt. Olympus. Percy(Perseus) had made the choice to save Olympus, losing his sword, 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 and make a place at Camp Half-Blood for Hades and all the children of the minor gods. At the end of the book, Annabeth gives Percy a cake with a candle on it for his birthday. They then share a quick kiss, before realizing the rest of the campers are eavesdropping. The campers dump Percy and Annabeth into the lake where they share another kiss.The book finishes with Percy and Annabeth running to go home.

Other books

The Demigod Files

Main article: The Demigod Files

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, and pictures.[4] It is set between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian.[5] The book received mixed reviews, with some reviewers criticizing the lack of substantial material and others commending the writing of the short stories.[5]

Demigods and Monsters

Demigods and Monsters is another companion book and was released on February 10, 2009.[6] 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.[7]

The Ultimate Guide

The Ultimate Guide is a companion book released on January 19, 2010. The third companion book to the series, it is preceded by The Demigod Files and Demigods and Monsters. 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.[8] It also includes a dictionary of 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.

Graphic novel

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.

Main characters

Main article: List of Percy Jackson & the Olympians characters

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.[9]

Listed are the major characters in the series.

Themes

Greek epics

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. 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 and the war against the gods, also known as the Titans.

Origins and publishing history

Rick Riordan, the author, at the release of The Battle of the Labyrinth

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.[10]

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.[11] 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.[12] In June 1997, Riordan signed with Bantam Books to prepare the book for publishing.[11] In 2004, the book was sold to Miramax Books for enough money for Riordan to quit his job to focus on writing.[13] 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.[14][15] It has been translated into multiple languages and published all over the world.[16]

Reception

The Lightning Thief received mostly positive reviews and won awards including the School Library Journal Best Book of 2005.[17] The New York Times praised The Lightning Thief as "perfectly paced, with electrifying moments chasing each other like heartbeats".[18] Author Rick Riordan said of the various awards:

"The ultimate compliment for a children's writer is when the kids like it."[19]

Like its predecessor, The Sea of Monsters won several prizes and received generally positive reviews as well.[20][21] It sold over 100,000 copies in hardcover by the time it was released in paperback[22] and reviewers have praised the storyline, themes and the author's style of writing.[23][24][25] 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."[24] Kirkus reviews 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."

Film

Main article: Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Chris Columbus directed and produced Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief for 20th Century Fox through 1492 Pictures.[26][27] 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.[28] 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."[29]

Video game

A Percy Jackson video game based on Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief was released for the Nintendo DS on January 11, 2010.

GameZone's 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."[30]

The Heroes of Olympus

Main article: The Heroes of Olympus

A sequel series, also based on the Camp Half-Blood and Greek mythology universe, is being written and the first book was 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.[31] The series name is The Heroes of Olympus and the first book is The Lost Hero.[32] The official website is here, and the password was revealed, newhero. On June 1, 2010, the site went live.[33] 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.[34][35] The second book in The Heroes of Olympus, The Son of Neptune, is slated for release in fall 2011.

See also

Template:Wikipedia-Books

References

  1. ^ "Best Sellers – The New York Times". New York Times. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  2. ^ The Titan’s Curse on http://www.rickriordan.com/ [dead link] Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  3. ^ "The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 5)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  4. ^ "The Demigod Files". 5 October 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  5. ^ a b "The Demigod Files (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series)". barnesandnoble.com. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  6. ^ "Demigods and Monsters: Your Favorite Authors on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series (Paperback)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  7. ^ "Demigods and Monsters". Myth & Mystery. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  8. ^ "The Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Ultimate Guide (Hardcover)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  9. ^ Aubrey Diller, "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus" Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 66 (1935:296–313) p. 296, 300.
  10. ^ Riordan, Rick. "Where did you get the idea for Percy Jackson?". p. 1. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  11. ^ a b Riordan, Rick. "What was your experience getting published?". p. 1. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  12. ^ Riordan, Rick. "Did you share the Percy Jackson novel with any of your students before it was published?". p. 1. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  13. ^ Rich, Motho (September 1, 2008). "Author of Book Series Sends Kids on a Web Treasure Hunt". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  14. ^ "Hyperion: Percy Jackson". Hyperion Books. Retrieved 2009-08-06. [dead link]
  15. ^ "Jesse Bernstein". IMDb. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  16. ^ Mabe, Chauncey (May 14, 2009). "Rick Riordan: Percy Jackson vs. Harry Potter". Sun Sentinel. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
  17. ^ "Best Books 2005". School Library Journal. 12/1/2005. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-05-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Shulman, Polly (November 13, 2005). "Harry Who?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  19. ^ Minzesheimer, Bob (January 18, 2006). "'Lightning' strikes with young readers". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  20. ^ "Mark Twain Award Previous Winners". Missouri Association of School Librarians. Retrieved 2009-05-27. [dead link]
  21. ^ Ruth, Sheila. "The Sea of Monsters". Wands and Worlds. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  22. ^ Nawotka, Edward (April 23, 2007). "Son of Poseidon Gaining Strength". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2009-09-01. [dead link]
  23. ^ Piehl, Norah. "Kidsreads.com – The Sea of Monsters". Kidsreads.com. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  24. ^ a b "The Sea of Monsters review". Matt Berman. Common Sense Media. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  25. ^ "The Sea of Monsters: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Audiobook review)". School Library Journal. October 1, 2006. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  26. ^ Brodesser, Claude (June 23, 2004). "'Lightning Thief' strikes Maverick". Variety. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  27. ^ Gilstrap, Peter (April 17, 2007). "Columbus struck by 'Lightning'". Variety. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  28. ^ "IMDb Release Dates". IMDb. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  29. ^ Roberts, Sheila (February 11, 2009). "Exclusive Chris Columbus Interview". Roll Credits. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
  30. ^ Splechta, Michael. "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief Review". GameZone.com. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  31. ^ "News". MortalNet. Retrieved 2010-04-25. [dead link]
  32. ^ "The Heroes of Olympus, Book One: The Lost Hero (9781423113393): Rick Riordan: Books". Amazon.com. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  33. ^ [1][dead link]
  34. ^ Riordan, Rick (2010-06-20). "Myth & Mystery: The Lost Hero cover unveiled!". Rickriordan.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  35. ^ "Myth & Mystery". Rickriordan.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
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