When anyone brings up the subject of Greek mythology, it is no longer the Disney’s 1997 adaptation of ‘Hercules’ that comes to mind, with its colour coded gods and clueless hero, but Percy Jackson, the prodigy of Rick Riordan, rightfully labelled as the Myth Master. When I imagine this author, he’s wearing a laurel on his head, with Nike on his shoulder.
I recently finished the ‘Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods’ anthology of short stories, both an educational and humorous discussion of the twelve Olympians and, you know, Hestia. It was amazing. I could pick it up and put it down, enjoying stories I knew and stories I was yet to discover. Who knew Dionysus was the god of androgyny? Or that Hera was so evil? (Ok, we all knew that one.)
But Rick Riordan has managed to create an empire of mythological goodness. Let’s have the run down!
1. First, there’s Percy Jackson. This guy is probably more famous than his Greek namesake. He battled Kronos from the age of eleven, until he was sixteen, slowly falling in love with Annabeth, who’s adorable, no question. With Percy, we experienced many summer and winter solstices, the sea of monsters, the labyrinth and many epic battles.
2. Then, there’s Jason Grace. He’s not as great, but still great. We all had to get over the fact that he wasn’t Percy before we could accept him and his girlfriend, Piper as the neo-Percabeth (a registered OTP) Jason gets his own book, but the second book in his series is all about Percy. (Yippee!) We get to experience both Greek and Roman mythology and a new cast of gods and goddesses. Of course, epic battles are present, but it’s the friendship between Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel and Frank that warms my heart the most.
3. Carter Kane was technically the second of Rick’s demi-god children, but everyone overlooks him because he’s Egyptian…and not Percy Jackson. I’ve only read one and a half of Carter, and his sister Sadie’s, series but I hope to enjoy even more gods and goddesses in the coming year. Plus, there are some PJ and Kane Chronicles crossovers, which solves the lack of Percy problem.
4. The next up and coming demi-god is Magnus Chase, a Norse guy. And yes, we all recognise Annabeth’s surname. Does that mean even more crossovers?! We shall have to wait and see. (Dang it, Rick, write faster!)
As you can see, it’s mostly males that are getting the spotlight series. But Annabeth, Piper, Hazel, Reyna, Sadie and Zia are all kick-ass females who can fight monsters and demons without their boyfriends’ aid. My wish would be to see a series devoted to the girls of the Riordan universe, forming a super group of demi-god warriors.
There are a lot of other books that supplement the Riordan universe, such as the ‘Demigod Files’, ‘The Demigod Diaries’, ‘PJATO Ultimate Guide’, ‘KC Survival Guide’, etc. all of which are valuable additions to your selves.
It’s safe to say I love Percy Jackson and Rick Riordan, and look forward to the expansion of his literary empire!
Heart Full of Books 