Popular Books by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan has written many splendid books that are loved by children, teens and adults all around the world.He is known for writing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, about a teenager named Percy Jackson who discovers he is a son of the Greek god Poseidon. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million copies in the US. 20th Century Fox has adapted the first two books of his Percy Jackson series as part of a series of films which were unfortunately not a big success due to the many errors it had compared to the books. However, Rick has recently announced that Disney plus may adapt a Percy Jackson series and has reassured the fandom that it will most definitely be better than the movies. His books have spawned related media, such as graphic novels and short story collections.

Riordan's first full-length novel was Big Red Tequila, which became the first book in the Tres Navarre series. His big breakthrough was The Lightning Thief (2005), the first novel in the five-volume Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which placed a group of adolescents in a Greco-Roman mythological setting. Since then, Riordan has written The Kane Chronicles trilogy and The Heroes of Olympus series. The Kane Chronicles (2010-2012) focused on Egyptian mythology; The Heroes of Olympus was the sequel to the Percy Jackson series. Riordan also helped Scholastic Press develop The 39 Clues series and its spinoffs, and penned its first book, The Maze of Bones (2008). His most recent publications are three books in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, based on Norse mythology. The first book of his The Trials of Apollo series, The Hidden Oracle, was released in May 2016.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

Percy Jackson & the Olympians, often shortened to Percy Jackson or PJO, is a pentalogy of fantasy adventure novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles.[4] Five supplementary books, along with graphic novel versions of each book in the first series have also been released. More than 69 million copies of the books have been sold in more than 35 countries.

The series consists of 5 books and a sequal series (Heroes of Olympus) of another 5 books as well as another 5 booked series called The trials of Apollo

Origins

Development for both The Lightning Thief and the Percy Jackson series commenced when Rick Riordan began writing stories for his son Haley Riordan, who had at the time been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. His son, Haley, had been studying Greek mythology in second grade and requested that his father tell him bedtime stories based on Greek myths. When Rick Riordan ran out of myths, his son suggested that he would make up new stories using existing mythological characters and new ones. This led Riordan to create the fictional character of Percy Jackson and create the story of how he travels across the United States to recover Zeus' lightning bolt. Haley suggested that he should turn that story into a book, and Riordan wrote the book over the next year despite being busy at that time. Leaving his manuscript with his agent and editor for review, Rick Riordan presented the book to a group of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders to read and critique. He gained their approval, and with their help, came up with the name of the book and created the way Percy's sword works.In 2004, the book was sold to Miramax Books for enough money for Riordan to quit his job and focus on writing. After it was released on 28 June 2005, it sold over 1.2 million copies. The book was released in multiple versions, including hardcover, paperback and audio editions.It has been translated into multiple languages and published all over the world.

The Heroes of Olympus

The Heroes of Olympus is a pentalogy of fantasy-adventure novels written by American author Rick Riordan. The novels detail a conflict between Greek demigods, Roman demigods, and Gaea (Roman name Terra) also known as Mother Earth. In the fourth book of the series, there is also a semi-large fight against Tartarus, which, in Greek mythology, was the darkest and deepest point of the underworld. The series is a sequel to Percy Jackson & the Olympians, which detailed the life of modern-day Greek demigods. The sequel to this series, and the 3rd series in the trilogy is The Trials Of Apollo. Riordan introduces Roman mythology in his sequel series as well as several new characters. The first book of the series, The Lost Hero, was published on October 12, 2010. The final entry in the series, The Blood of Olympus, was published on October 7, 2014.

Plot

The Heroes of Olympus is centered around a prophecy, introduced in The Last Olympian, that predicted seven demigods would unite to protect the world from an awakening new enemy, Gaia. Demigods from both the Greek camp, Camp Half-Blood, and a newfound Roman camp, Camp Jupiter, unite to save the world from being destroyed by the terryifying Earth Goddess, Gaia. The prophecy reads: Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, (Hazel Levesque, Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Annabeth Chase, Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean) To storm or fire, the world must fall. (Leo's fire powers defeated a Roman leader who fought with Gaia, Octavian) An oath to keep with a final breath, (Leo's oath to come back to a magical island where his love waited) And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. (The awakened giants and Tartarus guard the doors of death)

Seven demigods—Annabeth Chase, Leo Valdez, Percy Jackson and Piper McLean from Camp Half-Blood, with Jason Grace, Frank Zhang, and Hazel Levesque from Camp Jupiter—join forces. A storm or a fire will destroy the world (Which means either Leo or Jason will have a terrible fate in store). The last line details how 2 demigods, a giant, and a titan will free the Doors of Death. Some other important characters are Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, Praetor of Camp Jupiter and daughter of Bellona, and Gleeson Hedge, a satyr. In the books, they are the main people trying to bring peace between the Greeks and the Romans while the main 7 characters are fighting the main battle. Without their unity, it would be impossible to defeat Gaia and save the world.

The Trials of Apollo

The Trials of Apollo is a pentalogy of fantasy adventure and mythological fiction novels written by American author Rick Riordan that collectively form a sequel to the Heroes of Olympus series. It is set in the same world as other Riordan tales, and references characters and happenings from earlier series. A supplementary book, Camp Jupiter Classified, has also been released in addition to the main series. The first book in the series, The Hidden Oracle, was released on May 3, 2016. The second book in the series, The Dark Prophecy, was released on May 2, 2017. The third book in the series, The Burning Maze, was released on May 1, 2018. The fourth book in the series, The Tyrant's Tomb, was released on September 24, 2019. The fifth book in the series, The Tower of Nero, is scheduled to be released on 6 October 2020.

The series follows the trials of the god Apollo, who has been turned into a mortal named Lester Papadopoulos as punishment from his father and king of the gods Zeus. Zeus is angry with Apollo for a variety of reasons, most notably for the younger god's allowing his Roman descendant Octavian to rise to power during The Heroes of Olympus series by giving him his blessing. The final book of The Heroes of Olympus titled The Blood of Olympus takes place about six months before the beginning of The Trials of Apollo.

The Kane Chronicles

The Kane Chronicles is a trilogy of adventure and Egyptian mythological fiction books written by American author Rick Riordan. The series is set in the same universe as Riordan's other franchises, Camp Half-Blood Chronicles and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. The novels are narrated alternately in first-person by the two protagonists, siblings Carter and Sadie Kane. The siblings are powerful magicians descended from the two pharaohs Narmer and Ramses the Great. They and their friends are forced to contend with Egyptian gods and goddesses who still interact with the modern world.

Origins

Rick Riordan stated that the idea for The Kane Chronicles came from his realization that the only ancient history subject more popular than Ancient Greece was Ancient Egypt. Riordan had already written and published several books in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, which dealt with the interaction between Greek mythology and the modern world. The idea of having two multiracial siblings narrate the books also came from his experience as a teacher. Carter and Sadie Kane, the titular characters, were inspired by two siblings that he taught, as well as the fact that Ancient Egypt was a multicultural society.He believes putting Egypt back into the realm of African history is important.

The Red Pyramid

The first book in the series, The Red Pyramid, was released on May 4, 2010. The story is told as a transcription of a recording made by Sadie and Carter Kane, detailing the rise of the Egyptian gods in the modern world. After a mysterious accident in a museum leaves their egyptologist father missing, siblings Carter and Sadie Kane are taken in by their uncle Amos and introduced to their family's long and proud tradition of magic. The duo discover that they have been chosen as "hosts" by the gods Horus and Isis, respectively, and are hunted by the House of Life, the world's governing body of Egyptian magicians, as a result, Carter and Sadie learn that the god Set plans to destroy the North American continent using their father's power, and they embark on a quest to save him and prove their innocence and good intentions to the House.

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is a trilogy of fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan with the subject of Norse mythology and published by Disney-Hyperion. It is based on Norse mythology and is set in the same universe as the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles and The Kane Chronicles series. The first book, The Sword of Summer, was released on October 6, 2015. The second book, The Hammer of Thor, was released on October 4, 2016. The Ship of the Dead, the third book, was released on October 3, 2017. The main protagonist, Magnus Chase, son of the Vanir god of fertility Frey, narrates the novel in first person. He is a cousin of Annabeth Chase, a main character of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series, who links the two series together.

The Sword of Summer

The Sword of Summer is the first book in the series, released on October 6, 2015, as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.[5] The novel is narrated by Magnus Chase, a homeless Bostonian orphan, who learns he is the son of a Norse god. On the same day, he is confronted by a fire giant named Surt, who wishes to claim a sword called "Sumarbrander" (the "Sword of Summer", or "Jack"). In the fight, Magnus is killed and carried to a modernized interpretation of the Norse afterlife by a Valkyrie named Samirah al-Abbas (Sam). With the help of Sam, a dwarf named Blitz, and an elf named Hearth; Magnus foils the giant's plans to free the Fenris Wolf and hasten the end of the world.

The 39 Clues

The 39 Clues is a series of adventure novels written by a collaboration of authors, including Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, Patrick Carman, Linda Sue Park, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Roland Smith, David Baldacci, Jeff Hirsch, Natalie Standiford, C. Alexander London, Sarwat Chadda and Jenny Goebel. It consists of five series, The Clue Hunt, Cahills vs. Vespers, Unstoppable, Doublecross, and Superspecial. They chronicle the adventures of two siblings, Amy and Dan Cahill, who discover that their family, the Cahills, have been and still are, the most influential family in history. The first story arc concerns Dan and Amy's quest to find the 39 Clues, which are ingredients to a serum that can create the most powerful person on Earth. In total there are 39 books combining all five series.

Plot

The first series revolves around orphans Amy and Dan Cahill, who discover upon their grandmother's death that the Cahill family has shaped most of world history. Amy and Dan pursue the Clues while evading the sabotage of other Cahills. Each book chronicles one location which Amy, Dan, and their au pair Nellie travel to and focuses on one historical character associated with a Clue.