Rick Riordan created the character to fit in with his son Haley Riordan who suffered from Attention-deficit Hyperactivity disorder. He made Percy Jackson the same age as Haley as both possessed the same characteristics. Percy Jackson’s books have been translated into various languages. So far, the author has featured the fictional character in five series and has been recognized for his works on the character.
Best Percy Jackson Books In Order Of Publication
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series
1. The Lightning Thief (2005)
Customer Ratings: 19,299 Ratings: Goodreads 4.3/5, Audible 4.6/5 Publication date: June 28, 2005. Publisher: Miramax Books/Hyperion Language: English Print Lenght: 384 pages
The Lightning Thief is a uniquely American fantasy and Greek mythology novel by Rick Riordan, targeted towards young adults who love ancient Greek and Roman mythology. It is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and is one of the best Percy Jackson books. The Lightning Thief is about him and his mother who were on the run from his stepfather Gabe Ugliano who subjected the young boy to abuse. The escape wasn’t a smooth one as he was faced with a series of attacks leading to the death of his mother. Not too long, Percy finds himself in Camp Half-Blood, where he discovers that he is a demigod. He also discovers that his friend Grover Underwood was also a satyr (a forest spirit with horns, a human torso, and a lower body made of a goat). Percy was accused by the Greek sky and thunder god Zeus for stealing his Master Bolt, also known as Lightning Bolt. In a bid to clear his name and save the world from an impending war, he sets off with his friends to retrieve the stolen Master Bolt from the Greek god of death and king of the underworld, Hades. After successfully overcoming the attacks from mythological beings with his friends on their way, they eventually met the suspected thief and confirmed that he was innocent. They later found that a friend of theirs and some gods were behind the theft to defeat the king of Titans.
2. The Sea of Monsters (2006)
Customer Ratings: 10,250 Ratings: Goodreads 4.2/5, Audible 4.7/5 Publication date: May 2, 2009. Publisher: Disney Hyperion and Puffin Books Language: English Print Lenght: 290 pages
This is the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The main character in this book was saddled with the responsibility of retrieving the golden fleece to save the Thalia tree (a tree that served as a border between monsters and the Camp Half-Blood) in the sea of monsters. He was also to find his friend who had been captured on the island of Polyphemuson on his way to find the Greek god Pan. Percy set out on a journey with two of his friends to save his friend and the golden fleece, encountering lots of attacks on their way. He discovers hidden secrets about his family along the journey, which left him pondering if being the son of a god was a curse.
3. The Titan’s Curse (2008)
Customer Ratings: 9,899 Ratings: Goodreads 4.3, Audible 4.8 Publication date: April 8, 2008. Publisher: Disney Hyperion and Puffin Books Language: English Print Lenght: 352 pages
The Titan’s Curse is the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The book is one of the best Percy Jackson books as it won The New YorkTimes best selling book for children’s series and also ranked among the top ten summer picks in the same year it was published. It was also nominated for the Quill Award. The story is centered on how the demigod, with some of his demigod allies, set out on a very dangerous mission to rescue a goddess and a friend who the Titans kidnaped. Along the line, they found out about two half-blood creatures whose origin was hidden. Unknown to them, one of the demigods resurrected a dangerous monster who could destroy the world and had a week to find the kidnapped goddess that knows how to resolve the mystery behind it. It was a difficult one for them as they faced a series of attacks by some creatures on their way and the titan’s curse.
4. The Demigod Files (2009)
Customer Ratings: 2,334 Ratings: Goodreads 4.2, Audible 4.6 Publication date: February 10, 2009 Publisher: Disney Hyperion; 1st edition Language: English Print Lenght: 160 pages
This Percy Jackson book compries of three short stories:
Percy Jackson And The Stolen Chariot
This is the first short story in The Demigod Files. It is about the collaborative effort of Percy Jackson and Clarisse La Rue in retrieving the stolen chariots from her brothers. Phobos and Deimos, the gods of terror and fear, stole the Ares war chariot, which their sister guarded. Percy Jackson and Clarisse La Rue defeated the two demigods and returned the chariots to Ares Temple in the Intrepid.
Percy Jackson And The Bronze Dragon
This is the second short story in The Demigod Files that portrays a coincidental event between Percy Jackson and his friends who went camping. The four friends were out playing a game when one got dragged into an anthill in a bid to get a bronze dragon head that he found there. This left the other three in a puzzle on how to fix the dragon head on the body and get their friend out. Fortunately, it was successful but turned sour when the dragon, in turn, chases them. One of them gets on the back of the dragon and disconnects the head once again from the body, saving their lives.
Percy Jackson And The Sword of Hades
This is the third short story in The Demigod Files written because of The World Book Day in 2009. The story is all about retrieving the god Hades’ new sword stolen by a spy who is a demigod. The new sword, which was illegally forged, was a gift and a threat to the underworld. The demigods must bring this to the notice of the three gods before it is retrieved because of the harm it might cause. The children of the gods set out to find the thief and fight demons on their way. They recovered the sword unknown to them that the power of the gods had been equalized.
5. The Battle Of The Labyrinth (2009)
Customer Ratings: 9,483 Ratings: Goodreads 4.4, Audible 4.7 Publication date: April 7, 2009. Publisher: Disney Hyperion and Puffin Books Language: English Print Lenght: 400 pages
The fourth book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is about the fifteen-year-old Percy Jackson and his demigod friends who had to stop an attack on Camp Half-Blood by Luck Castellan with the use of a Labyrinth created by Daedalus (an ancient Greek craftsman and artist). They achieved this by not allowing Ariadne’s string to fall into the wrong hands of Luke Castellan, who was possessed by the titan Lord that wanted to destroy them.
6. The Last Olympian (2011)
Customer Ratings: 10,401 Ratings: Goodreads 4.4, Audible 4.8 Publication date: January 25, 2011 Publisher: Disney Hyperion; Reprint edition Language: English Print Lenght: 432 pages
The Last Olympian is the fifth book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and one of the best Percy Jackson books written. The New York Times described the book as both exciting and entertaining. They went further to describe it as clever and enjoyable. Also, Common Sense Media claimed to have given the book the full five-star ranking. The book was centered on Percy Jackson and his army of demigods who embarked on a mission to protect Mount Olympus, which was under attack by the Lord of Times, Kronos. They defeated Kronos and his army and set Luke free from Kronos, who possessed his body. Percy later got married to the love of his life Annabeth in the end.
The Heroes of Olympus Series
7. The Lost Hero (2012)
Customer Ratings: 8,212 Ratings: Goodreads 4.3/5, Audible 4.7/5 Publication date: April 3, 2012 Publisher: Disney-Hyperion; Reprint edition Language: English Print Lenght: 592 pages
This is the first book under The Hero of Olympus series and it ranks as one of the best Percy Jackson books. The storyline centers on Percy Jackson’s demigod friends, particularly Jason who suffered from a memory loss along with his girlfriend. Together with Percy, they were all taken away by a storm in their school when some mysterious creatures launched an attack on the school. The storm took them to Camp Half-Blood, where they met with other mysterious creatures and humans, leaving those in their school on a search for them.
8. The Son of Neptune (2013)
Customer Ratings: 8,539 Ratings: Goodreads 4.6/5, Audible 4.8/5 Publication date: July 2, 2013 Publisher: Disney-Hyperion; Reprint edition Language: English Print Lenght: 560 pages
The Son of Neptune is the second book in the Heroes of Olympus series. The book illustrates how Percy Jackson collaborated with three new demigod friends from Rome after he lost his memory and faced a series of attacks from monsters. They all set out to save the Greek god of death and the earth Thanatos from an earth goddess known as Gaea. The group faced many obstacles on their way, including the seven giant children of Gaea awakened by their mother. The giants were defeated with the joint force of the gods and demigods. Percy regained his memory after the fight and returned to Camp Jupiter to find out it was under an attack by an army of monsters which he defeated together with his friends.
9. The Mark of Athena (2014)
Customer Ratings: 10,947 Ratings: Goodreads 4.4/5, Audible 4.8/5 Publication date: April 8, 2014 Publisher: Disney-Hyperion; Reprint edition Language: English Print Lenght: 672 page
The Mark of Athena is the third book written under the Heroes Of Olympus. The American fantasy-adventure novel illustrates the quest by some demigods to unite from Greek and Rome demigods to stop the goddess Gaea from awakening. To achieve this, the demigods and the Mark of Athena had to find the Athena Parthenos (a giant chryselephantine sculpture of the Greek goddess Athena) stolen from Greece by the Romans. In the quest, they conquered many challenges, and some of the demigods were captured. But in the end, the demigods took the sculpture to Greece, and the captured demigods were saved, leaving Percy and Annabeth, a fellow demigod, to face the consequences.
10. Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo (2019)
Customer Ratings: 554 Ratings: Goodreads 4.1/5, Audible 4.5/5 Publication date: February 28, 2019 Publisher: Puffin Language: English Print Lenght: 112 pages
This is one of the best Percy Jackson books and short stories written by the author for World Book Day 2019. It is a short story centered on what happened on Grover’s birthday, a friend of Percy Jackson who is a satyr. Apollo, a god and a friend of Percy, was to perform with the Chryseaa celedones (3 golden beings with great voices) in a music concert at Mount Olympus but found out that one was missing. He sent Percy and Grover to help him find her as he rehearses with the rest. They found and returned her to Apollo after she gave them much trouble. The two friends later celebrated their birthday, which their adventure almost ruined.
The Books Listing Is According To Their Publication Date And Series
The arrangement of the best Percy Jackson books in this context was considered according to their publication date and the series in which it was written. Going through his publications, it is observed that Rick Riordan publishes on an annual basis and sometimes publishes twice within the same year. Readers interested in reading Percy Jackson’s books should follow up according to the publication date and series to get a better understanding of the book. Though most of his storylines are mostly short and linked to each other, it doesn’t deny the fact that it is always fun to read.
