Percy Jackson & the Olympians

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Percy Jackson & The Olympians
The cover of The Lightning Thief
The Lightning Thief The Sea of Monsters The Titan's Curse The Battle of the Labyrinth The Last Olympian
Author	Rick Riordan
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy novels
Publisher	Disney Hyperion (formerly Miramax Books)
Published	2005–2009
Media type	Print (Hardback and Paperback)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a series of adventure and fantasy books authored by Rick Riordan. Set in the United States, the series is prominently based on Greek mythology. The series consists of five books, as well as spin-off titles such as The Demigod Files and Demigods and Monsters. The Lightning Thief, the first book, is the basis of a film called Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief which is scheduled for release in the United States on February 12, 2010.

The protagonist is Percy (Perseus) Jackson who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea and earthquakes. He learns that the legendary beings of Greek mythology still and have always existed, including monsters, cyclopes, empousai, Titans, and also the Olympians (Greek gods) themselves who dwell in Olympus which is now situated at the mythical 600^th floor of the Empire State Building. He is frequently attacked by monsters because he is a child of one of the "Big Three" (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades). Percy meets many other young demigods, both friendly and hostile, who are also in the process of discovering their heritage and powers.

The series stayed on the New York Times Best Seller list for children's books for 127 weeks as of December 20, 2009.^[1]

Contents 1 Novels 1.1 The Lightning Thief 1.2 The Sea of Monsters 1.3 The Titan's Curse 1.4 The Battle of the Labyrinth 1.5 The Last Olympian 2 Companion books 2.1 The Demigod Files 2.2 Demigods and Monsters 2.3 The Ultimate Guide 2.4 Graphic novel 3 Characters 3.1 Main characters 4 Camp Half-Blood 4.1 Staff 4.2 Cabins 5 Development and publication 6 Film 7 Sequel 8 References 9 External links

Novels

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 diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. He is constantly getting expelled from schools through no fault of his own. After his latest expulsion, he finds out that he is the son of a Greek god. He is sent to Camp Half-Blood, a camp for children with a Greek god parent. Not long after he arrives, Poseidon, the sea god, claims Percy as his son. Percy is accused of stealing Zeus's master lightning bolt. He is given ten days to find it and return it to Mount Olympus. At the end of the book, Percy is given a choice to either stay at Camp Half-Blood for the school year or go home; he chooses to go home.^[2]

The Sea of Monsters

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

Percy and Annabeth rescue Grover, who has been imprisoned by Polyphemus the Cyclops, and recover the Golden Fleece to save the camp. They are accompanied by Percy's half brother, Tyson, and Clarisse in this mission. The Fleece heals the poisoned, dying pine tree of the camp and resurrects Thalia, formerly imprisoned within the tree, with its magic.^[3]

The Titan's Curse

The Titan's Curse is the third installment in the series. It was released on April 1, 2007.

Percy, Grover, Annabeth and Thalia go to a school to recruit two powerful demigods, Nico and Bianca di Angelo. While on this mission, they are attacked by a manticore and the Artemis' hunters come to help. They later learn that Annabeth and Artemis have been kidnapped. Percy, accompanied by Grover, Thalia and Artemis' hunters, go on a quest to rescue them. Bianca di Angelo sacrifices her own life to save the others. In the end, they succeed and defeat Atlas; however, Zoё is killed by him and Atlas gets the curse of holding the sky again. When they return, Nico, angered by his sister's death, leaves the camp and is revealed to be a son of Hades.^[4]

The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Battle of the Labyrinth, released on May 8, 2008, is the fourth book in the series.

After being attacked by demon cheerleaders at his new school, Goode, 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 of capture the flag, 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 in to the heart of camp. To get into the Labyrinth, Percy has to find the Delta Symbol (Δ) on a passageway, touch it, and then enter the Labyrinth.

Using the Labyrinth, Percy tries to find Daedalus so Luke cannot get Ariadne's string, thereby foiling Luke's invasion. He gets the help he needs from a mortal girl named Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who proves herself by hitting Kronos in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush. Kronos finds out that Nico di Angelo is a son of Hades and also could be the child of the prophecy. Luke reaches Daedalus and gets Adriadne's string. Using the magical instrument, he leads his army and attacks camp. Grover comes to the rescue and causes a Panic to scare away the enemy. After the battle, Daedalus sacrifices himself to close the labyrinth, which is tied to his life.^[5]

The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian, the fifth book in the Percy Jackson series, was released on May 5, 2009.^[6]

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. They ultimately defeat Kronos in the battle and Olympus is saved. ^[7]

The gods grant Percy, Grover, Annabeth, and Tyson each a wish. Tyson becomes the General of the Cyclops army, and the weapon they grant him of his own request is a "stick" (a.k.a. club). Grover receives a seat on the Council of Cloven Elders and becomes the new Lord of the Wild. Annabeth will be in charge of rebuilding Olympus. Seeing all the damage done, Percy makes the gods promise on the River Styx that they will recognize all of their children by the time they turn 13. He also asks them to build cabins for the minor gods like Hecate and Morpheus. He even lets Calypso and other friendly Titan-kind free of unfair punishment. He turns down immortality for these wishes.

Rachel becomes the new oracle. Percy and Annabeth share a kiss,and become a couple. Afterward, the other campers dunk them in the lake and Percy makes an air bubble, in which they share an under water kiss. The story concludes when Annabeth and Percy race down the hill at Camp Half-Blood and for once, Percy does not look back.^[8]

Companion books

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.^[9] It is set between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian.^[10] The book received mixed reviews, with some reviewers criticizing the lack of substantial material and others commending the writing of the short stories.^[10]

Demigods and Monsters

Demigods and Monsters is another companion book also released on February 10, 2009.^[11] 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.^[12]

The Ultimate Guide

The Ultimate Guide is a companion book set to release on January 18, 2010. Its 156 pages include trading cards, and full-color diagrams and maps. ^[13]

Graphic novel

A Percy Jackson graphic novel is set to come out on October 19, 2010.^[14] Riordan posted:

“

Many of you have asked about a Percy Jackson graphic novel, and I'm pleased to announce it is in the works too. The tentative release date is 10/19/10. I've seen some preliminary artwork, and it looks awesome. I think you'll be pleased with how Percy's world comes to life in pictures.[14]

”

Characters

Rick Riordan relies on Apollodorus for his characters and plot, who wrote Bibliotheca. In three books, it provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends.

Main characters

Character	First Appearance	Last Appearance	Alliance and Friends	Undertakes Quests	Parents	Siblings	Cousins (Direct)	Species
Percy Jackson	The Lightning Thief	*	Olympians, Demigods, and Mortals	All 5 books	Poseidon and Sally Jackson (stepfathers: Gabe Ugliano[d] and Paul Blofis; stepmother: Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife)	Cyclopes like Tyson and Poseidon's other children[h]	Thalia, Hermes, Nico, Bianca[d], Athena, Ares, Dionysus, Apollo, Artemis, and Hephaestus	Demigod
Annabeth Chase	The Lightning Thief	*	Olympians, Demigods	All 5 books	Athena and Dr. Frederick Chase (unnamed stepmother)	Campers of Cabin 6 and Daedalus[h] (two step brothers, Bobby & Matthew)	Clarisse and members of Cabin 5, Luke Castellan	Demigod
Grover Underwood	The Lightning Thief	*	Olympians, Demigods, Nature Spirits, and satyrs	1–5 (quests in books 1,3,4 and 5)	Father disappeared searching for Pan	Unknown	Unknown	Satyr
Luke Castellan	The Lightning Thief	Commits suicide in The Last Olympian	Olympians (before his quest) Titans (after his quest)	Before the series (retold in Book 1)	Hermes and May Castellan	Connor and Travis Stoll, some campers of Cabin 11[h]	Annabeth Chase	Demigod
Chiron	The Lightning Thief	*	Demigods, Satyrs, Gods, Centaurs	None	Kronos and Philyra	Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Hestia, and Hades	Unknown	Centaur
Tyson the Cyclops	The Sea of Monsters	*	Olympians, Rainbow, and the Hundred-Handed Ones	Books 2–5	Poseidon and a nature spirit	Percy[h] and Polyphemus[h]	Thalia, Nico, and Bianca[d]	Cyclops
Thalia Grace	The Sea of Monsters	*	Olympians, later The Hunters of Artemis	Books 2, 3 and 5	Zeus and an alcoholic starlet	Zeus's Children/Heroes[h]	Percy, Nico, Tyson, and Bianca[d] Ares, Athena, Dionysus, Hermes, Artemis, Apollo, and Hephaestus	Demigod
Clarisse La Rue	The Lightning Thief	*	Olympians	1–5	Ares and Jerry La Rue	Campers of Cabin 5[h], Phobos & Deimos	Annabeth and Campers of Cabin 6	Demigod
Bianca di Angelo	The Titan's Curse	Dies in The Titan's Curse	Olympians, then The Hunters of Artemis	Books 3–5 (in book 4 and 5 she appears as a ghost)	Hades and Maria di Angelo[d]	Nico di Angelo	Percy, Thalia, Tyson, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus	Demigod
Nico di Angelo	The Titan's Curse	*	Demigods, Hades, Servants of Death (not Olympians because they dislike Hades and his children)	Books 3–5	Hades and Maria di Angelo[d]	Bianca di Angelo[d]	Percy, Thalia, Tyson, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus	Demigod
Zoë Nightshade	The Titan's Curse	Dies in The Titan's Curse	The Hunters & Olympians	Book 3	Atlas and Pleione	Hesperides & Calypso[h]	Unknown	Hesperide
Rachel Elizabeth Dare	The Titan's Curse	*	Mortals and Olympians	Books 3–5	Mr. and Mrs. Dare	none	Unknown	Clear-Sighted Mortal, later, Oracle of Delphi

^d^  Dies

^h^  Half-sibling

Camp Half-Blood

Camp Half-Blood is a fictional camp for demigods in the series located off Long Island, New York. The camp is first mentioned in the beginning of the first book in the series, The Lightning Thief, when Percy Jackson is driven there by his mother and accompanied with his friend, Grover Underwood.

A view of camp (at right), the Big House can be seen in the backround to the right of Thalia's pine on the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Below, the house is surrounded by the strawberry fields. Down the left slope the forest can be seen with the arena visible just above its treetops. The climbing walls can be seen smoking with lava to the right of the dining pavilion where burnt offerings are drifting up from diner. In the center the amphitheatre rests on the slopes of the valley above which stands the forge with its smokestacks. In the middle the small square building is the armory and in the extreme foreground are the stables. In the valley the canoe lake and its dock are partially visible along with the tip of the U formed by the cabins (Cabin 1, Zeus, and Cabin 2, Hera, are fully visible while Cabin 3, Poseidon, it discernable to the left of Cabin 1).

Staff

The Greek god of wine, Dionysus, is the camp's director. He was assigned the role as a punishment by Zeus for chasing a wood-nymph that was declared off-limits. He despises his job and often complains about caring for the "brats". He also frequently forgets Percy's name on purpose, often calling him names such as "Peter Johnson" and "Perry Johansson".

Chiron is the director of activities at the camp. He, the son of the Titan Kronos, is an immortal centaur that will stay immortal until he is not needed anymore to train future demigods. He is Percy's mentor, as he has been for many other demigods as well.

Argus is the security guard at the camp. He has a total of 100 eyes on his body. He only appears when most needed and never talks, for it is rumored that he has an eye on his tongue.

Cabins

There are twelve cabins at camp half-blood throughout the series; however, at the end of The Last Olympian it is implied that many more cabins will be built for the minor gods. Throughout the duration of the series, the cabins are in order as followed. Notice that there is no cabin for Hades, just like he had no throne on Olympus. However, at the end of The Last Olympian a cabin for Hades' children would be built.

Development and publication

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.^[15]

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.^[16] While he left his manuscript to his agent and editor to review, Riordan took his book to a selected 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.^[17] In June 1997, Riordan signed with Bantam Books to prepare the book for publishing.^[16] In 2004, the book was sold to Miramax Books for enough money for Riordan to quit his job to focus on writing.^[18] After it was released on July 28, 2005 it sold over 1.2 million copies. The book was released in multiple versions including hardcover, paperback and audio editions.^[19][20] It has been translated into multiple languages and published all over the world.^[21]

Film

Chris Columbus has signed to direct and produce Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief for 20th Century Fox through 1492 Pictures.^[22][23] The movie is set for release in 2010 in Belgium, America, Germany and The Netherlands on 12 February, in Australia on 1 April, and in Finland on 2 June.^[24][25]

Sequel

A sequel, also based on the Camp Half-Blood and Greek Mythology universe, is planned for the Percy Jackson series, believed to be concerning the new Great Prophecy mentioned at the end of The Last Olympian. Rick Riordan has confirmed about the series, and as of November 2009^[update], he is working on the first draft of the first book, slated for release in Fall, 2010.^[26]

References

External links

• Official Percy Jackson UK website
• Rick Riordan's website for news about Percy Jackson
• Official Percy Jackson US website
• Percy Jackson at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Percy Jackson & the Olympians Characters Percy Jackson • Annabeth Chase • Grover Underwood • Luke Castellan • Clarisse La Rue • Rachel Elizabeth Dare • Nico di Angelo • Thalia Grace • Tyson the Cyclops Main series The Lightning Thief (film) • The Sea of Monsters • The Titan's Curse • The Battle of the Labyrinth • The Last Olympian Companion books The Demigod Files • The Ultimate Guide Related content Rick Riordan