Percy Jackson Books in Order: Complete Series Guide
If you’re a book-lover or fantasy fan born anytime after, say, 1994, there’s a good chance you’re well acquainted with the name Percy Jackson. The 12-year-old boy who discovers he’s a demigod is the star of a series that spawned a universe: Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
In 2005, when the author Rick Riordan—a crime fiction writer until then—published the first book, The Lightning Thief, it would have been hard to imagine how far it would go: six series and spin-offs comprising 25+ books, going strong for 20 years and counting. Fans call this the Riordanverse, and if you’re reading this you’re probably new to it. Maybe you’re inspired to dive in because you’ve been hearing about these books for years, or you discovered the series through the hit Disney+ adaptation, or you’re a parent looking for some high quality reading for your kids. I’m in the last group. I’d heard of the series, bought the first audiobook for my son, and haven’t gone a day without listening ever since. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t equally as invested as my son.
Rick Riordan (“Uncle Rick” in the fandom) has created not only an incredible, magical, action-packed world of gods, monsters, and humans; he’s also given thoughtful, non-token representation of main characters who are neurodivergent, BIPOC, disabled, LGBTQIA+, and more. He trusts kids to understand and appreciate nuanced takes on things like grief and oppression. Narrator Jesse Bernstein is Percy, embodying his courage, doubts, and—most important—deadpan humor.
However you got here, you’re asking the big question: How should I read the Percy Jackson books? Here’s our extensive guide on the best order.
So how many Percy Jackson books are there?
That depends on how you define a “Percy Jackson book.” If you’re talking specifically about the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, there are seven. If you’re talking about the four series about Percy and his friends, there are 19. If you’re talking about every book in the Riordanverse, there are 25, and if you’re talking about every book plus supplementary guides, short stories, standalone novels, etc., the answer is: too many to keep track of.
What’s the best order to read the Percy Jackson / Riordanverse books?
There are differing theories on how to read the 20+ books in the Riordanverse. Because Rick is wildly prolific–and because he’s often publishing books from different series at the same time–reading in order of publication or following the in-universe timeline across all Riordan series means sometimes going back and forth between series before either series is finished. The most commonly recommended strategy is also, in my humble opinion, the one that makes the most narrative sense. Read the four core Greco-Roman series (aka The Camp Half-Blood Chronicles) in chronological order. Then expand to Riordan’s Egyptian and Norse series. This is the order we’re presenting below, but we’ll also note where the order would differ for anyone who wants to slot in the Egyptian and Norse trilogies where they would fit chronologically.
It sounds complicated, and it is, but in a good way. Regardless of the path you take, the journey will be a blast.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians (2005–2009)
There’s a reason the shorthand for Riordan’s books is often “Percy Jackson books.” Percy is our entry into the Riordanverse. He’s at its core even when he’s not in the books. Percy Jackson and the Olympians sets the tone for everything that follows, tracking Percy and his new demigod friends on a cross-country journey to find and return Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt—and hopefully prevent a world-ending war.
Josh L. at The Underground Bookshop recommends it highly: “Vengeful and fickle gods! A summer camp of fledgling heroes! Gorgons and cyclopes and hydras and all that junk! This middle-grade fantasy series takes the Greek myths we know and love and presents them contemporarily with humor, teenage hijinks, questionable adult figures, and impossible prophecies.”
Book 1: The Lightning Thief
At the start of The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson is just a 12-year-old boy with ADHD living in New York with his mother and terrible stepfather, who somehow keeps getting into trouble despite his best efforts to avoid it. By the end, he’s not only learned that he’s a demigod and that his best friend, Grover, is a satyr, he’s also enrolled at Camp Half-Blood, received a worrisome prophecy, and set off on a cross-country quest with Grover and Athena’s daughter Annabeth to save the world.
Book 2: The Sea of Monsters
Percy is in seventh grade and everything seems to have calmed down since his last epic battle. Then he finds out a mysterious enemy is encroaching on Camp Half-Blood. The rescue mission takes the crew to the Sea of Monsters (aka “The Bermuda Triangle”), Polyphemus’ cave, and the Island of Cyclopes, where they need to retrieve the Golden Fleece.
Book 3: The Titan’s Curse
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are attacked while escorting a pair of siblings (one being Nico di Angelo, who ends up with his own spin-off) to Camp Half-Blood, and Annabeth is captured. Artemis leaves to save Annabeth but ends up kidnapped by the Titan Atlas, alongside Annabeth. The rescue crew travel some more, pick up a surprisingly powerful mortal, learn an unsettling prophecy, and have a more bitter than sweet conclusion.
Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy starts high school! Unfortunately, a trio of demon cheerleaders is waiting for him. Things only get worse from there. This installment gives Annabeth the lead as she brings the crew to the titular Labyrinth, as well as Greece and Ogygia. Daedalus, Hephaestus, and Calypso feature, too.
Book 5: The Last Olympian, narrated by Jesse Bernstein
The conclusion (for the moment) is monumental, delivering the kind of closure that a series like Percy Jackson—one that has subtly raised the stakes and expanded the universe, never sacrificing the joy that made it so special to begin with—deserves. It rounds up the demigods, mortals, titans, monsters, and every single Olympian (the only book in the series to do so) for an epic, NYC-destroying, edge-of-your-seat battle that’s both rewarding and heartbreaking.
Note: For the full-Riordanverse chronological order, read The Kane Chronicles before moving on.
The Heroes of Olympus (2010–2014)
Percy is no longer the main protagonist, but he, Grover, and Annabeth still play significant roles in the series as part of the Seven Heroes. They’re joined by new characters from Camp Half-Blood and demigods from the new San Francisco-based Camp Jupiter for children of Roman gods. Heroes of Olympus moves from first to third person and incorporates multiple points of view voiced by new narrators. It also introduces Roman gods and demigods who have to work with their Greek counterparts (despite a good amount of tension) to prevent the primordial earth goddess Gaea from destroying the world.
Book 1: The Lost Hero
Jason Grace wakes up on a bus with amnesia, next to two people he can’t remember: his girlfriend Piper McLean, and his best friend Leo Valdez. The three are also demigods, but they don’t know that yet. Their story begins at a school for delinquent children but ends up at Camp Half-Blood, where they’re tasked with a quest to save Hera.
Book 2: Son of Neptune
This time it’s Percy who wakes up with amnesia in California, a year after the final battle of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The wolf-goddess Lupa brings him to Camp Jupiter, the Roman counterpart to Camp Half-Blood, promising he’ll regain his memories once he survives the camp’s challenges. He links up with Hazel, a daughter of Pluto, and Frank, a son of Mars, and the three are tasked with saving the god Thanatos from the giant Alcyones in Alaska.
Book 3: The Mark of Athena
Book three features four points of view: Annabeth, Leo, Piper, and Percy. The group travel on their flying dragon automaton on their way to Rome and Greece to stop Gaea—which means they have to retrieve a giant Athena statue that Rome once stole from Greece. Along the way they encounter Nemesis, Giants, Hercules, and Bacchus before a face-off with the big boss: Arachne.
Book 4: The House of Hades
The stakes are getting higher, and the Seven Heroes face a terrifying challenge: to survive Hades and seal the gateways to hell, aka the Doors of Death. They get help from Hecate, Cupid, and a Titan named Bob as they prepare for battles in the Underworld and above.
Book 5: The Blood of Olympus
Despite the demigods’ battle victories, Gaea and her armies don’t seem to be deterred. But neither are our heroes. Can they beat Gaea and her army of giants and save the world?
Note: For the full-Riordanverse chronological order, read Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard before moving on.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Senior Year Adventures (2023-2024)
In 2023, Rick returned to his roots with a continuation (a subseries, perhaps?) of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, also called The Senior Year Adventures. These books fill the gap between Percy’s high school years during The Heroes of Olympus and his freshman year of college during The Trials of Apollo. They depict a level of senior year stress about getting into your dream school that is uniquely Percy. Books 6 and 7 (or 1 and 2, if you consider this a separate spin-off) are out now. Riordan has promised a third to complete the trilogy: three quests, three letters of recommendation, three books.
Note: Though the in-universe timeline puts these books between Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo, some fans recommend reading them at the end of the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles—a sentimental finale.
The Chalice of the Gods
Percy and friends are preparing for college when Percy gets some bad news. Because his birth betrayed the pact between Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus to never father another mortal child, he isn’t allowed to attend New Rome University. But Zeus decides to bend the rules. If Percy can perform three quests for gods and get their letters of recommendation, he can enroll. With help from Annabeth, Grover, and a nereid assigned as his guidance counselor, Percy gets to work on the first case: retrieve Ganymede’s stolen Chalice of Immortality before the other gods realize it’s missing.
Wrath of the Triple Goddess
One letter of recommendation down, two more to go. This mission comes a week before Halloween, when Hecate asks Percy to house-sit her mansion and pet-sit her hellhound and polecat. Hecate promises a letter if he does well or a smiting if he fails. Unfortunately he, Annabeth, and Grover decide to host a Halloween party which ends with Hecate’s mansion destroyed and her pets missing.
The Trials of Apollo (2016–2020)
After angering his father Zeus, Apollo lands on earth (specifically in an alleyway dumpster) in a mortal body. Now, the self-obsessed god of archery, poetry, and music exists in the body of teenage boy, complete with acne, awkwardness, and the capacity for both physical and emotional pain. Robbie Daymond as Apollo is up there with Jesse Bernstein when it comes to iconic narration. Giving Apollo’s first person perspective as he sets off on a quest to find four missing oracles and regain his immortality, Daymond captures the bratty indignation of a suddenly powerless god, plays up the comedy that comes from Apollo’s frequent lack of self-awareness. Most significant, he evokes real emotion as Apollo realizes that he respects—even loves—these humans.
Book 1: The Hidden Oracle
Apollo lands in a New York City dumpster with a new human identity: a 16-year-old boy named Lester Papadopoulos. When demigod Meg McCaffrey saves him from being mugged, she binds Apollo to her. This means, essentially, that she is his master until his trials are complete. The two set off to Camp Half-Blood for some much-needed training, and soon discover that Triumvirate Holdings, a mysterious company scheming to take control of the oracles, is led by the emperor Nero, who has turned himself into a god.
Book 2: The Dark Prophecy
Six weeks after receiving an ominous prophecy, Apollo continues his journey to stop Nero with Leo Valdez, Festus the dragon automaton, and the now-mortal Calypso along for the ride. They find themselves in Indianapolis, where two former goddesses who gave up their immortality for love need help: Their daughter has gone missing since leaving to find the Oracle of Trophonius, and Commodus—the second god-emperor of Triumvirate Holdings—is behind it.
Book 3: The Burning Maze
After learning that the Triumvirate is planning to attack Camp Jupiter, Leo flies to California to warn the Roman demigods, while Apollo, Meg, and friends brave the Labyrinth to find the next oracle and third god-emperor—the maniacal and murderous Caligula.
Book 4: The Tyrant’s Tomb
Things are getting grim as Apollo and Meg make their way to Camp Jupiter to help fight the coming battle against the Triumvirate. They’re interrupted when a group of flesh-eating monsters from the underworld attack and manage to scratch Apollo—beginning the process of him turning into a living corpse. Now he needs to call on help from the gods to save Camp Jupiter and hopefully heal himself.
Book 5: The Tower of Nero
It’s time for the final face-off with Nero at his tower back in New York, where Nero is prepared to kill the flood of demigods who’ve arrived to help Apollo. It’s an action-packed finale that draws on the lessons about love, sacrifice, and humanity that Apollo has been learning throughout the series.
Nico di Angelo Adventures (2023-2025)
The Nico di Angelo Adventures marks a significant shift in the Riordanverse books. It’s the first and only series written with a co-writer. Mark Oshiro, a nonbinary writer of award-winning middle-grade LGBTQIA+ fiction, enters as an authentic voice in this story about two young men—one gay and the other bisexual—fighting darkness both internal and external while their romantic relationship evolves. It begins two months after the Tower of Nero finale.
UC San Diego Bookstore bookseller Mariam highly recommends it: “Following Nico Di Angelo and Will Solace from the original Percy Jackson series, you get to know more about their backgrounds and relationship as they both experience any demigod’s worst nightmare. It is a tender and bitte sweet story. I teared up reading it and wanted to hug Nico and Will. You get to see their relationship grow and confront each other’s fears.”
The Sun and the Star
After dreaming about an old friend in trouble, Nico realizes he must travel to Tartarus, the lowest level of the underworld, to save him. His boyfriend Will refuses to let him go alone. Their rescue mission is hindered by the primordial goddess of the night, Nyx, along with Nemesis, Hypnos, Epiales, and an army of cacodemons.
The Court of the Dead
Three months after their quest to Tartarus, Nico and Will receive a call for help from Nico’s half-sister Hazel, a demigod at Camp Jupiter. They arrive to find the Minotaur and other previously evil monsters living at the camp, having been inspired by Nico and Will to renounce their pasts. Hazel asks them to convince the hesitant campers to welcome the “mythics,” but things get complicated when a dark force starts disappearing the monsters.
The Kane Chronicles trilogy (2010–2012)
The Kane Chronicles moves away from the demigod campers to Carter and Sadie, a brother and sister who discover they’re descended from the pharaohs Narmer and Ramses the Great. Not only that—they have the ability to “host” Egyptian gods and goddesses and carry their magic. The series introduces the world of Egyptian gods and goddesses, and occurs concurrently with the events of Heroes of Olympus. The connection to the Percy Jackson universe is minor. But there are passing references to acknowledge they exist in the same universe. (The siblings do team up with Percy and Annabeth in a set of short stories released after the final Kane Chronicles book.)
The Red Pyramid
When Carter and Sadie’s father Julius, a renowned Egyptologist, accidentally summons the gods Horus, Isis, Nepthys, and Set, their world is changed forever. Set captures Julius and announces plans to destroy North America. Carter and Sadie are chosen by Horus and Isis as “hosts,” making them powerful magicians, and they set off on an adventure to save their dad, but learn that the chaos snake Apophis is the mastermind behind it all.
The Throne of Fire
The siblings are joined by friends in their quest to find three scrolls that will awaken the sun god Ra, in the hope that he will join them in the fight against Apophis.
The Serpent’s Shadow
The pressure is on: Carter and Sadie have just three days before Apophis will destroy the world. Can they do it?
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy (2015–2017)
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard introduces us to Magnus Chase, a homeless 16-year-old who’s been living on the streets of Boston since his mother died. He’s also Annabeth’s cousin. When she and her father arrive searching for him, Magnus learns that he’s the son of the Norse fertility god, Frey. The series takes us to the Norse afterlife Valhalla, where his quest to stop Fenris Wolf from escaping his prison and destroying the world begins. Each book has a different narrator voicing Magnus’s first person POV, including Academy Award winner Kieran Culkin.
The Sword of the Summer
Hours after learning that he’s a Norse demigod, Magnus dies in a fight against a fire giant. He wakes up in Hotel Valhalla where he befriends Hearthstone the elf and Blitz the dwarf, who convince Magnus to leave the hotel and travel with them to Midgard. Their crew expands as they search for an ancient sword, meeting Thor and Odin along the way.
The Hammer of Thor
The Giants have stolen Thor’s hammer, and if Magnus can’t get it back the gods have no of stopping their invasion of Midgard. With his old friends and a new one (Alex, a genderfluid child of Loki) he tracks the hammer to Loki’s cave and an arranged wedding between the giant Thrym and Magnus’s Valkyrie, Samirah.
The Ship of the Dead
After meeting up with Percy Jackson (!) for intel on how to survive the sea, Magnus and his crew summon their ship Big Banana, named for its bright yellow color. (It’s hard to get across in little blurbs, but all Riordanverse books maintain their vital silliness.) They board the boat and sail to various ports in preparation for their final battle. Along the way, we learn the backstories of the crew—how they lived, and how they died.
What to read after Percy Jackson: Rick Riordan Presents
If you’re reading this post as a Riordan newbie, “after Percy Jackson” probably seems a long ways away. But you’d be shocked to find how quickly you can fly through an audiobook series when you never want to press pause. Whether you’re finished or simply want to take a detour, a great source for Rick Riordan fans’ next reads is his imprint at Disney-Hyperion: Rick Riordan Presents.
These are middle-grade fantasy adventures that come with Rick’s stamp of approval, especially geared toward kids who love his books, and the action, humor, and mythology that make them iconic. According to Riordan, the imprint is also a way for him to bring great mythology-inspired books into the world without writing about a culture that isn’t his. On his website, he explains, “Our goal is to publish great middle grade authors from underrepresented cultures and backgrounds, to let them tell their own stories inspired by the mythology and folklore of their own heritage.”
Here are a selection of Rick Riordan Presents books that our expert bookseller partners also recommend.
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (Tristan Strong #1)
“Tristan Strong was already an excellent book, but Amir Abdullah’s performance takes it to the next level. From quirky characters to menacing villains, excellent joke delivery to absolutely heartrending scenes, Abdullah brings Tristan’s magical, powerful, complicated world to life.”
– Abigail • Child’s Play Toys and Books
Dragon Pearl (Thousand Worlds #1)
“Adventure, shape shifting, forbidden space travel, mythical magic, and a girl willing to cross the galaxy in search of her missing brother – putting her own safety second. Excellent book! So much fun and I learned a lot about Korean mythology! I listened to this on Libro.FM and it was fantastically produced!”
— Emma • Content
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe (Sal and Gabi #1)
“I listened to the incomparable audiobook of this delightful novel, and can’t recommend it enough, especially for families who like to enjoy listening to books with their kids! This middle grade novel is funny, sharp, and wise, with incidental diversity of so many kinds without feeling like you’re checking diversity points off a list. Anthony Rey Perez’s recording is A+ perfect—his snarky inflection, effortless voicing of a variety of characters, and ability to slide easily between English and Spanish with native ease make him a perfect choice for this heavily Latinx and Cubano book. Sweet and funny interactions between middle schoolers whose intelligence more often than not gets them into more trouble than it’s worth, a hefty dose of magic, and a very heart-wrenching grappling with grief and loss make this a truly special book.”
— Gretchen • A Room Of One’s Own Bookstore
The Last Fallen Star (Gifted Clans #1)
“Oooooh I LOVED THIS! Riley Oh is an adopted Korean American girl living in LA. Her family is a group of magical healers who are one branch of an extensive Korean community that makes their living from magic in plain sight. Kim has established a wonderful magical world that is able to live in plain sight within real world; their meeting place is disguised within an H-mart, their library in a laundromat, and their school in a karaoke bar. The branches of this Korean clan are all given magical abilities from their six patron goddesses and the children must perform an initiation on their 13th birthday. We also have a good deal of the teenage snark. I was enthralled by this book and am gutted that I have to wait a year for the next one! It’s perfect for the Percy Jackson and other Rick Riordan imprint fans as well as Potterheads, those that like Amari and the Night Brothers, and generally enjoy secret magic in the real world!”
— Kimi • Buttonwood Books and Toys
