Ben & Books

It was the summer of 2021, and I was in a reading slump. The stresses of COVID and a year of the type of mandatory reading lists that can only come with am English Literature degree had caused such a massive reading burnout for me, that even the thought of picking up a book for fun would cause me to shudder with apprehension. Additionally, several scandals and controversies about an author whose books defined my childhood had eroded a lot of the nostalgia I had around reading. It was at this time that I finally decided to give the Percy Jackson books a chance. I admit, the movie adaptations of the first two books had put me off reading the books for a long time. Was I wrong about this? Was I missing out by not reading this series? Was I just about to find a new love of reading that would lead to me reading every book that Rick Riordan has released? Well never judge a book by its poorly thought-out movie adaptations, because the answer to all three of these questions is a resounding yes.

The biggest strength of the Percy Jackson books is in its characters. Percy is clever, sarcastic, and funny, but also not above making mistakes, some of his jokes don’t quite land, plans go wrong, and he’s sometimes wrong about who to trust. This makes Percy feel more human than some of the more confident and overly quippy protagonists in the genre. Annabeth and Grover are equally complex and interesting characters, and the dynamic between this trio of main characters is a lot of fun to read, as the friendship between the three grows organically throughout the series. The main trio are complimented excellently by a cast of family, gods, mentors, and campmates who add different relationships to the main character, from friends and rivals to teachers and enemies. Throughout the series, different characters will join or leave the main group for a quest, which makes every book feel unique and fresh as different combinations of characters work together in each story.

Every Percy Jackson book is brought together through two key points, the prophecy and the quest. The prophecies of Percy Jackson are perfectly modernised versions of those given out by the Oracle of Delphi in the stories of ancient Greece. A puzzle at first, the prophecies often have the reader guessing what certain lines mean or how they might come to pass, only to be blindsided by the actual conclusions when they come in the story. Full of doublespeak and mystery, these prophecies, and the subversion of expectations they often cause, are consistently the most intriguing part of the series. The quests Percy and his friends go on are very much like a Greek myth written for a modern audience. These adventures are frantically paced as Percy and his friends jump between encounters with enemies and allies, myths and monsters which are highly reminiscent of tales in Greek mythology, such as the Odyssey.

The worldbuilding in the Percy Jackson series is a wonderful mix of the mythological and the modern. Encounters with the multitude of monsters, mythological creatures, and heroes are told in a way that is instantly recognisable to those who have read the original stories, but with a modern twist which makes them feel refreshing and new to them but also gives readers new to the world of Greek mythology a solid understanding of the original story behind it. Throughout the series, famous figures from the past and modern day are revealed to be demigod children of the various Greek gods in ways that are often quite surprising but also make a lot of sense when you think about them. The world of Percy Jackson feels alive with lore and stories, and as each new book is released, with new gods, new powers, and new stories, the world feels more complex, more intriguing, and more exciting. Every new adventure in the world of Percy Jackson is a new opportunity for me to fully immerse myself into this amazing world that Rick Riordan has created, and I will always look forward to the next adventure.

Percy Jackson is the series that got me back into reading. At a time when reading fatigue made it difficult to read even one book, the characters, the magic, and the exciting action that Rick Riordan conjures in his writing made me desperate to read the next book, the next story, the next series, until, even after reading 18 books in the series of Greek mythology books, the release of the next one is the most exciting book events of the year for me. Without this renewed passion for reading, I wouldn’t have read some of my favourite books ever, and I would never have started writing reviews of books, one of the most fun things I have ever done. If like me, you’ve never read the Percy Jackson books and are wondering if you’re missing out, then I recommend picking them up, there’s a world of wonderful adventure waiting for you to begin.