Rick Riordan returns to Percy Jackson universe with The Chalice of the Gods

Rick Riordan’s novels are a hallmark of the children’s literary landscape, selling 4.7 million copies, in all editions and formats, for £30.3m through Nielsen BookScan UK. It began with Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, a novel set in the modern world following the demi-god children of Ancient Greek gods and goddesses. Now after five different series, 12 graphic novel adaptations and two “tragically misguided” films based upon the first two Percy Jackson novels, Riordan is anticipating the television adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and a return to the Percy Jackson novels, after ostensibly bidding them adieu in 2009, with The Chalice of the Gods.

Publishing in September this year with Puffin for middle-grade readers, Riordan hopes The Chalice of the Gods will “be like a reunion with old friends for readers who know the series” but hopes the novel “stands by itself”. “If readers pick up Chalice as the first Riordan book they’ve ever read, I think they’ll be able to get on board with the adventure without any problem.” Returning to Percy’s narrative voice felt like “coming home”, yet, for Riordan, the return to Percy Jackson’s world is not so much a return but an affirmation of the character’s fundamental place in Riordan’s history and legacy as a writer. “He is so familiar to me, and so much a part of myself, that I had no difficulty getting back into that state of mind.”

Franchise reboot

The Chalice of the Gods was born from one of three ideas to return to Percy’s point of view originally “pitched to the film studio in an effort to entice them into rebooting the franchise”. In the end, however, Riordan “didn’t need them” and wrote the novel as a way “to celebrate the TV series and thank fans for their years of patience”. The Chalice of the Gods finds Percy, son of Poseidon, Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and Grover, a satyr, “in a slightly different set of circumstances”. It’s senior year of high school where the stresses of final year are compounded by hapless deities requiring Percy to complete three new quests. In true Riordan style, readers can expect “the trademark Percy humour, fast-moving action, fantastical monsters and gods, magic and silliness and generally a good time!”

I always love it when I hear from readers years later, in university, that they passed their Classics courses easily because they read Percy Jackson as kids

Working as a teacher before becoming a full-time writer means “writing for children has been an extension and expansion” of Riordan’s earlier occupation. The motivating kernel for any teacher—learning—remains part of his work through “stealth education”. “I want my readers to be having so much fun [while reading] and laughing at the silly jokes so often that they may not realise how much they are learning about the classical myths which, for all the modern window dressing, are very much told according to the primary sources.” The Percy Jackson series and its sequel series the Heroes of Olympus and the Trials of Apollo champion Ancient Greek myth, but Riordan has also delved into Egyptian mythology in the Kane Chronicles and Norse legend in his Magnus Chase novels. “Lighting that fire of interest is a priceless thing,” says Riordan and one which can catalyse an affinity for the subject: “I always love it when I hear from readers years later, in university, that they passed their Classics courses easily because they read Percy Jackson as kids.”

Making an imprint

Yet, not every mythology can be explored by Riordan as he admits he is “not an expert in every culture”. In a bid to have more cultural mythologies represented, Riordan founded his own imprint, Rick Riordan Presents, a small branch of Disney-Hyperion, with his editor Stephanie Lurie in 2018. Riordan “simply act[s] as a cheerleader and helper” but the imprint “has succeeded beyond our wildest expectations”. He continued: “Just as it is important for young readers to see themselves in
characters, it’s an incredibly powerful experience for them to [read books by] an author who looks like them, [and] comes from their background and understands their lives.”

The imprint is part of a larger trend in children’s publishing that has seen the field expand and place a “new-found value… on authentic and diverse voices”. The Percy Jackson universe is, and will continue to be, part of these changes to ensure all children “feel valued, seen, accepted, [and] affirmed” in the books they read. “It’s really that simple,” added Riordan.