How to Read the 'Percy Jackson' Books in Order, if the Disney+ Series Has Piqued Your Interest (2024)

This is the book that kicks off the whole series: Percy Jackson, a Holden Caulfieldesque boarding school student, gets tangled up in the business of Greek gods when he's accused of stealing Zeus's lightning bolt. He and his friends must find the real thief in order to bring peace to the warring gods.

This time, Percy is challenged with retrieving the Golden Fleece — which happens to be in a dangerous stretch of ocean called the Sea of Monsters. This book weaves in lots of seafaring Greek myths, including parts of the Odyssey (Circe, sirens and Cyclops, anyone?), and even pulls in lore about the Bermuda Triangle.

When the goddess Artemis goes missing, Percy bands together a group to go after her. This is a good one for fans of cool monsters, like a Manticore (head of a man, body of a lion, and tail of a scorpion) or an Ophiotaurus (half-cow, half-serpent).

War is coming, and Percy's side and the side of his main rival, Luke, are both trying to bolster their armies. They all want to find the workshop of the master craftsman Daedalus. The problem? The workshop is somewhere within a sprawling Labyrinth, and no one knows where it is — or how to get out once they find it.

In the final(ish) installment of the first Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Percy is preparing to do battle in the war against the Titans when his father tells him the truth surrounding a prophecy about Percy's 16th birthday. What will his fate turn out to be?

Rick Riordan said he'd keep the Percy Jackson books series at five, but good ideas can never stay dormant for too long these days. So, this fall, got our first new Percy Jackson and the Olympians installment in 14 years. And this time, Percy has the hardest challenge of all: getting into college. In order to get his first of three letters of recommendation, he has to do a quest for Ganymede, the cupbearer of the gods.

After The Last Olympian, Riordan wanted to put the story of Percy Jackson to rest (for a while, at least), but there were still stories to tell about demigods and their Camp Half-Blood. So he launched a new series, The Heroes of Olympus, with a trio of new demigods at the forefront: Jason, Piper and Leo. Other favorite characters from Percy Jackson and the Olympians pop up, too.

Fans who miss the OG characters Percy will be pleased to know that Percy himself returns for a major role in this story — only, unfortunately for him, he has amnesia. He finds himself at another camp for demigods, only this time they're Roman gods, not Greek ones.

Here, the three protagonists of the new series (Jason, Piper and Leo) join forces with a trio of heroes who met in the Roman demigod camp (Percy, Hazel and Frank). But a prophecy calls for seven heroes — who will complete their party?

In this one, the now-combined heroes have to head to their most dangerous location yet: the Underworld. They plan to seal the Doors of Death to stop evil from rising up, but there's one problem: Percy and Annabeth are trapped inside.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians started off as a five-book series, so it only makes sense that The Heroes of Olympus would follow suit. To end this series, our heroes have to defeat an army of giants to set things right with the gods.

You think after two, five-book series, the world of Greek gods would be spent — but you'd be wrong! After The Heroes of Olympus wrapped up, Riordan returned with The Trials of Apollo. This one finds Apollo in a mortal's body in modern-day New York City. He meets a girl name Meg, and the two of them set out to restore Apollo's immortality.

In order for Apollo to regain his godlike status, Apollo must leave the demigod camp and take a cross-country trip, trying to restore Oracles that have gone dark. Along the way, he runs into characters new and old, including a couple familiar names from Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

This one takes place in a location already known to fans of Percy Jackson (and Greek myth): They're back in the labyrinth. This time, they're looking for an Oracle that speaks only in puzzles.

Apollo's cross-country trip has finally taken him to the other coast, to San Francisco specifically, where they return to the camp of Roman demigods. A battle is brewing, and they need to find the tomb of a forgotten Roman ruler if our heroes stand a chance.

The third, five-book series comes to its ultimate conclusion in The Tower of Nero. Apollo has learned all he can from the Oracles, uncovered a prophecy and now must meet his fate, And, when he does, it thoroughly concludes this saga of gods and demigods...

...until this past spring, that is. In true Rick Riordan fashion, five books just wasn't enough, and this was was written as a follow-up to The Tower of Nero. It follows Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, and his boyfriend, Will Solace, the son of Apollo. It was co-written by Riordan and Mark Oshiro, author of Anger Is a Gift. Will this be the start of a new series? Riordan called it "a standalone adventure," but with him you can never be too sure!