Percy Jackson & The Olympians
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| Percy Jackson & The Olympians | |
| 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 by Rick Riordan. Set in the contemporary United States, the series is based prominently on Greek mythology, although some creative license is taken. The series consists of five books, as well as spin-off titles called the The Demigod Files and Demigods and Monsters.
The protagonist is a 12 year-old boy named Percy Jackson who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. He learns that the legendary beings of Greek mythology still exist, including cyclopes, empousai, Titans, and of course the Olympians (Greek gods) themselves who are in Olympus on the mythical 600th floor of the Empire State Building. Monsters frequently attack him because he is a child of one of the "Big Three" (the sons of Kronos: 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 100 weeks as of June 13, 2009.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Main characters
| Character | In Books | Alliance and Friends | Undertakes Quests | Parents | Siblings | Cousins (Direct) | Race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percy Jackson | ALL | Olympians, and Mortals. | In all of the 5 books | Poseidon and Sally Jackson (stepfathers Gabe Ugliano (D) and Paul Blofis) | Cyclopes like Tyson and Poseidon's other children (H) | Thalia, Hermes, Nico, Bianca (D), Athena, Ares, Dionysus,Apollo, Artemis, and Hephaestus | Demigod |
| Annabeth Chase | ALL | Olympians | In all of the 5 books | Athena and Dr. Chase (has a step mom) | Campers of Cabin 6 and Daedalus (two step brothers)(H) | Clarisse and members of Cabin 5, Luke Castellan | Demigod |
| Grover Underwood | ALL | Olympians and satyrs | In all of the 5 books | Father disappeared searching for Pan | Unknown | Unknown | Satyr |
| Luke Castellan | ALL | 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 | ALL | Demigods, Satyrs, Gods | none | Kronos and Philyra | Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Hestia, and Hades | Unknown | Centaur |
| Tyson the Cyclops | 2-5 | Olympians, Rainbow & Hundred-Handed-Ones | In books 2, 4, & 5 | Poseidon and a nature spirit | Percy (H)and Polyphemus (H) | Thalia, Nico, and Bianca (D) | Cyclops |
| Thalia Grace | 2 (at the end), 3 , & 5 | Olympians, later The Hunters | In books 3 and 5 | Zeus and alcoholic Starlet | Zeus's Children/Heroes [H] | Percy, Nico, Tyson, and Bianca(D) | Demigod |
| Clarisse La Rue | ALL | Olympians | In books 2, 3, and 4 | Ares and Jerry | Campers of Cabin 5 (H), Phobos & Deimos | Annabeth and Campers of Cabin 6 | Demigod |
| Bianca Di Angelo | Died in 3, appears as ghost in 4 & 5 | The Hunters, she was not a hunter to start with. | In book 3 | Hades and Maria di Angelo (D) | Nico Di Angelo | Percy, Thalia, Tyson, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus | Demigod |
| Nico di Angelo | 3, 4, & 5 | Percy and friends, Hades, Servants of Death (not Olympians because they dislike Hades and his children) | 4 & 5 | Hades and Maria di Angelo (D) | Bianca Di Angelo (D) | Percy, Thalia, Tyson, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus | Demigod |
| Zoë Nightshade | 3 | The Hunters & Olympians | Dies in book 3 | Atlas and Pleione | Hesperides & Calypso (H) | Unknown | Hesperide
(Became a Hunter of Artemis) |
| Rachel Elizabeth Dare | 3, 4, & 5 | Mortals & Olympians | In books 4 and 5 | Mr. and Mrs. Dare | none | Unknown | Clear-Sighted Mortal, later, Oracle of Delphi |
| Juniper | 4 & 5 | Nymphs, Olympians, and Satyrs | none | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Dryad |
[edit] Novels
[edit] The Lightning Thief
The Lightning Thief is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The main character, Percy, lives with his mother Sally Jackson and her husband, Gabe, in Manhattan. Percy has been going to many different schools, due to the fact that he keeps getting kicked out. One day during a school field trip, Percy is approached by a Fury, who has been disguised as his math teacher. Mr. Brunner, his Latin teacher, throws him a sword disguised as a pen called Anaklumos (Greek for Riptide). A few days later, Percy and his mom go to the beach. Percy's friend, Grover (who is revealed to be a satyr) suddenly appears and leads Percy to safety from an unnatural storm. On their way to Half-Blood Hill(by way of Gabe's car), a training camp for Half-Bloods, they are attacked by the mythical creature, the Minotaur. Percy and his mother dodge several attempts of the Minotaur's charges, but are ultimately unable to out-drive it. Sally sacrifices herself to make sure Percy and Grover get to the camp. Percy is greeted by Mr. Brunner, revealed to be Chiron. He also meets his soon-best-friend, and later love interest, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Percy is given a bunk in the Hermes cabin, where all the unidentified and or unclaimed demigod children go. Percy is claimed by Poseidon in his first capture-the-flag game at the camp. Because the three gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades (or the "Big Three" as called in the series) formed a pact after World War II to never have demigod children again, this brings a great deal of stress on the Mythological World. Later, Percy is accused by [Zeus] for stealing his main thunderbolt, the Master Bolt. Percy is given ten days (until the summer solstice) to find the Master Bolt and sets out to find the real culprit who has framed him. After traveling to several destinations, they finally travel to Los Angeles, where the gate to the Underworld is. Percy and his friends travel in the Underworld, and discover that Hades, god of the Dead, was not responsible. As soon as they escape, they are greeted by Ares, god of war, when they reach the surface. Ares reveals that he caught the demigod who stole the Master Bolt and Hades' Helm of Darkness. He told Percy and his friends that the three most powerful gods, Zeus, Poesidon, and Hades would start the ultimate war. Percy realizes that Ares did not think of the plan himself, but was tricked into a battle with Ares. Percy injurs Ares on the ankle, and when Ares is about to kill Percy, something stops him and Ares disappears. The Furies take the Helm of Darkness back to Hades and news that Percy is innocent. Percy then took the Master Bolt to the 600th Floor of the Empire State Building where Zeus spares his life. Percy then tells Poseidon and Zeus who he thinks took the Master Bolt and Helmet of Darkness. He believed it was Kronos, king of Titans and father of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. After returning to Camp Half-Blood, Luke, son of Hermes, is revealed to be the traitor. He almost succeeded in killing Percy but Percy survived thanks to Chiron's healing and medicine. Luke escaped, and Annabeth, Percy, and Grover tell each other that they will meet back at Camp Half-Blood next year. Grover gets his searcher license so he can search for the Wild God, Pan.
[edit] The Sea of Monsters
The Sea of Monsters is the second book in the series and revolves around Percy's journey with Annabeth and Grover (who is missing on a Cyclops island) on a quest for the Golden Fleece. At the beginning of the summer, Percy returns to camp to find that the camp's defensive system, Thalia's Tree, has been poisoned. It is suspected by the gods that the person who has done this is Chiron(camp's activities director) because his father is Kronos. Chiron had been exiled from the camp, and Tantalus has taken his place. When Percy discovers that the Golden Fleece can be used to heal the poisoned tree and restore the camp's borders of defense, he goes on a mission very similar to Odysseus' Odyssey. Along the way, they run into Circe, a sorceress that temporarily turns Percy into a guinea pig. Annabeth finds some vitamins from Hermes (given to Percy) and throws the vitamins into the the guinea pig cages, and turns Percy, Blackbeard (a son of Ares), and many other men back into humans. Percy and Annabeth then steal Blackbeard's ship. On the way to the island where the Golden Fleece awaits, Annabeth is tempted by the Sirens. She nearly dies, and afterward Annabeth tells Percy that her fatal flaw is her hubris, or pride, and that every hero has a fatal flaw. They soon reach the island of the Cyclops. The Cyclopes that they incounter is Polyphemus, the same cyclops that Odysseus blinded thousands of years ago. In a similar way, they save Grover and Clarrise (who was the original person assigned the mission), with the help of Tyson. They recover the Fleece and make their way to Florida. Percy sends Clarisse to camp, with the Fleece, on an airplane. Right afterwards, they run into the traitor Luke. With Chiron's help, who is revealed as innocent, they get back to Camp Half Blood. But when the Golden Fleece heals the tree, it is not only purged of the poison, but Thalia is released from its grasp.
[edit] The Titan's Curse
When the goddess of the hunt, Artemis and Annabeth go missing, it's up to Percy and his friends to find out what happened. Percy is anxious to find Annabeth before she is harmed. Who is powerful enough to kidnap a goddess? They must find Artemis before the winter solstice, when her influence on the Olympian Council could swing an important vote on the war with the Titans. On the journey, they go with Thalia (daughter of Zeus), Zoe Nightshade (lieutenant of Artemis), Bianca Di Angelo (Hunter of Artemis), and Grover Underwood (satyr). But first, Percy must solve the mystery of a rare monster that Artemis was hunting when she disappeared -- a monster rumored to be so powerful it could destroy Olympus forever.
[edit] The Battle of the Labyrinth
The Battle of the Labyrinth is the penultimate book of 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 Knossos in Crete that, according to Greek mythology, was designed by Daedalus. With Luke's army drawing nearer and nearer, Camp Half-Blood must defend themselves... and the only solution is the Labyrinth. 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 has to try to find Daedalus so Luke cannot get Ariadne's string- 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.
[edit] The Last Olympian
The Last Olympian is the fifth and final book in the Percy Jackson series. It was released on May 5, 2009.[2]
In this book, 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.[3] The prophecy surrounding the 16th birthday of Percy Jackson, the protagonist of the series, is revealed.[3]
[edit] Film
Chris Columbus has signed to direct and produce Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief for 20th Century Fox through 1492 Pictures.[4][5] The movie is set for release in Belgium, America, and The Netherlands for 2010-02-10, Australia on 2010-04-01, and Finland on 2010-06-02.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ "Children's Books". New York Times. March 20, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/books/bestseller/bestchildren.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-05.
- ^ "The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 5)". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1423101472/. Retrieved on 2009-05-08.
- ^ a b "The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series #5)". Barnes & Noble. Barnesandnoble.com llc. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Last-Olympian/Rick-Riordan/e/9781423101475. Retrieved on 2009-02-07.
- ^ Claude Brodesser (2004-06-23). "'Lightning Thief' strikes Maverick". Variety. http://www.themovieinsider.com/m2153/percy-jackson-and-the-lightning-thief/. Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
- ^ Peter Gilstrap (2007-04-17). "Columbus struck by 'Lightning'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117963285.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
- ^ "IMDb Release Dates" (in English). IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814255/releaseinfo. Retrieved on 2009-05-15.
[edit] 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
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