10 Best Percy Jackson Books in Order and Things To Know About Them

Everyone you know who was into reading novels as a young teenager loved the Percy Jackson books. It is one of the most popular fantasy novels ever published, no surprise that it has been translated to several languages and sold around 200 million copies across the world. Written by American author Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson books have also been adapted into box-office hit movies. But like every avid reader will say, the books are always better than the movies. Below are ten Percy Jackson books we consider to be the best.

Best Percy Jackson Books in Order of Publication

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series

1. The Lightning Thief (2005)

  • Customer Ratings: 19,299
  • Ratings: Goodreads 4.3/5, Audible 4.6/5
  • Publication date: June 28, 2005.
  • Publisher: Miramax Books/Hyperion
  • Language: English
  • Print Lenght: 384 pages

The Lightning Thief is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The story starts with Percy Jackson and his mother running away from his cruel stepfather. Percy would end up losing his mother and find a home at Camp Half-Blood where he discovers he is a demigod. Percy is later accused by Zeus of stealing his Master Bolt (Lightning Bolt) and so he would have to clear his name.

2. The Sea of Monsters (2006)

  • Customer Ratings: 10,250
  • Ratings: Goodreads 4.2/5, Audible 4.7/5
  • Publication date: May 2, 2009.
  • Publisher: Disney Hyperion and Puffin Books
  • Language: English
  • Print Lenght: 290 pages

This is the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Percy was saddled with the responsibility of retrieving the golden fleece to save the Thalia tree that served as a border between monsters and the Camp Half-Blood. On his journey, Percy fought many battles and discovered hidden secrets about his family and origin.

3. The Titan’s Curse (2008)

  • Customer Ratings: 9,899
  • Ratings: Goodreads 4.3, Audible 4.8
  • Publication date: April 8, 2008.
  • Publisher: Disney Hyperion and Puffin Books
  • Language: English
  • Print Lenght: 352 pages

The Titan’s Curse is the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The story in the Quill Award-nominated book centers on how the demigod and his demigod allies embarked on a mission to rescue a goddess and a friend who was kidnapped by the Titans.

4. The Demigod Files (2009)

  • Customer Ratings: 2,334
  • Ratings: Goodreads 4.2, Audible 4.6
  • Publication date: February 10, 2009
  • Publisher: Disney Hyperion; 1st edition
  • Language: English
  • Print Lenght: 160 pages

This Percy Jackson book compries of three short stories:

  • Percy Jackson And The Stolen Chariot

This is the first short story in The Demigod Files. It is about the collaborative effort of Percy Jackson and Clarisse La Rue in retrieving the stolen chariots from her brothers. Phobos and Deimos, the gods of terror and fear, stole the Ares war chariot, which their sister guarded. Percy Jackson and Clarisse La Rue defeated the two demigods and returned the chariots to Ares Temple in the Intrepid.

  • Percy Jackson And The Bronze Dragon

This is the second short story in The Demigod Files that portrays a coincidental event between Percy Jackson and his friends who went camping. The four friends were out playing a game when one got dragged into an anthill in a bid to get a bronze dragon head that he found there. This left the other three in a puzzle on how to fix the dragon head on the body and get their friend out. Fortunately, it was successful but turned sour when the dragon, in turn, chases them. One of them gets on the back of the dragon and disconnects the head once again from the body, saving their lives.

  • Percy Jackson And The Sword of Hades

This is the third short story in The Demigod Files written because of The World Book Day in 2009. The story is all about retrieving the god Hades’ new sword stolen by a spy who is a demigod. The illegally forged new sword was a gift and a threat to the underworld. The demigods must bring this to the notice of the three gods before it is retrieved because of the harm it might cause. The children of the gods set out to find the thief and fight demons on their way. They recovered the sword unknown to them that the power of the gods had been equalized.

5. The Battle Of The Labyrinth (2009)

  • Customer Ratings: 9,483
  • Ratings: Goodreads 4.4, Audible 4.7
  • Publication date: April 7, 2009.
  • Publisher: Disney Hyperion and Puffin Books
  • Language: English
  • Print Lenght: 400 pages

The fourth book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is about a 15-year-old Percy Jackson and his demigod friends who had to stop an attack on Camp Half-Blood by Luck Castellan. They were able to achieve this with the use of a Labyrinth created by Daedalus (an ancient Greek craftsman and artist).

6. The Last Olympian (2011)

  • Customer Ratings: 10,401
  • Ratings: Goodreads 4.4, Audible 4.8
  • Publication date: January 25, 2011
  • Publisher: Disney Hyperion; Reprint edition
  • Language: English
  • Print Lenght: 432 pages

The Last Olympian is the fifth book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Described as exciting, entertaining, clever, and enjoyable by The New York Times, the book is centered on Percy Jackson and his army of demigods who embark on a mission to protect Mount Olympus following its attack by the Lord of Times, Kronos. After defeating Kronos and his army, Percy set his friend Luke whose body was possessed by Kronos, free. At the end, Percy marries the love of his life Annabeth.

The Heroes of Olympus Series

7. The Lost Hero (2012)

  • Customer Ratings: 8,212
  • Ratings: Goodreads 4.3/5, Audible 4.7/5
  • Publication date: April 3, 2012
  • Publisher: Disney-Hyperion; Reprint edition
  • Language: English
  • Print Lenght: 592 pages

A favorite for many readers, The Lost Hero is the first book in The Hero of Olympus series. The story centers on Percy Jackson’s demigod friends – Jason, who suffers from a memory loss, and Annabeth. Together with Percy, the demigods were carted away by a storm in their school. This was after some mysterious creatures launched an attack on the school. The storm took Percy and the demigods to Camp Half-Blood, where they met other mysterious creatures and humans, leaving those in their school to search for them.

8. The Son of Neptune (2013)

  • Customer Ratings: 8,539
  • Ratings: Goodreads 4.6/5, Audible 4.8/5
  • Publication date: July 2, 2013
  • Publisher: Disney-Hyperion; Reprint edition
  • Language: English
  • Print Lenght: 560 pages

The Son of Neptune is the second book in the Heroes of Olympus series. In this book, Percy Jackson teams up with three new demigod friends from Rome after he lost his memory. The group set out to save Thanatos from earth goddess Gaea and faced many obstacles on their way. Eventually successful, Percy regained his memory and returned to Camp Jupiter where he had to fight another army of monsters.

9. The Mark of Athena (2014)

  • Customer Ratings: 10,947
  • Ratings: Goodreads 4.4/5, Audible 4.8/5
  • Publication date: April 8, 2014
  • Publisher: Disney-Hyperion; Reprint edition
  • Language: English
  • Print Lenght: 672 page

The Mark of Athena is the third book in the Heroes Of Olympus series. The story follows the quest by some demigods to stop the goddess Gaea from awakening. To achieve this, they had to find the Athena Parthenos that was stolen from Greece by the Romans. Many battles were fought during this quest and some demigods were captured. In the end, however, the demigods took the Athena Parthenos back to Greece. All captured demigods were saved, except for Percy and Annabeth.

10. Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo (2019)

  • Customer Ratings: 554
  • Ratings: Goodreads 4.1/5, Audible 4.5/5
  • Publication date: February 28, 2019
  • Publisher: Puffin
  • Language: English
  • Print Lenght: 112 pages

This is one of the best Percy Jackson books and short stories written by the author for World Book Day 2019. It is a short story centered on what happened on Grover’s birthday, a friend of Percy Jackson who is a satyr. Apollo, a god and a friend of Percy, was to perform with the Chryseaa celedones (3 golden beings with great voices) in a music concert at Mount Olympus but found out that one was missing. He sent Percy and Grover to help him find her as he rehearses with the rest. They found and returned her to Apollo after she gave them much trouble. The two friends later celebrated their birthday, which their adventure almost ruined.

The Books Listing Is According To Their Publication Date and Series

The arrangement of the best Percy Jackson books in this context was considered according to their publication date and the series in which it was written. Going through his publications, it is observed that Rick Riordan publishes on an annual basis and sometimes publishes twice within the same year. We recommend you read the books according to the publication date and series to get a better understanding.

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