Percy Jackson: Rick Riordan's Complete Reading Order

Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson universe has expanded across five interconnected series covering Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, and Native American mythology. The Riordanverse is one of middle grade and YA fiction’s most substantial shared universes — here’s the complete reading order.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Start Here)

1. The Lightning Thief (2005)

2. The Sea of Monsters (2006)

3. The Titan’s Curse (2007)

4. The Battle of the Labyrinth (2008)

5. The Last Olympian (2009)

The complete Percy Jackson reading order is on the series page. Read this series first — it establishes the world, Camp Half-Blood, and Percy’s character. The Lightning Thief is one of the great middle grade debuts: funny, fast, and genuinely exciting.

The Heroes of Olympus (Read Second)

1. The Lost Hero (2010)

2. The Son of Neptune (2011)
3. The Mark of Athena (2012)
4. The House of Hades (2013)
5. The Blood of Olympus (2014)

The Heroes of Olympus reading order is on the series page. This series introduces Camp Jupiter and Roman mythology alongside Camp Half-Blood. Percy is present but the ensemble expands significantly.

The Trials of Apollo (Read Third)

1. The Hidden Oracle (2016)

2. The Dark Prophecy (2017)
3. The Burning Maze (2018)
4. The Tyrant’s Tomb (2019)
5. The Tower of Nero (2020)

Apollo is turned mortal by Zeus as punishment and has to complete trials to regain his godhood. Funnier than the Percy series; the Apollo voice is distinctive and often hilarious.

The Kane Chronicles (Egyptian Mythology — Parallel Universe)

1. The Red Pyramid (2010)

2. The Throne of Fire (2011)
3. The Serpent’s Shadow (2012)

Set in the same world but following Carter and Sadie Kane and Egyptian mythology. The universes cross over in short stories (The Son of Sobek, The Staff of Serapis, The Crown of Ptolemy).

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Norse Mythology)

1. The Sword of Summer (2015)

2. The Hammer of Thor (2016)
3. The Ship of the Dead (2017)

Magnus Chase is Annabeth’s cousin — there are connections to Camp Half-Blood. Norse mythology, Valhalla, and considerably darker stakes than the Greek series.

The Disney+ Adaptation

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Disney+, 2023–) stars Walker Scobell as Percy. Riordan was closely involved as a producer, making it a more faithful adaptation than the much-criticised 2010 film. The show has been well-received and is developing further seasons.

The 2010 and 2013 Percy Jackson films (with Logan Lerman) departed significantly from the source novels. Riordan was publicly critical of them. The Disney+ series represents his preferred adaptation of the material.

Reading Order Summary

For newcomers: Start with The Lightning Thief and read the original five-book series. Then decide if you want more — Heroes of Olympus is the most natural continuation.

For children: The original Percy Jackson series works for ages 9-12. It gets progressively darker and more complex through Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo.

For adults reading alongside children: The books are enjoyable for adults. The mythology is genuinely educational and Riordan’s humour operates on multiple levels.

Complete Riordanverse order: Percy Jackson → Heroes of Olympus → Kane Chronicles (can be read in parallel from Book 1) → Magnus Chase → Trials of Apollo