Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

Rick Riordan

Aug 2014 · Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book 3 · Sold by Disney Electronic Content

About this ebook

"A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don't need the Olympians mad at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week." So begins Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic--and sarcastic asides--to the classics. He explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who's who of ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back. "If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that." Dramatic full-color illustrations throughout by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco make this volume--a must for home, library, and classroom shelves--as stunning as it is entertaining.

Ratings and reviews

I have conflicting feelings about the book. It's full of humor and satire which has always been a strength in this series. And I recognize that the book is written mainly for a young, preteen audience, however it bothered me that in the beginning Percy wouldn't call out the actions of the male gods as rape. I did notice that as the book progresses, Percy becomes more willing to say that their actions occurred against the wishes of their victims but even then I only saw the word "rape" once. My point is, I don't think that Riordan should have shied away from making it clear that most of the time when the male gods slept with a female (whether goddess, nymph, or human) he was raping her. I feel like if he didn't want to touch upon that then it would have been better not to write the book at all as opposed to jumping around the subject. I understand that he has to be aware that most young readers aren't ready (or at least their parents believe they aren't) to understand the horror of rape but I also believe that one of the best ways to fight rape culture is to indoctrinate the youth ASAP about what it is and how to provide both support and justice to the survivors.

A quirky and descriptive story of the ancient Greek gods. It's told in a modern tongue-in-cheek manner that helps the reader to relate to and humanize the pagan deities. I loved the popular musical references.

I love how he makes all the twisted relationships and unconventional stories so funny. The moment I saw it I had to have it. Anyone who likes anything by Rick Riordan will absolutely love this book

About the author

Author Info:

Rick Riordan, dubbed “storyteller of the gods” by Publishers Weekly, is the author of five #1 New York Times best-selling middle grade series with millions of copies sold throughout the world: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and the Trials of Apollo, based on Greek and Roman mythology; the Kane Chronicles, based on Ancient Egyptian mythology; and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, based on Norse mythology. Rick collaborated with illustrator John Rocco on two #1 New York Times best-selling collections of Greek myths for the whole family: Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods and Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes. Rick is also the publisher of an imprint at Disney-Hyperion, Rick Riordan Presents, dedicated to finding other authors of highly entertaining fiction based on world cultures and mythologies. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @camphalfblood.

Illustrator Info:

div style="border-width: 1pt medium medium; border-style: solid none none; border-color: windowtext currentColor currentColor; padding: 1pt 0in 0in; mso-element: para-border-div; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt;"John Rocco (www.roccoart.com) studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design and the School of Visual Arts. In addition to writing and illustrating several of his own picture books, including Blizzard and the Caldecott Honor-winning and New York Times best-selling Blackout, he has created all of the cover art for Rick Riordan's best-selling Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, Heroes of Olympus, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and Trials of Apollo series. He collaborated with Rick on two #1 New York Times best-selling collections of Greek myths for the whole family: Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods and Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes, as well as The Lightning Thief Illustrated Edition.