Those who loved reading Percy Jackson & The Olympians years ago recently got good news from author Rick Riordan. Not only is the long-awaited Disney+ series about to be upon us, but now fans will have a whole new book to enjoy — The Chalice of the Gods. Riordan wrote the following on his website:
“Back in 2019, when we were beginning to explore the idea of a new Percy Jackson adaption, I pitched an idea to Disney that I hoped might convince them to move things along. If they’d help me get a live-action series off the ground, I would be willing to write a new Percy Jackson novel, or even several, which Disney Publishing could release when the show came out.”
Riordan continued to flesh out Percy’s world in multiple book series, incorporating Egyptian, Roman, and Norse mythology into this universe. However, he’d never written a first-person, full-length Percy novel since The Last Olympian in 2009 and hasn’t had one centering on the classic trio of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover since The Lightning Thief in 2009. Perhaps unsurprisingly, fans have been demanding a “Percy Jackson 6” with those things in it.
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“For years, I resisted doing this because I was having too much fun writing from other points of view, expanding Percy’s world through other characters. Over a decade later, however, I figured such a book would not only be fun to write once again — it would promote the show and vice versa. Everybody would win!”
As it turned out, 20th Television was able to secure approvals for the show without any extra incentive. While that might have been great, Riordan was still left with several ideas for adventures that he had sketched out. So he let those simmer until his friends at Disney Publishing called and asked if he had anything that would take advantage of the renewed Percy Jackson interest when the TV show came out.
“We talked about all manner of things, but I didn’t want to publish something just to publish something. I wanted it to be a book you all might actually love, a kind of ‘thank you’ for sticking with me all these years as you waited for a better PJO adaptation. And so I said, “You know what, I happen to have an outline for a new Percy book. It’s called The Chalice of the Gods.”
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What the Chalice of the Gods Will Be About
Set between the end of The Heroes of Olympus and the start of The Trials of Apollo, it will unfold during Percy’s senior year at Alternative High School in New York. Instead of worrying about saving the world, Percy worries about getting into college. New Rome University requires recommendation letters from three gods, which means having to go on more quests.
“First quest: the cupbearer of the gods, Ganymede, is missing his chalice. Not only is this embarrassing. It’s also a potential disaster, since any mortal who happens to drink from the cup will gain immortality. Percy, Annabeth and Grover have to find that chalice and return it to Ganymede before anyone realizes he lost it. These gods . . . they really need GPS tags on their magic items, don’t they?”
In his blog post, Riordan also took the time to answer several questions that most people would probably have. For instance, what about those other Percy Jackson outlines he mentioned? Right now, he’s trying to stick to one book at a time. Is the genre going to be more YA than middle grade since the main character is now older?
“Nope. Middle grade sensibility is where I live, friends. Yes, Percy is older, and so his situation is not the same as when he was twelve. He sounds a bit older in this book. He is thinking about his life in college and beyond. But the tone is still the same, and the content is no more risqué than in the original series. I want the books to continue being suitable for middle grade readers, though readers of all ages are welcome!”
Riordan also wrote that he’s about 90% to 95% sure he will not kill anyone in this new book. Though rest assured, since Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all appear alive in the Trials of Apollo, they at least be fine here. Also, even though the book will focus on “the O.G. crew,” you might still get hints about your favorite character besides them. Riordan also wrote about whether there would be a tour for this book.
“We haven’t nailed down any details, but probably, yes. As I said, the book is meant to be a ‘thank you’ to fans and a celebration of the TV series, so we are timing Chalice to come out shortly before the series airs. (But again, exactly when the series airs has not been determined yet. Stay tuned for that.) When I know more details, I will post them here on my blog!”
You can view the original article HERE.
