Every Percy Jackson And The Olympians Book, Ranked By Readers

The year is 2005. A 12-year-old kid finds out that many of his closest friends and authority figures are secretly characters from Greek mythology, and that he himself is a demigod whose father is none other than Poseidon. Thus begin the adventures of Percy Jackson, who has to figure out a way to balance his ordinary life with the mythological monsters and deities who constantly seek him out — sometimes to hunt him, other times to recruit him for one quest or another. 

Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" novels combine classic fantasy adventure with a hefty dose of mythology — and inclusivity, as evidenced by the protagonist's dyslexia and ADHD. The end result is a tasty literary stew that has captivated readers to the tune of six novels and over 190 million copies all over the world. It's a big series, and while fans have enjoyed all six books, they like some more than others. Let's find out how the readers rank the six books so far in the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. 

The second work of art is often the hardest to make. In literary circles, the phenomenon of the difficult sophomore effort has been called "the second novel syndrome," and it can be so overwhelming that many people simply call it quits after the first book. With that in mind, it may not be all that surprising that the second "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" book, "The Sea of Monsters," lands dead last in the comparison among the six novels in the series. 

That's not to say most readers think the book is bad, though. On the contrary, it has a very solid Goodreads rating of 4.21 stars out of 5. As such, Percy's quest to save Camp Half-Blood by finding the Golden Fleece is a quality story in its own right — it just falls a little bit short of the other installments in the series.

Of course, the place of "The Sea of Monsters" on this list may also have something to do with its film adaptation. Released in 2010, "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief" got a lukewarm reception from both critics and audiences, and 2013's "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" didn't do any better, effectively tanking the nascent movie franchise. Because of this, the movie version of "The Lightning Thief" is closely associated to the reason we never got a third "Percy Jackson" movie, which may potentially hurt the novel's standing in the fans' eyes, through no fault of the book itself.

Yes, the book that started it all is somehow ranked this low. Don't take this to mean that it's bad, mind you. In fact, just like its successor, "The Lightning Thief" is well-liked among readers, as evidenced by its very respectable Goodreads rating of 4.31 out of 5. 

"The Lightning Thief" enthralls readers with a premise where a 12-year-old boy turns out to be a demigod of the Greek pantheon and has to find the person who stole Zeus' lightning in order to clear his own name. It combines a "Harry Potter"-style fantasy story with well-known Greek mythological elements and uses these building blocks to tell an interesting and exciting story. In other words, it's a worthy starting point for a fantasy series.  

In the grand scheme of things, "The Lightning Thief"'s rating may suffer from the simple fact that just like "The Sea of Monsters," it's associated with a lackluster movie adaptation. As the first book in the series, it also has to set up the entire "Percy Jackson" timeline and universe. While origin stories have their own charm, this also means "The Lightning Thief" has to go through certain formulaic story beats that later novels aren't beholden to. 

Recency bias certainly isn't an issue for "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" fans, seeing as "The Chalice of the Gods" is ranked only fourth on this list. The sixth entry in the series dropped in September 2023 and may not have had the time to cement its place in the fandom's minds quite yet, as evidenced by it only having a fraction of the number of the older books' Goodreads reviews. Still, the people who have read the story of Percy trying to enjoy a normal high school senior year — before a mission to find Ganymede's chalice pulls him right back into the demigod business — have thoroughly enjoyed it, judging by the book's rating of 4.34 out of 5.

"The Chalice of the Gods" is the first "Olympians" book that ventures beyond the original story cycle, and also the first since "The Lightning Thief" to fully focus on the trio of Percy, fellow demigod Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood the satyr. Apart from the comparisons to the first novel this invites, "The Chalice of the Gods" also faces the daunting task of following the climactic fifth book in the series, "The Last Olympian." Fortunately, the sixth book does a good enough job to surpass "The Lightning Thief" and "The Sea of Monsters" in readers' eyes, and the context of future "Percy Jackson" stories might very well further increase its standing within the series.

It really is a pity that we never got that third "Percy Jackson" movie, because "The Titan's Curse" is where the going gets very, very good. The book is arguably the purest example of globe-trotting-quest excitement the series has to offer, with Percy and his allies visiting places like the Smithsonian and the Hoover Dam, receiving help from some mythical creatures and fighting many others while attempting to save Annabeth Chase and the goddess Artemis from the villainous Titans. From the fearsome Dr. Thorn to the Hunters of Artemis and the di Angelo siblings, the story is packed with interesting characters from the beginning, and the scenes with entities like the Nemean Lion, the Erymanthian Boar, and the gigantic automaton Talos basically beg to be filmed. 

Whether this happens in the foreseeable future is anyone's guess, though. Even if Hollywood chose to take a chance on another series of "Percy Jackson" movies, it'd still have to adapt the first two books before "The Titan's Curse." Likewise, the ending of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" Season 1 doesn't set up too many elements that explicitly tie to "The Titan's Curse," and Season 2 will likely focus entirely on "The Sea of Monsters." Hopefully, the Disney+ series will make it to Season 3 and adapt "The Titan's Curse" — but even if it doesn't, the fans can at least enjoy the book, which stands at 4.37 stars out of 5 on Goodreads.

"The Battle of the Labyrinth" is the fourth book in the series, and it revolves almost entirely around the titular gigantic maze. The labyrinth of Minos is one of the best-known Greek legends and, as such, makes for a particularly juicy set piece for a "Percy Jackson" novel. While the series already plays the Minotaur card in "The Lightning Thief," this vast labyrinth still hides many secrets and dangers. The story also features certain exciting developments to set up the next novel's endgame. 

Readers have agreed that the labyrinth is an excellent place for Percy's adventures, which earns the book a very nice Goodreads rating of 4.42 out of 5. This is enough to make "The Battle of the Labyrinth" the fandom's second-favorite "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" book. As luck would have it, the massive showdown its ending teases doesn't disappoint either, since the only "Percy Jackson" book that surpasses this one is the immediate follow-up. 

Never let it be said that Rick Riordan doesn't know how to end a series on a high note. Published in 2009, "The Last Olympian" is the fifth and originally final "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" book, and judging by its Goodreads score of 4.55 out of 5, it's an easy favorite among the readers. The climactic battle between Percy's allies and Kronos' forces over the fate of Mount Olympus has by far the highest stakes in the series. It's full of prophecies, massive battles, tragic twists, a dramatic development in the relationship between Percy and Annabeth Chase, and everything fans of the series have come to expect — all turned up to 11.  

"There's just something different about The Last Olympian," Redditor u/baiqibeendeleted17x wrote about the book. "It was so good that it's almost difficult to put into words just how good it was, but that book was just magical. The entire series culminating in a gigantic badass battle for the fate of Olympus with heroism, heartbreaking sacrifice, and Percabeth getting together; it was perfect."

With a seventh book, "Wrath of the Triple Goddess," on its way in September 2024, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" is not done yet, and there's no telling how the fandom's preferences among the books will develop over time. However, as it stands, there's no question that "The Last Olympian" is the one to beat.