Percy Jackson Books in Order: All 30+ Books by Rick Riordan

Looking for the Percy Jackson books in order? This guide breaks down the full Percy Jackson and Riordanverse reading order, including the main novels, connected series, and optional companion books. Once you get beyond the original five books, the reading path gets a lot less obvious, especially when The Heroes of Olympus, The Trials of Apollo, and the side stories start overlapping.

Below, you’ll find three easy ways to read the Percy Jackson books in order: publication order, chronological order, and by series. That gives you a clear place to start whether you want the full Riordanverse experience or just Percy’s main story. For most readers, the best path is simple: start with Percy Jackson and the Olympians, continue with The Heroes of Olympus, and then move into The Trials of Apollo, with the companion books mixed in where they make the most sense.

Want the quick version? Download my free Percy Jackson reading order checklist.

Jump to:

• Percy Jackson Books in Publication Order
• Percy Jackson Books by Series (Recommended)
• Percy Jackson Books in Chronological Order
• Percy Jackson Adaptations
• About Percy Jackson
• Percy Jackson Books FAQ

Percy Jackson Books in Publication Order

The simplest way to read the Percy Jackson books in order is by publication date. Even when Percy isn’t the focus, the books share the same world, and characters and references often carry across series.

The tradeoff is that this order can feel jumpy, since Rick Riordan’s books rotate between different series and casts. If you’d rather keep each saga together, keep reading for “by series” order below.

Main Riordanverse Books

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)
6. The Demigod Files (2009) (Short Story Collection)
7. The Red Pyramid (2010)
8. The Lost Hero (2010)
9. The Throne of Fire (2011)
10. The Son of Neptune (2011)
11. The Serpent’s Shadow (2012)
12. The Demigod Diaries (2012) (Short Story Collection)
13. The Mark of Athena (2012)
14. The Son of Sobek (2013) (Short Story)
15. The Singer of Apollo (2013) (Short Story)
16. The House of Hades (2013)
17. The Staff of Serapis (2014)
18. The Blood of Olympus (2014)
19. The Crown of Ptolemy (2015) (Short Story)
20. The Sword of Summer (2015)
21. The Hidden Oracle (2016)
22. The Hammer of Thor (2016)
23. The Dark Prophecy (2017)
24. The Ship of the Dead (2017)
25. The Burning Maze (2018)
26. 9 From the Nine Worlds (2018) (Short Story Collection)
27. The Tyrant’s Tomb (2019)
28. The Tower of Nero (2020)
29. The Sun and the Star (w/ Mark Oshiro) (2023)
30. The Chalice of the Gods (2023)
31. Wrath of the Triple Goddess (2024)
32. The Court of the Dead (w/ Mark Oshiro) (2025)

Companion Books (Optional)

1. Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods (2014)
2. Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes (2015)
3. Hotel Valhalla: Guide to the Norse Worlds (2016)
4. The Trials of Apollo: Camp Jupiter Classified: A Probatio’s Journal (2020)

Percy Jackson Books by Series (Recommended)

For most readers, this is the best way to read the Percy Jackson books in order. It keeps each series together from start to finish, so you can follow Percy’s world as it expands without jumping back and forth between different casts, timelines, and mythologies.

It’s also the easiest option for first-time readers. Rather than mixing everything together by release date, this order lets you finish each major saga in a way that feels cleaner, more immersive, and less likely to spoil later storylines too early.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

1. The Lightning Thief
2. The Sea of Monsters
3. The Titan’s Curse
4. The Battle of the Labyrinth
5. The Last Olympian

Optional Extras

• The Demigod Files (Short Story Collection)
• The Singer of Apollo (Short Story)

The Heroes of Olympus

1. The Lost Hero
2. The Son of Neptune
3. The Mark of Athena
4. The House of Hades
5. The Blood of Olympus

Optional Extras

• The Demigod Diaries (Short Story Collection)

Percy Jackson: Senior Year Adventures

1. The Chalice of the Gods
2. Wrath of the Triple Goddess

The Kane Chronicles

1. The Red Pyramid
2. The Throne of Fire
3. The Serpent’s Shadow

Demigods and Magicians

1. The Son of Sobek (Short Story)
2. The Staff of Serapis (Short Story)
3. The Crown of Ptolemy (Short Story)

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

1. The Sword of Summer
2. The Hammer of Thor
3. The Ship of the Dead

Optional Extras

1. 9 From the Nine Worlds (Short Story Collection)

The Trials of Apollo

1. The Hidden Oracle
2. The Dark Prophecy
3. The Burning Maze
4. The Tyrant’s Tomb
5. The Tower of Nero

Nico di Angelo Adventures

1. The Sun and the Star (w/ Mark Oshiro)
2. The Court of the Dead (w/ Mark Oshiro)

Companion Books (Optional)

1. Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods
2. Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes
3. Hotel Valhalla: Guide to the Norse Worlds
4. The Trials of Apollo: Camp Jupiter Classified: A Probatio’s Journal

Percy Jackson Books in Chronological Order

The third way to read the Percy Jackson books in order is by the in-universe chronological timeline. I wouldn’t recommend this as your first read-through, because the short stories and crossover pieces can interrupt the momentum, and a few entries are difficult to place cleanly on a single timeline.

That’s not a flaw—it’s just a reality of how Rick Riordan’s books were published across multiple series over many years, with events that overlap. But if you’ve already read the main sagas, this is a fun “revisit” that shows how everything lines up behind the scenes.

Percy Jackson: Core timeline

1. Diary of Luke Castellan (Short Story)
2. The Lightning Thief – PJO #1
3. The Sea of Monsters – PJO #2
4. The Titan’s Curse – PJO #3
5. Percy Jackson and the Stolen Chariot (Short Story)
6. The Battle of the Labyrinth – PJO #4
7. Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades (Short Story)
8. Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon (Short Story)
9. The Last Olympian – PJO #5
10. Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo (Short Story)
11. The Staff of Hermes (Short Story)

Heroes/Kane era

12. The Lost Hero – HOO #1
13. Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford (Short Story)
14. Son of Magic (Short Story)
15. The Red Pyramid – KC #1
16. The Throne of Fire – KC #2
17. The Son of Neptune – HOO #2
18. The Mark of Athena – HOO #3
19. The House of Hades – HOO #4
20. The Blood of Olympus – HOO #5
21. The Serpent’s Shadow – KC #3

Crossover + Senior Year

22. The Son of Sobek (Short Story)
23. The Staff of Serapis (Short Story)
24. The Crown of Ptolemy (Short Story)
25. The Chalice of the Gods – PJO #6
26. Wrath of the Triple Goddess – PJO #7

Magnus/Trials overlap era

27. The Sword of Summer – MCGA #1 (Overlaps with The Hidden Oracle)
28. The Hidden Oracle – ToA #1 (Overlaps with The Sword of Summer)
29. The Dark Prophecy – ToA #2 (Overlaps with The Hammer of Thor)
30. The Hammer of Thor – MCGA #2 (Overlaps with The Dark Prophecy)
31. The Burning Maze – ToA #3
32. The Tyrant’s Tomb – ToA #4
33. The Ship of the Dead – MCGA #3 (Overlaps with The Tower of Nero)
34. 9 from the Nine Worlds (Short Story Collection)
35. The Tower of Nero – ToA #5 (Overlaps with The Ship of the Dead)

Nico books

36. The Sun and the Star – NdAA #1
37. The Court of the Dead – NdAA #2

Percy Jackson Books in Order Checklist

Want the quick, printable version?

You can grab my free Percy Jackson reading order checklist (PDF) and check off each book as you read. It’s the same list from this guide—just condensed into an easy tracker.

Percy Jackson Adaptations

The Percy Jackson books have been adapted twice for the screen, and the two versions are very different. The 2010 and 2013 movies were loose takes on the story and left out or changed a lot of what readers liked about the books. Riordan has said his involvement was limited, which helps explain why those films feel so far removed from the source material.

The newer adaptation is the Disney+ series, which was developed to follow the books much more closely. Riordan was involved creatively from the start, and that shows in the tone, character ages, and overall story structure. Season 1 premiered in December 2023, and Season 2 followed in December 2025, continuing the one-book-per-season approach.

Coming from the show? Start with the books. The reading orders above will make the larger story much easier to follow, especially once the world expands beyond the original series.

About Percy Jackson

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a middle grade fantasy series that brings Greek mythology into the modern world. It follows Percy Jackson, a boy who discovers he’s a demigod and gets pulled into a hidden world of monsters, prophecies, and gods.

That original five-book series is where every reader should start, but it isn’t the end of the story. Riordan expands the same world through The Heroes of Olympus, The Trials of Apollo, and other connected series, which is why the full Percy Jackson reading order gets bigger than just Percy’s first adventure.

Percy Jackson Books FAQ

Do I need to read the Percy Jackson books in publication order?

You don’t have to, but it’s the safest default if you want the world to expand the way readers originally experienced it. Publication order also prevents you from accidentally jumping into later-era callbacks before you’ve met the characters (or seen the big turning points).

Do I need to read the companion books and handbooks to understand the main story?

No. The main plot is in the novels/series themselves. Companion-style books (guides, mythology retellings, behind-the-scenes extras) are best treated as optional bonus reads once you’re already comfortable in the world.

Do I have to read the short stories in exact order?

Not for a first read. Most short stories are “nice to have” character moments or small bridges between bigger arcs, but they’re rarely required to follow the core narrative. If you want the cleanest experience, read the main series first, then come back to the shorts.

Do Rick Riordan Presents books belong in the Riordanverse reading order?

No. They’re recommended by Riordan and published under that imprint, but they aren’t part of the Percy Jackson/Riordanverse canon and don’t slot into the same continuity.

Is the Riordanverse one continuous story, or can I stop after Percy Jackson and the Olympians?

You can absolutely stop there and feel like you’ve finished a complete saga. The universe does continue in later sequel series (especially The Heroes of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo), but those are “continue if you want more,” not “required to understand what you already read.”

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more fantasy authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Fantasy Books in Order index.

• Books in Order (Full Index)
• Harry Potter Books in Order
• Chronicles of Narnia Books in Order
• Artemis Fowl Books in Order