The Demigod Files

Last updated
The Demigod Files
The Demigod Files.jpg
First edition cover
Author Rick Riordan
Series Percy Jackson & the Olympians (companion)
Genre Young adult, Fantasy, Short story collection, Greek mythology [1]
Publisher Disney Hyperion [2]
Publication date
February 10, 2009 [2]
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover) [2]
Pages160 [3] + 8 plates illus.
ISBN 1-4231-2166-X [2]

The Demigod Files is a collection of short stories by Rick Riordan published on February 10, 2009. [4] It is a supplementary book to series Percy Jackson & the Olympians . It mainly contains three short stories, titled "Percy Jackson and the Stolen Chariot", "Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon", and "Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades". It is set between the fourth and fifth novels, The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian .

Contents

Additional contents are a letter from the Camp Half-Blood scribe Rick Riordan, question-and-answer style "interviews" with some of the campers, and various activities such as a crossword puzzle, [5] and a preview of The Last Olympian.

Antonio Caparo created the character designs. [6]

Stories

Percy Jackson and the Stolen Chariot

Percy Jackson saves Clarisse La Rue from feather-shooting birds in his school. After the fight, Clarisse reveals that, as part of a ritual for the children of Ares, she must bring the Ares war chariot back to his temple on the Intrepid, an aircraft carrier that has now become a museum, by sundown or she would be in trouble. However her immortal brothers, Phobos (representing fear) and Deimos (representing terror), the usual drivers and guardians of the chariot, have stolen it from Clarisse out of jealousy.

Percy offers his help, and Clarisse reluctantly accepts it. They meet the two gods at a zoo. They battle the two gods once they discover how to counter the terror or fear. They bring the chariot to Ares' Temple to the Intrepid. The story takes place in between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian .

Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon

Percy Jackson and Charles Beckendorf are on the same team for capture the flag. Beckendorf, a son of Hephaestus, suggests Percy to ask Annabeth, daughter of Athena, to the Fourth of July fireworks, the biggest dating event of the summer at Camp Half-Blood. During the game, he and Beckendorf try to sneak up to the enemy territory to find the flag. Instead, Percy gets caught by Annabeth and Silena Beauregard while Beckondorf finds the dreaded Myrmekes (giant, blood-red ants) carrying a bronze dragon head at the Ant Hill. Beckendorf, who believes this is a blessing from his father Hephaestus, runs up to get it and end up getting captured.

Percy, Annabeth and Silena attempts to rescue Beckendorf. They decide to find and recreate the huge bronze dragon that was once one of Camp Half-Blood's defences. They eventually manage to make the dragon (an automaton) and get it to save Beckendorf. The dragon blasts open the ant nest, but gets attacked and ends up damaged. Percy, Annabeth and Silena find valuables after darting in the anthill. Once back at camp, they learn the games hasn't yet been finished. Annabeth forces the boys to stay in Capture the Flag prison while the girls go finish the game. Before resuming the games, Annabeth asks Percy to the fireworks.

The story takes place in between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian and has narrative connections to The Heroes of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo as the bronze dragon, renamed Festus, goes on to play a crucial role in future stories, as does the anthill encountered in the narrative.

Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades

Rick Riordan wrote this short story for World Book Day 2009. It takes place between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian . It's part of the canon as a whole, as it has narrative connections to The House of Hades and The Sun and the Star where the memory-wiped Bob plays a crucial role in both books. In addition, the paperback version of The House of Hades contains a copy of the short story in the back.

Persephone calls Percy, Thalia and Nico, the children of the Big Three, into the Underworld to retrieve Hades' new sword from a demigod spy who stole it. Persephone gives them a magical flower to track the thief. Percy, Nico and Thalia must retrieve the sword before time runs out.

They track the thief, Ethan Nakamura, with the help of the flower. Issues arise when Ethan revives the Titan Iapetus using a special key in the sword. After a fight with the enemy, Percy flings Iapetus into the River Lethe, a river that erases memories. After being memory-wiped Iapetus is convinced by Percy that his name is Bob and that they are friends. When the three heroes and "Bob" return to Hades and Persephone with the sword, they learn that Persephone commissioned the sword against Hades' orders after seeing Hades in anger and threatening Persephone never to disobey him again.

Camper interviews

The book contains fictional interviews with multiple characters at Camp Half-Blood including Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, the Stoll brothers Connor and Travis, and Clarisse La Rue.

Critical reception

The book received mixed reviews. Publishers Weekly criticized it saying, "Bland illustrations depicting the contents of Annabeth's trunk, a map of Camp Half-Blood and a short 'sneak peek' at the book The Last Olympian pad the contents (barely) to book length; the inclusion of a crossword puzzle and a word search makes the book difficult to share. Not a must-read-but try telling that to rabid fans." [5] School Library Journal reviewer Tim Wadham commended the writing, saying, "Despite the fact that this is more of a marketing package than anything else, the quality of and interest in the three stories likely justifies its purchase." [2] [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Lightning Thief</i> American childrens novel, 2005, first in the Percy Jackson series

The Lightning Thief is a 2005 American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology, the first children's novel by Rick Riordan. The opening installment in the series Percy Jackson & the Olympians, the book was recognized among the year's best for children. Riordan followed the novel with various books and spin-off series, spawning the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles media franchise.

<i>The Titans Curse</i> 2007 book by Rick Riordan

The Titan's Curse is an American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology written by Rick Riordan. It was released on May 1, 2007, and is the third novel in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and the sequel to The Sea of Monsters. It is about the adventures of the 14-year-old demigod Percy Jackson as he and his friends go on a dangerous quest to rescue his 14-year-old demigod friend Annabeth Chase and the Greek goddess Artemis, who have both been kidnapped by the Titan Atlas.

<i>The Sea of Monsters</i> 2006 American novel, second in the Percy Jackson series

The Sea of Monsters is an American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology written by Rick Riordan and published in 2006. It is the second novel in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and the sequel to The Lightning Thief. This book chronicles the adventures of thirteen-year-old demigod Percy Jackson as he and his friends rescue his satyr friend Grover from the Cyclops Polyphemus and save Camp Half-Blood from a Titan's attack by bringing the Golden Fleece to cure Thalia's poisoned pine tree.

Camp Half-Blood Chronicles is a media franchise created by author Rick Riordan, encompassing three five-part novel series, two short-story collections, two myth anthology books, a stand-alone short story, three crossover short stories, an essay collection, multiple guides, seven graphic novels, two films, a video game, a musical, and other media. Set in the modern world, it focuses on groups of demigod teenagers, and features many characters from Greek and Roman mythology. The first series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians, follows the adventures of a boy named Percy Jackson at a summer camp for Greek demigods. The second series, The Heroes of Olympus, introduces several more lead characters and a second camp for Roman demigods named Camp Jupiter. The third series, The Trials of Apollo, follows the now-mortal god Apollo, with appearances by many characters from the first and second series.

<i>The Battle of the Labyrinth</i> 2008 novel by Rick Riordan

The Battle of the Labyrinth is an American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology written by Rick Riordan. It is the fourth novel in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. The novel was first published in the United States on 6 May 2008 by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Publishing Worldwide. It has been published in hardcover, audiobook, ebook, and large-print editions. The Battle of the Labyrinth has been translated into 29 languages from its original English.

<i>The Last Olympian</i> 2009 fantasy novel by Rick Riordan

The Last Olympian is a fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology by Rick Riordan, published on May 5, 2009. It is the fifth novel of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and is the direct sequel to The Battle of the Labyrinth. The Last Olympian revolves around the demigod Percy Jackson as he leads his friends in a last stand to protect Mount Olympus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percy Jackson</span> Fictional character in books by Rick Riordan

Perseus "Percy" Jackson is a fictional character, the title character and narrator of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. He is also one of seven main protagonists of the sequel series The Heroes of Olympus, appearing in every book except The Lost Hero, and appears in the Trials of Apollo series, making him one of the few characters to appear in all three series of the Camp Half-Blood chronicles. He has also been a narrator and protagonist in Riordan's Greco-Roman/Egyptian crossover stories, part of the Demigods and Magicians collection. The character serves as the narrator in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods and Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, also by Rick Riordan.

<i>Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief</i> 2010 film by Chris Columbus

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is a 2010 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and written by Craig Titley, based on the 2005 novel The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. The film is the first installment in the Percy Jackson film series. It stars Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson alongside an ensemble cast that includes Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Joe Pantoliano, and Uma Thurman.

<i>The Heroes of Olympus</i> Fantasy adventure series by Riordan about the Percy Jackson universe

The Heroes of Olympus is a pentalogy of fantasy-adventure novels written by American author Rick Riordan. The novels detail a conflict between Greek demigods, Roman demigods, and Gaea. In the fourth book of the series, there is also a fight against Tartarus, which, in Greek mythology, was the darkest and deepest point of the Underworld.

<i>The Mark of Athena</i> 2012 American novel by Rick Riordan

The Mark of Athena is an American fantasy-adventure novel written by Rick Riordan, based on Greek and Roman mythology. It was published on October 2, 2012, and is the third book in The Heroes of Olympus series, a sequel to the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. It is preceded by The Son of Neptune and followed by The House of Hades. The novel is narrated in the third-person.

<i>The House of Hades</i> 2013 book by Rick Riordan

The House of Hades is a fantasy-adventure novel written by American author Rick Riordan, based on Greek and Roman mythology. It was published on October 8, 2013, and is the fourth book in The Heroes of Olympus series, preceded by The Mark of Athena and followed by The Blood of Olympus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myrmekes</span>

Myrmekes (Μύρμηκες) is Greek for "ants". Greek mythological animals and tribes were called with this name.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a two-film series based on the novel series of the same name by the author Rick Riordan. The series was distributed by 20th Century Fox, produced by 1492 Pictures and consists of two installments. The first film, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), was directed by Chris Columbus and was released on February 12, 2010. The second installment, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, was originally intended to be released in March 2013 but was instead pushed back to August 7, 2013, and was directed by Thor Freudenthal. While the film series was intended to match the five novel book series, and the second film laid the foundation for a third film, further films were never produced. The shortened series in total grossed nearly $430 million at the worldwide box office. A reboot television series premiered on Disney+ in December 2023.

<i>The Blood of Olympus</i> 2014 novel by Rick Riordan

The Blood of Olympus is an American fantasy-adventure novel written by Rick Riordan, based on Greek and Roman mythology. Released on October 7, 2014, the fifth and final novel in The Heroes of Olympus series, and it was followed by The Chalice of the Gods (2023), part of the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series.

<i>The Crown of Ptolemy</i>

The Crown of Ptolemy is the third and last book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Kane Chronicles crossover series. It was released in the back of the paperback version of The House of Hades on March 31, 2015, and later as an ebook and audiobook. The ebook edition was released May 12, 2015.

<i>The Lightning Thief</i> (musical) 2014 musical

The Lightning Thief is a musical with music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki and a book by Joe Tracz, based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Rick Riordan. The musical follows Percy Jackson, a 12-year-old boy who newly discovers that he is a demigod and goes on a quest to find Zeus' missing lightning bolt and prevent a war between the Greek gods.

<i>Percy Jackson and the Olympians</i> (TV series) 2023 American television series

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is an American fantasy television series created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg for Disney+, based on the book series of the same name by Riordan. Walker Scobell stars as Percy Jackson, alongside Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood.

<i>The Sun and the Star</i> 2023 novel by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

The Sun and the Star is a 2023 American fantasy-adventure middle-grade fiction novel based on Greek-Roman classical mythology co-written by authors Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro. It is a standalone sequel to the 2020 novel The Tower of Nero in The Trials of Apollo series and was supposed to be the final book of the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles. The story follows the adolescent demigods and boyfriends Nico di Angelo and Will Solace, the sons of Hades and Apollo, respectively, on their quest into Tartarus to rescue their old friend Bob, who is, in fact, the Titan Iapetus.

References

  1. The Demigod Files on LibraryThing
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Riordan, Rick (10 February 2009). The Demigod Files (A Percy Jackson and the Olympians Guide) (Hardcover). Hyperion Book CH. ISBN   978-1423121664.
  3. "The Demigod Files". Goodreads. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  4. The Demigod Files on the author's website Archived April 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 3 "The Demigod Files (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series)". barnesandnoble.com. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  6. "Percy Jackson, the Demigod Files".