Sadly, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is only five books long, and when you close the cover on the final book, “Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian”, it’s possible that your child is not ready to leave this magical world. And what a magical world it is – just have a look at what gods are in Percy Jackson and you’ll understand!
Granted, there are more Riordan titles set in the same universe to enjoy, so what books make up the Riordanverse isn’t as clear from the beginning, but Percy never again takes center stage as the sole protagonist, so it might be time to find something new for your little bookworm.
Thankfully, there are a plethora of books written in a similar style to the Percy Jackson books, and we’ve compiled a list of the very best below.
OUR TOP PICK
“The Legend Of Greg” – An Epic Series Of Failures
EDITORS CHOICE
“On The Edge Of The Dark Sea Of Darkness” – The Wingfeather Saga
BEST VALUE
“Dragons In A Bag” – Dragons In A Bag
OUR TOP PICK
“The Legend Of Greg” – An Epic Series Of Failures
Chris Rylander’s “The Legend of Greg” is built on the same magical-realist foundation as the Percy Jackson series, but the humor plays a much more prominent role. The protagonist is of a similar age to Percy, too, so your young’un will feel just like home among these pages. How old is Percy Jackson, you ask? Pretty young!
Rylander’s story follows young Greg Belmont, a normal (or so he thinks) teenager, but when his father reveals that he’s not a human boy, but a young dwarf and that the magic his species wielded years ago is returning to the world. Well… everything changes.
And get this… the dwarves aren’t the only magical species still walking the Earth (or beneath it as we find out), and when it returns, so does an ancient conflict between the dwarves and the elves.
Greg couldn’t be further from the ideal of the immaculate hero. He’s self-effacing, goofy, and incredibly unlucky — It’s a super refreshing and entertaining take on the role.
EDITORS CHOICE
“On The Edge Of The Dark Sea Of Darkness” – The Wingfeather Saga
Family winds up being one of the central themes in Percy Jackson, especially where siblings are involved, and The Wingfeather Saga pushes this relationship dynamic even further into the spotlight.
The story follows the Igiby siblings, Janner, Tink, and Leeli, and their efforts to quell the nefarious Fangs of Dang in their war-torn home world.
Of course, “On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness” shares structural and narrative elements with the Percy Jackson books, but you’ll also notice a distinct Lord of the Rings influence slipping through. Not a surprise, considering when the Lord of the Rings was written.
It’s a high fantasy romp with lots of humor and daring adventures sure to thrill your burgeoning bibliophile. And the characters… Your little one may know who the main characters in Percy Jackson are but he’ll come to know and love the characters in the Wingfeather Saga just as much!
BEST VALUE
“Dragons In A Bag” – Dragons In A Bag
Rather than finding out an otherworldly truth about his father a la Percy Jackson, Jaxon, the protagonist of the Dragons in a Bag series, discovers something world-shattering about the woman he’s always believed to be his grandmother.
Not only is she not his grandmother, she’s a witch! And she has a task for Jaxon… deliver a bag of baby dragons to the magical realm without ever letting the wee beasts out of the bag or allowing them to eat anything sweet.
Needless today, it doesn’t take long for Jaxon and his friends to break both rules, leading to a chaotic scenario the likes of which will have your child utterly gripped.
If you thought herding cats was hard… wait until you witness Jaxon and co trying to herd dragons!
RUNNER UP
“Guardians Of The Gryphon’s Claw” – A Sam London Adventure Series (Todd Calgi Gallicano)
Sam London is a middle schooler with some rather interesting extracurriculars. When he’s not in class or hitting the books, he’s doing everything he can to protect the secret magical creatures of the world, even if that means keeping them a secret, at all costs.
His mission takes him all over the globe in service of the Department of Mythical Wildlife, a MIB-esque governmental organization that works like a conservationist group but only for the legendary animals Sam once thought were mere fiction.
Todd Calgi Gallicano has penned a thrilling series that brings mythology into the real world in a very similar way to Rick Riordan, but the tone and plot are a lot less anthropocentric — His work is essentially like the Percy Jackson books for animal lovers.
RUNNER UP
“Saving Fable” – Tale Spinners (Scott Reintgen)
This rather meta series introduces us to young Indira following her long-awaited acceptance to Protagonist Prep, a school dedicated to training pupils in the arts of story-leading heroics.
However, when she’s forced into the ancillary role of sidekick, she realizes that her education isn’t going to be quite what she’d hoped… but not all learning happens in school!
During Indira’s humdrum duties, she discovers a terrible secret: The town of Fable is coming under siege. Can she and her fellow sidekicks step up and save the day? Grab a copy to find out!
RUNNER UP
“Frostborn” – Thrones & Bones (Lou Anders)
Unlike Indira, Karn doesn’t want the job of hero. If he had his druthers, he’d live a simple life playing his favorite game all day, every day… Thrones & Bones.Alas, when a host of unsavory beasties begins hunting him, he must abandon his carefree existence and seek refuge in the wilderness of Norrøngard with the half-human half-frost-giantess, Thianna.In this brutal new environment, the unlikely pair must rely on their wits to get by and evade their enemies.
RUNNER UP
“Knights Of The Borrowed Dark” – Knights Of The Borrowed Dark (Dave Rudden)
It seems like just another night in Crosscaper Orphanage when young Denizen Hardwick is awoken and whisked off to meet someone claiming to be his long-lost aunt.
The situation is a strange one to begin with, but unbeknownst to Denizen, it’s about to get even weirder!
Before he can even reach the mysterious lady seeking an audience with him, he stumbles upon some mind-bending secrets involving shadow monsters and a mysterious order of knights.
From this moment unfolds a tale of conflicted allegiances and a quest to find the truth, or more specifically, who “the good guys” are.
RUNNER UP
“Deadweather And Sunrise” – The Chronicles Of Egg (Geoff Rodkey)
Described by Riordan himself as “Lemony Snicket meets Pirates of the Caribbean, with a sprinkling of Tom Sawyer for good measure.”, “Deadweather and Sunrise” is a no-brainer for lovers of the Percy Jackson books.Life on Deadweather Island is miserable for Egg — It’s overrun with pirates, his tutor is incompetent, and his siblings are incredibly violent and cruel. But when his father whisks them away to empyreal Sunrise Island on a mysterious errand, things finally seem to be looking up, especially when his mean family suddenly vanishes after a freak accident.However, when someone tries to throw him off a cliff, he realizes that all is not well, and, in fact, he might have been better off staying on his terrible home island.It’s a grass-is-always-greener tale with high stakes and lots of tension, sure to have your little bookworm enthralled within the first few pages.
RUNNER UP
“The Relic Of Perilous Falls” – Will Wilder Series (Raymond Arroyo)
The average 12-year-old is no stranger to a bit of trouble.
They might knock over their parent’s fancy vase or get their clothes dirty whilst playing with friends, but Will Wilder takes things a few steps further when he accidentally unleashes an ancient enemy hellbent on decimating the town.
Alone, Will stands no chance, but together with his wise and deadly great-aunt Lucille, they might have what it takes to quell the evil threatening to tear their world apart.
RUNNER UP
“Gods Of Manhattan” – Gods Of Manhattan (Scott Mebus)
“Gods of Manhattan” posits that Manhattan has a parallel spirit city known as Manhatta inhabited by a myriad of magical and mysterious gods, one of which is baseball legend, Babe Ruth!
At first, when Rory Hennessy discovers this secret side to his home city, he’s overjoyed, but when he becomes the target of some rather tenacious enemies and is tasked with a deadly quest, he wonders whether seeing Manhatta is more of a curse than a blessing.
RUNNER UP
“Addison Cooke And The Treasure Of The Incas” – Addison Cooke Series (Jonathon W. Stokes)
This utterly enthralling story follows the eponymous Addison Cooke, a 12-year-old boy sick of being stuck at school while his aunt and uncle go gallivanting on exciting adventures hunting for ancient treasures.Yet, much to his delight and dismay, he’s dragged into the extraordinary and dangerous world of his family when kidnapped by a shadowy organization trying to steal a treasure trove of Incan riches that only his uncle knows how to reach.What ensues is a laugh-out-loud, action-packed race against time in which Addison and his friends must figure out how to find the treasure before their captors crack the code and take it for themselves.
RUNNER UP
“Atlantis Rising” – Atlantis Series (T.A. Barron)
In the magical land of Ellegandia, young Promi lives off the scraps of society, stealing food to survive, but when he realizes that his home is embroiled in an age-old war between good and evil, survival becomes a little more complicated than pinching some snacks.
Final Thoughts
Thankfully, there are loads of fantastic authors with a similar style to Rick Riordan, so even if your little one demolishes the Percy Jackson books, there are plenty of options out there to feed their hunger for words and adventure! What’s more, as each one of the suggestions listed above has a series of its own, they should keep your book-mad kid occupied for the foreseeable future — Hooray!
What’s more, there are also many books like Percy Jackson for adults, too. So, if you’re raring to get lost in another fantasy world yourself, you’re in luck. Fantasy is all we do here!
I have been reading books for as long as I can remember, and have fallen deeply in love with more books than I can count!
With this site, I hope that you can find a novel to get you out of a reading slump, or to get you hooked on a series. So, pick up one of our recommendations today. I promise you that you won’t regret it!
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