Top 10 Best Rick Riordan Books
This might be tougher than a math test from Athena or a sparring match with Ares because narrowing down a list of Riordan's best books is like trying to pick your favorite kind of blue food. And before you say blue cupcakes, Percy Jackson would like a word.Maybe you love the classic adventures of Percy and his demigod crew, filled with sass, sarcasm, and monsters that just won't take a hint. Or perhaps you prefer the globe-trotting quests of the Heroes of Olympus, where things get even wilder, the stakes get higher, and someone is always falling into a pit. Then there's the world of Egyptian magic, Norse gods who text too much, and an ever-expanding lineup of stories that keep proving Riordan has more myths up his sleeve than Hermes on a shopping spree.
Each book brings a mix of humor, action, and moments that will make you question why you suddenly have so many feelings. But which one reigns supreme? That's up to you. Cast your vote for the books you think deserve to be at the top.
It's so incredibly hard to choose a favorite from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series for me. They're just all so good! It's my favorite series (it's genius, really), and personally, my favorite book changes all the time, depending on which one in the series I've read most recently.
However, since I recently finished this one again, I'm going to have to go with The Last Olympian, especially because, if I can remember correctly, it's the author's favorite one too. This book is so awesome because it takes all of the plotlines that were developing throughout the rest of the series, and it all ties up in this one book. It's the battle the whole series was preparing for, and everything led up to this.
Plus, I love the themes in this one, especially the one about how sometimes the hardest skill to master is learning how to yield. It's just an awesome book. It has action-packed battle scenes, great dialogue, spectacular plot threads, and the way it all wraps up in the last few chapters? Best. Ending. Ever.
That being said, I loved all of Rick Riordan's other books that I've read. He's a superb writer, and personally, if I had to vote for any of these books in the top 10 slots, I would in a heartbeat, because I love them all.
The Lightning Thief is what started it all, giving us a stellar beginning to characters that will mature and grow stronger as the books go on. When Ares and Percy fought, I was cheering. This shows what to expect in the rest of the series, getting us all excited for the next of Percy's escapades.
We get a lot of great characterization in this wonderful book.
Read this book when I was 10. While not Percy's age at any time during either series, I know that he and I are so similar. This is the most inspirational book I have ever read, despite being a children's fantasy. It is my favorite book of all time.
Everyone goes into how amazing the Percabeth stuff is, and that's true. But the part that stuck out to me was the biggest plot twist in any book I've ever read. Nico saying he's gay not only works with the rest of the book, but it somehow makes the original series a million times better.
It's so sad how he hid his feelings for so long. After I read that page, I sat with a dropped jaw for five minutes straight, unable to comprehend the amazing writing I had just witnessed. This book is my favorite book of all time. While it's not the best (that spot goes to To Kill a Mockingbird), this is definitely my favorite. 10/10
The seven heroes meet each other in this book. This was where the heroes gathered. Sometimes they would have fights with each other but would then resolve them. It was fun to see how the Romans and Greeks would team up.
This was just wow. It is definitely my number one book. The love story here was at its peak. God, I really miss Annabeth and Percy. In the new books (Trials of Apollo), we rarely get to see them.
The action, the pure drama, the cliffhanger! The characters and relationships were so well developed in this chapter of the series!
Despite The Last Olympian being the perfect ending for a series, this one impressed me more. A last book may be the most entertaining for others, but for me, second-to-last books in a series have the power to prepare the reader for the grand finale, having more emotional stuff (for me) and having lots and lots of cool action scenes.
Close one between this and The Titan's Curse. I think both are better than The Last Olympian. I often don't read the last book.
The best book by far by Rick Riordan. Daedalus was just perfect! People hate on Rachel, but she's really good to me!
The Titan's Curse has a lot of humor and action, as well as very human emotions in all of our favorite characters. We are introduced to key players later on in the series, such as Nico. Nico is so good in this book. It shows the beginning of his journey as a character.
You get to meet the badass Thalia. It's so full of adventure. One of Riordan's best books in the Olympians series. I love the part where they are at the dam and they make jokes and how Percy meets Rachel.
The Titan's Curse is awesome, full of amazing characters like Nico di Angelo, the Hunters of Artemis, and Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Honestly, The Battle of the Labyrinth is my favorite Percy Jackson book, but this is a close second.
I love this book so much. Percy is there, Nico is there (though not for long), Hazel and Frank! The story is really fun, the characters work well off of each other, and I finally get to see Percy again! Whenever I reread the Heroes of Olympus, The Lost Hero always feels like a bit of a slog.
I like the book, it's fun, but I'm always trying to kind of get through it and finish it so I can read this one!
The maturity and higher stakes of the Heroes of Olympus seamlessly blended with the charm of Percy Jackson. How couldn't I adore it?
Really underrated book. The Percabeth chemistry was at its peak in this book, and the plot itself was good. More light-hearted than the rest, but it's good at what it accomplishes.
This book was just hilarious. The characters, their backstory, everything was just great. While reading the book, you can almost imagine the characters in here. I have read all three books, and this was the origin story of Magnus Chase. I liked it more than the others. This should be in the Top 5.
The concept of a talking sword (Jack), who calls Magnus senor, was just great. The book had humor even in the intense scenes.
It is funnier and has better stories than the Percy Jackson series, only in my opinion. Maybe I am wrong, but really, I love this book. I have read all three books in this series, and they are all good. The fight scenes are also described more dramatically and have better dialogues. Thank you.
This series may not be as popular or better, but it was written well, fast-paced, and it kept me hooked right till the end of the book. This was probably one of the first Rick Riordan books I've ever read. It was so awesome and memorable. Can't wait to read it again this summer as soon as I finish Magnus Chase.
The first time I read this book, I didn't like it as much as I liked the others. However, I liked it a lot more once I read it again.
It's so fast-paced. At the start, I didn't read quickly, but by the end, I was going through the book in a day!
The Newcomers
SPOILERS! Read the book before you read this comment. Ok, good.
Oh my gods, the last two chapters pull your heartstrings so much! The whole character arcs of Lester/Apollo and Meg come to an end. My personal favorite character, The Arrow of Dodona, makes the ultimate sacrifice in the final EPIC fight, and the arrow talks about how it was kind of bullied in the grove, which makes it all the more satisfying.
It also sets up future adventures with a Chiron, Mimir, Bast crossover and a little Will and Nico adventure.
Personally, looking at this list, I was a bit surprised that The Lost Hero was voted at no. 10 for most of these because I really enjoyed this book. Jason was cool and all, but we all know Percy is better. However, I don't think it's fair that some people hate Jason just for that reason.
In short, I really enjoyed the start to Heroes of Olympus, and the feeling followed all the way through to the end. Great author, great series, great books. More people should read them.
I liked it because it showed us Piper, Leo, Jason, and Festus of course.
The plot is straightforward. The twists and turns are nice, especially the Magnus and Alex twist.
The way everything is explained is just amazing!
A nice conclusion, though not Riordan's best.
Insanely good. Kept a good pace throughout the book to the very end.
This book is just straight-up great despite how a lot of people hate this series! READ IT!
This is an amazing book. The Kane Chronicles series should be in the top. Why is this such an underrated series? Come on, an old god yelling zebras and weasels? This is the most awesome thing EVER!
Very awesome book with tons of action!
Without a doubt, my favorite Rick Riordan book. The action felt so real. Apollo's sadness and regret also jumped out at me, and I really felt the sacrifices. This is one of the few books that made me stare off into the distance for a few minutes after reading it, just awestruck.
Brilliant book with an amazing new character and some sad deaths. If you have not read it, you should do so ASAP.
The Tyrant's Tomb should be number one! Rick explains it so well I can imagine it around me!
LEO!
Leo shined in this book. Scratch that, Leo shined in all of the books, but especially this one and the previous entry in the series, HoA. Leo showed that he was willing to sacrifice everything for those around him. Yet, in the end, he got happiness too. He lied, but for their good. This conclusion to one of my favorite series of all time is something worth rereading time and time again to get all of the action, the humor, the characters. Rick Riordan kept on outdoing himself in each entry of Heroes of Olympus.
The Trials of Apollo is an amazing book about an awesome adventure. It follows a god who has been turned into a human and how he deals with the mortal world.
There are a ton of characters returning, such as Percy Jackson and Nico di Angelo, plus a few more I won't spoil. I heavily recommend this amazing book and give it a 10/10.
It feels like a fresh start. The humor is great, Apollo is a strong and interesting main character, the single point of view is back, and the villain has a lot of potential.
The first part was the best when Meg had thrown trash at those guys and it exploded. Ha ha! I love all of the books. It's very hard to choose which one is my favorite.
Had an amazing plot with awesome characters and a villain terrible enough to kill one of the book's main characters. So sad.
Great book. So sad. I screamed Jason's name when he died, but why didn't Apollo think that dying would hurt?
Good book, it's the best because Jason dies. He was always my least favorite character and the weakest.
Honestly, Riordan keeps getting better. I was originally going to vote for House of Hades, The Last Olympian, or Ship of the Dead, but this is the best. The humor and action are excellent, and Riordan's use of them keeps improving. The characters are great, particularly Lit and Apollo, both of whom undergo serious character development.
This book also gives us Riordan's best villain since Luke Castellan. Menacing, sympathetic, charismatic, and focused entirely on destruction, Commodus is one hell of a villain. I enjoyed Nero, but Commodus is far better. So far, I'm really enjoying Riordan's villain emperor team-up, and the final emperor of the trio is getting a lot of hype, which I hope he lives up to. Riordan is my all-time favorite author.
Percy narrating all the Greek gods, both complimenting and insulting them. It's one of the books not to be missed.
Another Percy Jackson narration. A son of Poseidon named after a son of Zeus. Who knew?
Really fun book. I love to see the different worlds intersect and these characters I love come together and interact. It's always fun. Frankly, I hope more demigod/magician stories come out because they're awesome!
Great story about Percy and Annabeth meeting the Kane siblings, Carter and Sadie. A powerful story by Rick!
I love how it has all the stories that you don't get anywhere else!
In all honesty, this was hilarious but also had just the right amount of seriousness. The action was awesome to read about, and the plot was perfect!
Percy always cracks me up, and his opinions on Sadie, Carter, and everything in general were great! This was one of my favorite books.