Rick Riordan basically created a modern mythic powerhouse. Most of us started with a scrawny kid named Percy blowing up a school bus, but the "Riordanverse" has grown into this massive, sprawling web of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse gods all hanging out in the same version of North America. If you try to read them just by publication date, you’re going to get whiplash. The Percy Jackson chronological order isn't just about following Percy himself; it’s about watching the entire world of Camp Half-Blood and beyond evolve in real-time.
It's a lot. Honestly, if you just pick up a random book from the Trials of Apollo, you’ll be spoiled on major deaths from three different series. That sucks. Nobody wants that.
The Lightning Thief Era: Where It All Begins
Everything kicks off with The Lightning Thief. It’s the foundational text. You meet Percy, you learn about the gods, and you realize the Empire State Building has a secret floor. Simple enough. This first five-book arc, Percy Jackson & The Olympians, is a straight shot. You read The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian.
There’s no wiggle room here. If you skip The Titan’s Curse, you miss the introduction of Nico di Angelo and Thalia Grace, and nothing in the later books will make a lick of sense. This is the "Age of Percy," where he's the undisputed main character.
But wait. There’s a catch.
If you’re a completionist, you need to pause after The Battle of the Labyrinth. There’s a collection of short stories called The Demigod Files. It contains "The Stolen Chariot," "The Bronze Dragon," and "The Sword of Hades." These aren't just fluff. They introduce characters and items (like the mechanical dragon Festus) that become massive plot points in the sequel series. If you wait until you're halfway through Heroes of Olympus to read about Festus, you've already missed the origin story.
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The Shift to The Heroes of Olympus
After the Battle of Manhattan, things get weird. Rick Riordan expanded the scope. Suddenly, we aren't just dealing with Greek gods; the Romans enter the chat. The Lost Hero starts right after the first series ends, but Percy is missing. It’s a bold move. Most authors wouldn't sideline their titular star for an entire book, but Riordan did.
The timeline for Heroes of Olympus is tight. Each book usually picks up days or even minutes after the previous one.
- The Lost Hero
- The Son of Neptune (This is where Percy finally shows up again, just in a different camp)
- The Mark of Athena
- The House of Hades
- The Blood of Olympus
During this specific window, the world starts to bleed into other pantheons. This is where most people get tripped up on the Percy Jackson chronological order. While Jason and Piper are flying around on a ship, there’s a guy named Carter Kane and his sister Sadie dealing with Egyptian gods in Brooklyn.
The Kane Chronicles and Those Pesky Crossovers
The Kane Chronicles trilogy (The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire, The Serpent’s Shadow) happens roughly at the same time as the Heroes of Olympus series. You don't have to read them to understand Percy's journey, but you’ll want to if you plan on reading the crossover stories.
There are three short stories—The Son of Sobek, The Staff of Serapis, and The Crown of Ptolemy—where Percy and Annabeth actually meet Carter and Sadie. Chronologically, these happen shortly after the giants are defeated in The Blood of Olympus. It’s the first time we see the "shared universe" logic fully realized. It’s pretty cool seeing a Greek sword clashing with Egyptian magic.
The Trials of Apollo and Magnus Chase: The Overlap Problem
This is the part that gives readers a headache. The Trials of Apollo and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard happen almost simultaneously.
Lester (who is actually a mortal, flabby version of the god Apollo) starts his quest in The Hidden Oracle. Right around that same time, Percy’s cousin Magnus is dying and being taken to Valhalla in The Sword of Summer.
If you want the absolute, most accurate Percy Jackson chronological order, you have to weave these two series together.
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- The Hidden Oracle (Apollo Book 1)
- The Sword of Summer (Magnus Book 1)
- The Dark Prophecy (Apollo Book 2)
- The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Book 2)
- The Burning Maze (Apollo Book 3)
- The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Book 3)
- The Tyrant’s Tomb (Apollo Book 4)
- The Tower of Nero (Apollo Book 5)
Wait, why does this matter? Because Annabeth and Percy literally show up in the Magnus Chase books. If you read the end of Magnus Chase before you finish Trials of Apollo, you might get some spoilers regarding the state of the world and where Percy is in his life (mostly trying to graduate high school without dying).
The Recent Additions: Chalice of the Gods and Beyond
Riordan recently returned to the original trio—Percy, Annabeth, and Grover—with a new trilogy set between Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo. This was a bit of a curveball for the timeline.
The Chalice of the Gods and Wrath of the Triple Goddess take place while Percy is applying for college. Even though they were published in 2023 and 2024, they actually happen before the events of The Trials of Apollo.
It’s a bit of a "retro-fit" in the timeline. Percy is just trying to get three letters of recommendation from gods. It’s lower stakes than "the world is ending," which is honestly a nice change of pace. If you're reading for the first time, you should probably read these after The Blood of Olympus but before you start Apollo’s journey.
The Sun and the Star: A Standalone Shift
Then we have The Sun and the Star, co-written by Mark Oshiro. This book focuses on Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. It takes place after The Tower of Nero. It’s a deep, emotional dive into the Underworld, and it’s basically the current "end" of the chronological timeline for the Greek side of things.
It deals with the fallout of the Apollo series. Don't touch this book until you've finished everything else. It relies heavily on Nico's entire character arc, which started way back in book three of the very first series.
Breaking Down the "New" Percy Jackson Chronological Order
If you want the definitive list to keep on your phone while you’re at the bookstore, here is the flow. We're ignoring the guidebooks and coloring books because, let’s be real, they don't have a "plot" per se.
The Foundation
- The Lightning Thief
- The Sea of Monsters
- The Titan’s Curse
- The Battle of the Labyrinth
- The Demigod Files (Short Stories)
- The Last Olympian
The Expansion
- The Lost Hero
- The Son of Neptune
- The Mark of Athena
- The House of Hades
- The Blood of Olympus
The Transition Era
- The Chalice of the Gods (The "Senior Year" Trilogy)
- Wrath of the Triple Goddess
- The Demigod Diaries (Short stories that bridge the gap)
- The Kane Chronicles (Can be read anytime after the first PJO series)
- Demigods and Magicians (The Percy/Kane crossovers)
The Final Trials
- The Hidden Oracle
- The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase Book 1)
- The Dark Prophecy
- The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase Book 2)
- The Burning Maze
- The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase Book 3)
- The Tyrant’s Tomb
- The Tower of Nero
- The Sun and the Star
Does Reading Order Actually Matter?
Look, you can read these however you want. It’s your life. But Rick Riordan is the king of the "casual spoiler." He’ll have a character mention a "dead friend" in a throwaway line, and suddenly you realize you just found out the ending of a book you haven't started yet.
Specifically, the jump from Heroes of Olympus to Trials of Apollo is a big one. There is a major character death in The Burning Maze that is referenced in almost every book that comes after it. If you go out of order, you’re losing the emotional weight of those moments.
There’s also the matter of the TV show on Disney+. It’s staying pretty faithful to the first book so far, but as the seasons go on, the showrunners might pull in elements from later in the timeline earlier than we expect. Knowing the book order helps you stay ahead of the "Easter eggs."
Myths and Misconceptions
One thing people get wrong is thinking Magnus Chase or The Kane Chronicles are "spin-offs" that don't matter. While they aren't essential to understanding how Percy gets his college credits, they fill in the world. For instance, in The Ship of the Dead, Annabeth and Percy are literally helping Magnus train for a seafaring quest. If you only read the Percy-centric books, you're missing out on some of the best banter in the entire franchise.
Also, don't sleep on the short story "The Diary of Luke Castellan" in The Demigod Diaries. It’s a prequel, sure, but it adds so much flavor to why the first series even happens. It makes Luke a much more tragic figure rather than just a cardboard cutout villain.
What to Do Next
If you're staring at a shelf of thirty books and feeling overwhelmed, don't sweat it. Start with The Lightning Thief. It's the only logical place to begin.
Once you finish the first five books, make a choice. If you love the Greek stuff, move straight into The Lost Hero. If you need a break from Camp Half-Blood, jump over to the Kane Chronicles. Just keep that chronological list handy so you don't accidentally find out who dies before you've even met them.
Go grab a copy of The Demigod Files before you finish the first series. Most people skip it because it looks like a "supplemental" book, but the story "The Sword of Hades" is actually essential for understanding the finale of the original series. It explains how certain characters got their powers and where certain weapons came from. It's a quick read, and it'll make you look like a genius to your friends who only watched the movies (which we don't talk about anyway).
Keep an eye on upcoming releases, too. Riordan is still adding to this timeline. Every time a new "Senior Year" book drops, it slots into that gap between the big wars. It’s a living, breathing timeline that is still growing even two decades after it started.
Actionable Insight: Download a digital checklist of the Riordanverse books and sort them by "Internal Timeline" rather than "Publication Date." This prevents the spoilers found in the Trials of Apollo and Magnus Chase overlap. If you are currently mid-series, check if you have skipped The Demigod Files or The Demigod Diaries, as these contain "hidden" canon stories that bridge the gaps between the major novels.