All 11 Percy Jackson books (including Chalice of the Gods), ranked worst to best

7. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

The classic novel which started this entire world off is engaging, funny, and wonderfully whimsical. As a reader you fall almost immediately in love with Percy, Annabeth, and Grover as they set off on a cross-country adventure to clear Percy’s name as the lightning thief and return the stolen lightning bolt from Hades to Zeus.

Bluntly put, due to being a debut novel, and also the book which opens Riordan’s entire fantastical world, there are elements of this book which fall into stereotypical tropes. But that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable to read, and it certainly established the Rick Riordan humor which remains so charmingly intact throughout all of Riordan’s subsequent novels.

6. Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods

With Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods, we are introduced to what I like to refer to as Percy Jackson and the Olympians 2.0: while this book is technically the sixth book in the series, it takes place after Heroes of Olympus, and is the first of a new trilogy of Percy Jackson books. Whether you view it as part of the original series or as a sequel trilogy is entirely up to you, but it is important to know that going in, as certain characters and events are referred to which might not quite hit if you haven't read Heroes of Olympus.

That being said, this book hits with typical Percy Jackson humor and style. We're back with our original trio — Percy, Grover, and Annabeth — as they take on a new challenge: trying to get Percy recommendation letters for the University of New Rome. This means undertaking quests for three different gods, who will each grant him a recommendation letter if he successfully completes their task.

In Chalice of the Gods, Percy is assigned the mission of getting the cupbearer to the gods, Ganymede, his missing chalice back; and in typical Percy Jackson fashion, everything manages to go completely wrong in spectacular and highly amusing fashion. Packed full of funny scenes, mythology brought to life, and the all-too-familiar backdrop of 'How do I get into university?!', this book is a great addition to the Percy Jackson universe, and somehow manages to be highly relatable even with all the gods and quests. With two more books set to follow, it remains to be seen the lengths Percy will have to go to to get into the University of New Rome...