Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods is a witty, gripping page turner

It’s a great time to be a fan of Percy Jackson! Not only do we have the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV show just around the corner, but author Rick Riordan has returned us to the world of Percy Jackson with a sixth installment in the book series, entitled The Chalice of the Gods.

While this is the sixth book in the series, in many ways this book marks the beginning of a new part of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Where other stories have taken place between books five and six — for more advice on how to read the vast world that is the Rick Riordan-verse, I’ve written up a post explaining the timeline and which books to read when — this book moves things forward.

In this book, we are reunited with the core trio from the original books — Percy, his girlfriend Annabeth, and his best friend Grover — who have a new mission from the gods… for more, read on, but be aware of SPOILERS!

Of course, getting into college couldn’t be simple for Percy Jackson…

The Chalice of the Gods opens with Percy at (yet another) new High School, in his senior year now and preparing to head off to college. As readers will know from reading the Heroes of Olympus series, Percy’s chosen college is in New Rome, a Roman demigod city in California, which is both a haven for demigods and the location of the Roman demigod camp, Camp Jupiter.

However, because Percy Jackson is…well, Percy Jackson, getting into a demigod college comes with many challenges. Namely, Percy shouldn’t technically exist due to his father, the sea god Poseidon, breaking a treaty between the Big Three (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades) stating that none of them would father children to avoid fulfilling a dread prophecy. The fact that Zeus and Poseidon broke this treaty is old news at this point, and brought about the events of books 1-5 in the Olympians series. But even after saving the world multiple times, Percy can’t find any relief. He’s in as much disbelief and irritation about this as we are, which is pretty funny.

So, to get into New Rome University, Percy needs three recommendation letters from the gods. To do this, he has to complete tasks (otherwise known as quests) for them. And by the way, this literally only applies to Percy. The rule of recommendation letters is stated as a rule purely for Percy. Bad luck and extra chaos follows Percy around like a storm… or should we say a tidal wave…

Enter Ganymede

The cup bearer of the gods has a problem: the cup he uses to pour drinks for the gods (named, you guessed it, the chalice of the gods) has gone missing. So he approaches Percy for help in finding it, in exchange for a recommendation letter.

Of course, absolutely nothing goes to plan, because when does anything ever go to plan for Percy Jackson? Percy being chased by chickens and discovering that his pen-turned-sword Riptide has an age-proof cap adds a new hilarious layer to Percy’s eternal bad luck, one that’s extreme even for this series.

By focusing on Ganymede (and a new character named “Gary,” whom I’ll let you discover more about when that scene comes around), Riordan manages to teach readers yet more Greek mythology while also being incredibly fun. Speaking for myself personally, I had little knowledge of Ganymede before reading this book, so Riordan’s ability to both teach and entertain at once is apprecaited.

Ganymede pops up throughout the book, helping our heroes and needing help to get out of a sticky situation right at the end, one that involves Percy, Mount Olympus, a lot of scones, and a tea cart. Again, best to find out for yourself…

The new Percy Jackson book is Rick Riordan at his classic best

It’s so clear when reading this book that working on the TV adaptation has reignited a love of this world for Riordan (the book itself is dedicated to the three young actors playing Percy, Annabeth and Grover). Percy feels as hilarious, smart (and occasionally unbelievably stupid), loyal, and kind as ever. The Chalice of the Gods is a page-turner of a book; it zooms by at breakneck speed, but in a way where you feel swept up in the story, not lost in it.

Mentions of other fan favorite characters from the books, such as Frank and Hazel from the Heroes of Olympus series, are scattered throughout. And Percy remembers a conversation with Jason (also from Heroes of Olympus) which grounds him in a moment where grounding is desperately needed. You don’t have to have read the Heroes of Olympus novels to read this book, but I definitely recommend you do. It adds to your understanding of what’s going on and your emotional connection to the characters.

It’s so lovely to see Percy, Annabeth and Grover together as a trio again; much as I adore the dynamics in Heroes of Olympus, there’s something deeply magic about these three characters together. They manage to find themselves in the most wacky, ridiculous situations but also find a way out. Annabeth continues to be the brains of the operation, but Grover and Percy are core elements of why the three of them work so well together.

The future of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series…?

Rick Riordan recently announced that there would be a seventh Percy Jackson and the Olympians novel out in 2024, entitled The Wrath of the Triple Goddess; so given Percy needs three recommendation letters, and The Chalice of the Gods provides him with one, it’s probably fair to assume that this will be a trilogy of books, with each book being a quest for a recommendation letter.

It does very much feel like this set of books is Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Part 2. Percy is older, more experienced, and the quests involve him getting into a university. Seeing such a beloved set of characters steadily aging and having new adventures is a lot of fun. On top of that, Riordan’s writing is as witty and addictive as ever.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods is available to read now. Percy Jackson and the Olympians the TV show begins streaming on Disney+ on December 20.

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