The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series was originally five books, with the last published in 2009. No one thought this series would continue after the long hiatus, but Rick Riordan recently published a sixth Percy Jackson adventure: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods.
This book follows 17-year-old Percy and his struggles to get into New Rome University and join his girlfriend, Annabeth, at college. Percy has to complete three quests to get recommendation letters from the gods and this book is about his first in which Percy has to find Ganymede’s, the cupbearer of the gods, chalice before Zeus calls the next feast; if they fail, Ganymede risks getting thrown out of Olympus.
I liked seeing the original trio (Percy, Annabeth, and Grover) back together for a quest because they haven’t been sent on a quest together since the first Percy Jackson book, The Lightning Thief. It was fun to see the friends working together again and I enjoyed the combination of Annabeth’s seriousness and Percy’s sarcasm just as much as I did in the previous books. This made Percy seem a lot younger than he actually is, but I didn’t mind that because I know this book is intended for a younger audience. That being said, if you were a Percy Jackson fan when the original books were published, I still think you’ll enjoy this adventure.
This book is as funny as the rest of Percy’s adventures, despite him being older, and this story would have made my 11-year-old self very happy. Percy’s point of view was one I missed when reading the Heroes of Olympus and the Trials of Apollo, so that was one thing I was looking forward to when I first heard of the book. Percy Jackson is a hilarious protagonist and will make everyone laugh.
One confusing point is that there are references to events in 2020/21 and current slang used when this book is supposed to take place in 2010. I think this is because the book was written so recently and Rick Riordan probably didn’t think too much about the year it was supposed to take place in. This probably bothers me more than it will other people, but I wish there were references to the actual time period in the book.
Overall, I’d give Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods 4.25 out of 5 stars. It was a quick read and a refreshing break from heavier books. It was a fun return to the Camp Half-Blood and Percy Jackson universe. If any other Percy adventures are published to continue the story, you will definitely see me pre-ordering them.