Reading Order
Percy Jackson Books in Order (2026)
Quick answer
Read the Percy Jackson books in publication order, starting with The Lightning Thief (2005). There are 17 novels in the four main series as of October 2026: Percy Jackson & the Olympians (5), The Heroes of Olympus (5), The Trials of Apollo (5) and the Senior Year Adventures (2). Add the two Nico di Angelo books and The Wild Zone (September 29, 2026), the first Camp Half-Blood book, and the total is 20. The third and final Senior Year book is still being written and has no title or date yet.
Below you'll find every book with its year and series number, the timeline order (it differs in two places), where to start, what's confirmed about the next books, and where the TV show stands. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
All Percy Jackson Books in Order
| # | Title | Year | Series | Setup (no spoilers) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lightning Thief | 2005 | Percy Jackson & the Olympians #1 | Percy, twelve, finds out his father is a Greek god. |
| 2 | The Sea of Monsters | 2006 | Percy Jackson & the Olympians #2 | A quest into the Bermuda Triangle for the Golden Fleece. |
| 3 | The Titan's Curse | 2007 | Percy Jackson & the Olympians #3 | Artemis goes missing. This is the book Disney+ season 3 adapts. |
| 4 | The Battle of the Labyrinth | 2008 | Percy Jackson & the Olympians #4 | Daedalus's maze runs under America, and something is coming through it. |
| 5 | The Last Olympian | 2009 | Percy Jackson & the Olympians #5 | The Great Prophecy comes due in Manhattan. |
| 6 | The Lost Hero | 2010 | The Heroes of Olympus #1 | Percy is missing, and a boy wakes up on a bus with no memory. |
| 7 | The Son of Neptune | 2011 | The Heroes of Olympus #2 | Camp Jupiter: the Roman half of the world opens up. |
| 8 | The Mark of Athena | 2012 | The Heroes of Olympus #3 | Seven demigods and one flying ship. |
| 9 | The House of Hades | 2013 | The Heroes of Olympus #4 | Tartarus, from the inside. |
| 10 | The Blood of Olympus | 2014 | The Heroes of Olympus #5 | Gaea rises, and the second arc closes. |
| 11 | The Hidden Oracle | 2016 | The Trials of Apollo #1 | Zeus throws Apollo off Olympus as a powerless mortal teenager. |
| 12 | The Dark Prophecy | 2017 | The Trials of Apollo #2 | Indianapolis, and the second emperor. |
| 13 | The Burning Maze | 2018 | The Trials of Apollo #3 | The hardest book in the saga to read. You'll know why. |
| 14 | The Tyrant's Tomb | 2019 | The Trials of Apollo #4 | Camp Jupiter under siege. |
| 15 | The Tower of Nero | 2020 | The Trials of Apollo #5 | Back to Manhattan for the end of Apollo's trials. |
| 16 | The Sun and the Star | 2023 | Nico di Angelo Adventures #1 | Nico and Will go into Tartarus. Co-written with Mark Oshiro. |
| 17 | The Chalice of the Gods | 2023 | Senior Year Adventures #1 | Percy needs letters of recommendation from three gods to get into college. |
| 18 | Wrath of the Triple Goddess | 2024 | Senior Year Adventures #2 | Percy agrees to pet-sit for Hecate. It escalates. |
| 19 | The Court of the Dead | 2025 | Nico di Angelo Adventures #2 | Nico teams up with his half-sister Hazel. Co-written with Mark Oshiro. |
| 20 | The Wild Zone | 2026 | Camp Half-Blood series #1 | New campers wake something in a forbidden corner of camp. Co-written with Annabelle Oh, out September 29, 2026. |
Rows 16 and 19 (the Nico books) and row 20 (The Wild Zone) are spinoffs, and the other 17 are the core saga. The Sun and the Star (May 2023) came out a few months before The Chalice of the Gods (September 2023). Both stand alone, so if you want Percy first, read the Senior Year books before the Nico ones.
Chronological Order (and Why We Don't Use It)
Timeline order differs from publication order in two places:
- The Lightning Thief (PJO 1)
- The Wild Zone (set in the autumn between books 1 and 2 (per Riordan))
- The Sea of Monsters → The Last Olympian (PJO 2–5)
- The Lost Hero → The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus 1–5)
- The Chalice of the Gods, Wrath of the Triple Goddess (Percy's senior year, after Heroes of Olympus and before Trials of Apollo)
- The Hidden Oracle → The Tower of Nero (Trials of Apollo 1–5)
- The Sun and the Star, The Court of the Dead (after Trials of Apollo)
Both Senior Year books are set in the fall of Percy's senior year, after The Heroes of Olympus and before The Trials of Apollo. That's why some lists slot them in there. The Wild Zone is set even earlier, in the autumn between The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters. We still recommend publication order. Each book was written with everything published before it in mind, and the Senior Year books come off best as a victory lap after the long arcs. Timeline order is fine for a reread.
Where to Start
Always with The Lightning Thief. Every later series assumes you've read the original five, and The Heroes of Olympus picks up straight after The Last Olympian. If a younger reader stops after book 5, that's a complete story. Book 5 resolves the Great Prophecy, and nothing after it is required.
What's Next: Confirmed vs Not Confirmed
Confirmed The Wild Zone, by Rick Riordan and Annabelle Oh, came out September 29, 2026. It is book 1 of a four-book Camp Half-Blood series, with books 2–4 co-written with Kyle Lukoff, Jade Adia and Pablo Cartaya. Riordan says the later books will follow at roughly six-month intervals (rickriordan.com, May 2026; Publishers Weekly).
Confirmed A third and final Senior Year Adventure is being written. Riordan said in May 2026: “I’m still writing book three, which is the last one!” He also said the first draft is done and that it will be “the last Percy Jackson-narrated adventure” (rickriordan.com).
Not confirmed A title and release date for Senior Year book 3. In August 2025 Riordan said “the earliest is probably 2027” (reported by Reactor). No date has been announced as of October 2026.
Not confirmed Release dates for Camp Half-Blood books 2–4 beyond the "every six months" plan.
Companion Series and Extras
The Kane Chronicles (Egyptian mythology, three books, 2010–2012, starting with The Red Pyramid) and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Norse, three books, 2015–2017, starting with The Sword of Summer) share Percy's universe but are not part of the count above. Magnus is Annabeth's cousin, and Percy meets Carter and Sadie Kane in three crossover short stories. Either series works any time after the original five.
The companion books, such as The Demigod Files, Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, Camp Half-Blood Confidential and Camp Jupiter Classified, are optional extras. Read them whenever you like. They are not needed for the main story.
Reading Levels
The Lightning Thief is Lexile 740L, The Lost Hero 660L and The Hidden Oracle 680L. That puts the saga at roughly grades 4 to 7, and the sentences don't get harder later on. The content does get heavier: The Burning Maze and The Tyrant's Tomb deal openly with loss, so it's worth a word with a younger reader before Trials of Apollo. For how to check any book's level yourself, see how to find a book's reading level.
The Disney+ Show: Which Season Is Which Book
Each season so far adapts one book of the original series. Season 1 (December 2023) covered The Lightning Thief, and season 2 (from December 10, 2025) covered The Sea of Monsters. Season 3 adapts The Titan's Curse and premieres on Disney+ on November 20, 2026, a date announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 and posted by the show's official account. To read ahead, that's book 3.
Not confirmed Season 4. Reports in January 2026 said the show had been renewed, but Disney has not announced a season 4 as of October 2026.
Printable Checklist
Percy Jackson FAQ
How many Percy Jackson books are there?
There are 17 novels in the four main series (5 Percy Jackson & the Olympians, 5 Heroes of Olympus, 5 Trials of Apollo and 2 Senior Year Adventures). Count the two Nico di Angelo books and The Wild Zone (2026) and the total is 20. A third and final Senior Year book is being written but has no title or date.
How many Percy Jackson series are there?
Four main series: Percy Jackson & the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, The Trials of Apollo and the Senior Year Adventures. Two spinoffs are set in the same world: the Nico di Angelo Adventures and the new four-book Camp Half-Blood series. The Kane Chronicles (Egyptian) and Magnus Chase (Norse) are separate series in the same universe.
What order should I read Percy Jackson in?
Publication order: the five original books, then Heroes of Olympus, then Trials of Apollo, then the Senior Year books and the Nico books. The table on this page is in that order.
When is Senior Year Adventures book 3 coming out?
No date or title has been announced. In May 2026 Riordan said he had finished the first draft and that it will be the last Percy-narrated adventure. In August 2025 he said the earliest it could arrive was probably 2027.
What Percy Jackson book comes after The Titan's Curse?
The Battle of the Labyrinth (2008), book 4 of Percy Jackson & the Olympians.
Is each season of the Percy Jackson show one book?
Yes, so far. Season 1 adapted The Lightning Thief, season 2 adapted The Sea of Monsters, and season 3, adapting The Titan's Curse, premieres on Disney+ on November 20, 2026.
What reading level are the Percy Jackson books?
The Lightning Thief is Lexile 740L, The Lost Hero 660L and The Hidden Oracle 680L, which is roughly grades 4 to 7. The later books are heavier in content, especially The Burning Maze.
More Reading-Order Guides
Finished the lot? Our books like Percy Jackson list picks up where Riordan leaves off. For younger readers there's Dog Man in order. For older fantasy readers, try Sarah J. Maas in order and Fourth Wing in order. Everything else is on the reading order guides hub.
Sources
Rick Riordan's official site (rickriordan.com: the Camp Half-Blood interview, May 2026, and the book pages), Publishers Weekly (Camp Half-Blood announcement), Reactor (August 19, 2025), the show's official @PercySeries account and Laughing Place (season 3 date), Open Library and Disney/Penguin edition records for years. Lexile figures are from Scholastic and AR BookFinder, as verified for our September 2026 edition. Checked October 3, 2026.
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