Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes Makes Mythological Characters Funny and Relevant
“Look, I’m only in this for the pizza,” confides Poseidon’s son in the introduction to Rick Riordan’s latest. “The publisher was like, ‘Oh, you did such a great job writing about the Greek gods last year! We want you to write another book about the Ancient Greek heroes! It’ll be so cool!’” Well, thanks to a bribe of a year’s supply of pizza and blue jelly beans, everyone’s favorite sardonic demigod is back with Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes, a stellar companion to Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods.
Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes (B&N Exclusive Edition)
Hardcover
$23.74
$24.99
Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes (B&N Exclusive Edition)
By Rick Riordan
Hardcover
$23.74
$24.99
As he did in the Greek gods volume, here Percy takes a break from his own adventures to offer up some insight on 12 of the heroes of Greek mythology, including Perseus (Percy’s namesake), Psyche, Daedalus, Theseus, Bellerophon, and of course, Hercules. And while you may be familiar with at least some of these character, you’ve never seen them through Percy’s eyes, with his firsthand knowledge, funny and irreverent style, sarcastic asides, and pop culture references—from the gods Googling themselves, to Perseus needing Apple Maps to get back home. Percy (well, Riordan, if we’re getting technical) makes these tales super-accessible, fresh, and current for young readers. Plus, there’s the added benefit of illustrator John Rocco’s beautifully dark illustrations sprinkled liberally throughout.
And—major bonus—the Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition includes a cheat sheet on the Greek heroes with full-color illustrations by Rocco and important stats on the book’s stars.
Speaking of important stats, we thought we’d give you a look at some of our favorite lines about the Greek heroes that you will only ever get from Percy Jackson, so don’t go looking for any ancient Greek texts to cross-check—we doubt those writers had ever even heard of Justin Bieber anyway.
Perseus
Best known for: Chopping off Medusa’s snakey head
Best Percy line about him: “‘Thank you, great goddess!’ Perseus was so overwhelmed, he tried to give Athena a hug, but she backed away. ‘Whoa, there, big boy. No touchy the goddess.’”
Psyche
Best known for: Being really hot and completing a bunch of near-impossible quests to win back her husband, Eros
Best Percy line about her: “It must suck to be born super gorgeous.”
Daedalus
Best known for: Building the Labyrinth to house the half-man, half-bull Minotaur
Best Percy line about him: “Believe me on this. I’ve been inside [the Labyrinth]. It’s not one of those places where you think, When I grow up, I’m totally taking my kids here every summer!”
Atalanta
Best known for: Killing the Kalydonian Boar (a.k.a. the Death Pig) and running super-fast
Best Percy line about her: “For years I thought this lady was the capital of Georgia. Then I figured out Atalanta and Atlanta were two separate words, and I wondered if maybe Atalanta was named after Atlanta because she really liked the Braves or Coca-Cola. But nope.”
Bellerophon
Best known for: Managing to ride Pegasus and killing the Chimera
Best Percy line about him: “For a souvenir, Bellerophon cut off the Chimera’s goat head with its steaming lead-coated mouth. He took a couple of selfies with the monster’s corpse.”
Orpheus
Best known for: Trying to bring back Eurydice from the Underworld and making the tragic mistake of doing the one thing Hades told him not to do—looking back to see if Eurydice was really behind him
Best Percy line about him: “He was bigger than Elvis, bigger than Bieber, bigger than *insert name of whatever boy band is popular this week.* (Sorry, I don’t keep track.)”
Hercules
Best known for: Being crazy-strong and completing 12 great tasks from Eurystheus
Best Percy line about him: “Hercules frowned. ‘That worked temporarily, but to get rid of all these birds, I’ll need more cowbell.’ Athena shuddered. ‘No mortal should ever use the words ‘more cowbell.’”
Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes is available now, and it should help tide us over as we wait for the first book in Riordan’s new Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, which arrives in October.
As he did in the Greek gods volume, here Percy takes a break from his own adventures to offer up some insight on 12 of the heroes of Greek mythology, including Perseus (Percy’s namesake), Psyche, Daedalus, Theseus, Bellerophon, and of course, Hercules. And while you may be familiar with at least some of these character, you’ve never seen them through Percy’s eyes, with his firsthand knowledge, funny and irreverent style, sarcastic asides, and pop culture references—from the gods Googling themselves, to Perseus needing Apple Maps to get back home. Percy (well, Riordan, if we’re getting technical) makes these tales super-accessible, fresh, and current for young readers. Plus, there’s the added benefit of illustrator John Rocco’s beautifully dark illustrations sprinkled liberally throughout.
And—major bonus—the Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition includes a cheat sheet on the Greek heroes with full-color illustrations by Rocco and important stats on the book’s stars.
Speaking of important stats, we thought we’d give you a look at some of our favorite lines about the Greek heroes that you will only ever get from Percy Jackson, so don’t go looking for any ancient Greek texts to cross-check—we doubt those writers had ever even heard of Justin Bieber anyway.
Perseus
Best known for: Chopping off Medusa’s snakey head
Best Percy line about him: “‘Thank you, great goddess!’ Perseus was so overwhelmed, he tried to give Athena a hug, but she backed away. ‘Whoa, there, big boy. No touchy the goddess.’”
Psyche
Best known for: Being really hot and completing a bunch of near-impossible quests to win back her husband, Eros
Best Percy line about her: “It must suck to be born super gorgeous.”
Daedalus
Best known for: Building the Labyrinth to house the half-man, half-bull Minotaur
Best Percy line about him: “Believe me on this. I’ve been inside [the Labyrinth]. It’s not one of those places where you think, When I grow up, I’m totally taking my kids here every summer!”
Atalanta
Best known for: Killing the Kalydonian Boar (a.k.a. the Death Pig) and running super-fast
Best Percy line about her: “For years I thought this lady was the capital of Georgia. Then I figured out Atalanta and Atlanta were two separate words, and I wondered if maybe Atalanta was named after Atlanta because she really liked the Braves or Coca-Cola. But nope.”
Bellerophon
Best known for: Managing to ride Pegasus and killing the Chimera
Best Percy line about him: “For a souvenir, Bellerophon cut off the Chimera’s goat head with its steaming lead-coated mouth. He took a couple of selfies with the monster’s corpse.”
Orpheus
Best known for: Trying to bring back Eurydice from the Underworld and making the tragic mistake of doing the one thing Hades told him not to do—looking back to see if Eurydice was really behind him
Best Percy line about him: “He was bigger than Elvis, bigger than Bieber, bigger than *insert name of whatever boy band is popular this week.* (Sorry, I don’t keep track.)”
Hercules
Best known for: Being crazy-strong and completing 12 great tasks from Eurystheus
Best Percy line about him: “Hercules frowned. ‘That worked temporarily, but to get rid of all these birds, I’ll need more cowbell.’ Athena shuddered. ‘No mortal should ever use the words ‘more cowbell.’”
Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes is available now, and it should help tide us over as we wait for the first book in Riordan’s new Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, which arrives in October.