The Hermes cabin are not pulling a prank. It’s official! Rick Riordan, author of the world-famous Percy Jackson series Heroes of Olympus series, Trials of Apollo series, Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase series and more, has announced that Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods, the sixth book in the Percy Jackson series, is coming out on September 26, 2023!
The new book is set after the Heroes of Olympus series, but before the Trials of Apollo, and is the first, first-person, Percy Jackson POV full-length novel since The Last Olympian in 2009. It is also the first book to focus exclusively on the original trio – Percy, Annabeth and Grover – since The Lightning Thief in 2005. OG Percy Jackson fans, rejoice! Major return to our childhood!
Back in 2019, when Riordan and Disney first began exploring the idea of a new Percy Jackson adaptation, Riordan pitched the idea of a new Percy Jackson novel or novels, which Disney Publishing could release when the show came out, in the hopes that it might convince Disney to commit to the live-action movie or TV series adaptation. This was ultimately not necessary; 20th Television was able to secure approvals to make the show without any extra incentive.
However, this left Riordan with several sketched plots for a new Percy Jackson book and in 2022, when they got the green light to begin filming, Disney Publishing wanted to publish a new work from Rick Riordan that would help them “take advantage of the new interest in Percy when the TV show came out”.
The result: Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods. It is a love letter to the fans; Rick Riordan states:
“I wanted it to be a book you all might actually love, a kind of ‘thank you’ for sticking with me all these years as you waited for a better PJO adaptation.”
Riordan’s description of the book is thus:
“The novel unfolds during Percy’s senior year at Alternative High School in New York — after the action of The Heroes of Olympus, but before The Trials of Apollo. This time around, Percy is not worried about saving the world. He has a much harder quest: getting into college. New Rome University requires recommendation letters from three gods, which means . . . yep, you guessed it. Percy has to run quests to get the letters. (That sound you hear is Percy screaming into his pillow in frustration.)
First quest: the cupbearer of the gods, Ganymede, is missing his chalice. Not only is this embarrassing. It’s also a potential disaster, since any mortal who happens to drink from the cup will gain immortality. Percy, Annabeth and Grover have to find that chalice and return it to Ganymede before anyone realizes he lost it. These gods . . . they really need GPS tags on their magic items, don’t they?”
In addition to the upcoming Percy Jackson Book 6, fans of Rick Riordan and the Percy Jackson universe also have the new Nico di Angelo adventure The Sun and the Star, cowritten by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro, a completely different take on the PJO universe.
Additionally, here’s to hoping the Percy Jackson Disney Plus series will air some time in 2023! They’ve already filmed half the book and the teaser trailer is already out!
Click here for more news about the upcoming Percy Jackson Disney Plus series and stay tuned for more Rick Riordan related news!