Riordanverse novellas

 All you need to know about

RIORDANVERSE NOVELLAS

Author : Rick Riordan 

Demigod Files 

The Demigod Files consists of short stories of Percy's adventures in the electrifying world of greek gods. The entire book comprises of three events which all happen before the events of the Last Olympian (book five of the Percy Jackson series), hence it is better for the reader to read this book before starting the Heroes of Olympus series. In the first story, Percy Jackson and the Stolen Chariot, Clarrise La Rue, daughter of Ares, has been assigned a quest to ride Ares's war chariot, which had been stolen by her immortal half brothers, Phobos and Deimos. In order to retrieve the chariot and restore it back to her father, Clarrise grudgingly accepts Percy Jackson's help to get back the chariot before dusk to avoid incurring Ares's wrath, but both heroes must face their worst fears in the process.

In the second story, Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon, a game of capture-the-flag goes horribly wrong when Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus is captured by myrmekes (giant ants which are DEFINITELY not harmless) and Percy Jackson, together with Annabeth Chase and Silena Beauregard must rescue him by fixing the legendary Bronze Dragon, and not get killed by the myrmekes OR the rogue Bronze Dragon which is VERY angry.

In the third story, the Sword of Hades, Percy Jackson, Thalia Grace and Nico di Angelo are summoned by Persephone, goddess of spring and queen of the Underworld, to find the immensely powerful Sword of Hades which has been stolen by the Titan lord Kronos with the help of a demigod who is still within the premises of the Underworld. Percy, Thalia and Nico must enlist the help of several intimidating inhabitants of the Underworld and must find the thief and retrieve the weapon, before all goes wrong.

The book also has interviews with the different campers of Camp Half-Blood and illustrations of Annabeth's trunk and a map of Camp Half-Blood.

Demigod Diaries 

The events of this book take place at different periods of time,  which will be further explained, but it is best to read this book after the Blood of Olympus, book five of the Heroes of Olympus series, as it will not affect the reader's view of the events. The first story, The Diary of Luke Castellan, is a prequel story which takes place five years before the events of the first Percy Jackson book. The story is narrated from Luke's perspective, as Thalia and himself are trapped inside a creepy mansion in which a cursed son of Apollo resides and they must find a way to escape before the sun sets. The story then concludes after Luke and Thalia find a young Annabeth Chase and include her in their runaway family. 

The second story of the Demigod Diaries, Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes, takes place exactly a month after the events of the Last Olympian. Percy and Annabeth are assigned a quest by the god Hermes, who instructs them to find his Caduceus, which was stolen by the fire-breathing giant Cacus, while Percy asks for a favor in return. Minor detail, the tip of the Caduceus turns people to stone and it has laser mode. Oh joy.

In the story Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford, the events take place after the Lost Hero and simultaneously during the events of the Son of Neptune. Leo Valdez's magic walking table, Buford, had thrown a tantrum and had ran away with the Argo 2's syncopator, without which Bunker 9 and most of the forest would blow up, all because Leo had absentmindedly cleaned Buford with Windex instead of Lemon Pledge with extra moisturizing formula. Talk about temperamental tables. 

With the help of his trusty friends Jason and Piper, Leo must locate Buford, all while escaping from the blood-thirsty Maenads, the followers of the god Dionysus, who are quite eager to rip them apart. All within one hour before Bunker 9 and the woods explode. WORST. DEADLINE. EVER.

The fourth and the final story of the Demigod Diaries, The Son of Magic, takes place after the events of the Last Olympian. This story is the debut story of Rick Riordan's son, Haley Riordan. The story explores the perspective of Alabaster Torrington, son of Hecate and one of the demigods who fought on Kronos's side during the second Titan war in Last Olympian. Most of the enemy demigods who fought with Kronos in the war were pardoned by the gods, but Alabaster was supposed to be executed due to leading his troupe of demigod siblings into battle. Alabaster is also being hunted by Lamia, his half sister and daughter of Hecate. He then seeks help from Dr Howard Claymore, who is famous for his theories about death and his main query, what exactly happens after death?

Dr Claymore and Alabaster must then work together against Lamia and find the spell to stop her, once and for all. 

My Comments 

The Demigod Files and the Demigod Diaries are phenomenal books exploring deeper into the Percy Jackson universe. Stories like the Diary of Luke Castellan and the Son of Magic are deeply insightful and open new doors and possibilities in the Riordanverse. Reading the stories from the perspective of enemy demigods like Luke and Alabaster is truly surreal and enables us to see what really drove these heroes to do what they did, and their true sentiments and emotions. Other stories like the Bronze Dragon and the Quest for Buford and so on were almost like the behind-the-scenes life of a demigod and the regular challenges they face in daily life. The stories are riveting and animated, and highly enjoyable by Percy Jackson readers. Although these novellas or short stories may seem insignificant in contrast to the main series, they are extremely vital to the series and therefore its much easier to understand the events in the books and allow us to empathize with each character. These novellas are hence a great read and a must read for every Percy Jackson fan.  

PS: 

On Wednesday, 18th August 2021, Percy Jackson turned 28 (though he will always be 17 in our hearts). A belated happy birthday to our favorite son of Poseidon, who had been a truly marvelous part of every reader's childhood and inspired so many readers by just being brave and awesome and sassy enough. Thank you for showing us that we, too, can be brave just like you. Happy birthday Seaweed Brain!