50 Fun Facts About Rick Riordan

Which learning difference did Rick Riordan give Percy Jackson because his own son Haley had been diagnosed with it?

Dyslexia and ADHD both went into the hero after Haley's diagnosis, and the first adventures began as bedtime stories Riordan made up for him.

Which Greek god is revealed as the father of twelve-year-old Percy Jackson in The Lightning Thief?

Poseidon had sworn with his two brothers to father no more children after World War II, so he stayed away throughout Percy's childhood.

Which fantasy epic did the young Rick Riordan love, prompting a teacher to suggest novels about Norse mythology?

The Lord of the Rings was his way in: the Norse-myth novels that teacher recommended became his first introduction to mythology and still influence his writing.

Which instrument did Rick Riordan plan to study when he enrolled in North Texas State's music program?

Guitar was the dream, but he transferred to another university, switched to English and history, and ended up certified to teach both.

Which Texas city is Rick Riordan's hometown, where he earned a teaching certificate at a University of Texas campus?

San Antonio is the city the family left in 2013, moving east so that his older son Haley could start college.

Which actor was cast as Percy Jackson in the television series co-created by author Rick Riordan?

Walker Scobell won the lead in January 2022, and Logan Lerman, who played Percy in the two earlier films, praised the casting.

Which Greek god does Zeus punish by turning him into mortal teenager Lester Papadopoulos in a Rick Riordan series?

Apollo crash-lands in a New York City dumpster with his powers gone, and has to rescue the world's lost oracles before he can become a god again.

Rick Riordan wrote The Maze of Bones as the opening book of which multi-author Scholastic adventure series?

The 39 Clues was a series he helped Scholastic develop, and his opening book topped the New York Times best-seller list in September 2008.

Which Jules Verne character is revealed as the ancestor of Ana Dakkar in Rick Riordan's Daughter of the Deep?

Captain Nemo keyed his greatest inventions to his own bloodline, so only he or a direct descendant such as Ana can operate them.

In which American city does Magnus Chase live on the streets before his death in The Sword of Summer?

Boston is where the homeless sixteen-year-old dies fighting a fire giant on Longfellow Bridge, and it is the city Riordan himself moved to in 2013.

In which California city did Rick Riordan teach English and social studies at Presidio Hill School for eight years?

San Francisco was his classroom for eight years, and he later handed the Lightning Thief manuscript to a group of middle schoolers to critique.

Which streaming service released the Percy Jackson television series, with Rick Riordan co-writing the pilot?

Disney+ premiered the show in December 2023, and the pilot script Riordan co-wrote later won him an Emmy for writing.

Which Greek goddess is the mother of Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson's closest ally and later girlfriend?

Athena gave her daughter a Yankees cap that turns its wearer invisible, a twelfth-birthday present that Annabeth carries on her quests.

Which Norse god is the father of Magnus Chase in Rick Riordan's Gods of Asgard trilogy?

Frey once owned Sumarbrander, the sentient Sword of Summer that his son now wields, and he rules Alfheim, the world of the light elves.

Which son of Jupiter wakes on a school bus with no memory at the start of The Lost Hero?

Jason Grace had been swapped with Percy Jackson by the goddess Hera, who wiped both boys' memories and sent each to live among the other's friends.

Which fire-summoning son of Hephaestus leads the building of the flying ship Argo II in The Heroes of Olympus?

Leo Valdez shares a rare gift with the previous fire-user in his cabin's history, a demigod blamed for starting the Great Fire of London.

Which Titan leads the war on Olympus as the main villain of the original Percy Jackson series?

Kronos returns by possessing the body of Luke, the demigod who stole Zeus's lightning bolt so that the defeated Titan could rise again.

Which awakening primordial goddess must seven demigods unite to stop in Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus?

Gaea is the Earth goddess herself, and she is beaten only when one of the seven sacrifices himself in the final battle.

Which New York borough holds the mansion where Uncle Amos shelters Carter and Sadie Kane in The Red Pyramid?

Brooklyn gives the base its name, Brooklyn House, and Riordan later wrote a Brooklyn House manual as a guide to the whole trilogy.

Which Egyptian goddess has been secretly protecting Sadie Kane while living as her pet cat Muffin?

Bast sacrifices herself defending the siblings from the crocodile god Sobek, and the other gods later help her return to the mortal world.

Which Egyptian god shares Carter Kane's body as his host in Rick Riordan's The Red Pyramid?

Horus chooses Carter while the goddess Isis chooses his sister, which makes both siblings outlaws to the House of Life, where hosting gods is forbidden.

Which son of Hades, born in 1930s Italy, journeys into Tartarus in Rick Riordan's The Sun and the Star?

Nico di Angelo was hidden in the Lotus Hotel, which pulled him out of time for decades, so he is still a teenager despite his birth date.

Which twelve-year-old daughter of Demeter binds the fallen god Lester Papadopoulos to her service in The Hidden Oracle?

Meg McCaffrey first appears chasing off two muggers by pelting them with fruit, and she later summons a karpos that she names Peaches.

Which Roman emperor's tower gives its name to the fifth and final novel about the mortal Lester Papadopoulos?

Nero is one of three emperors who lived on as minor gods, yet he turns out to be only a pawn of the monster Python.

Which gender-fluid child of Loki earned Rick Riordan a Stonewall Book Award for The Hammer of Thor?

Alex Fierro is called he or she according to gender at the time, never they, and fights with a garrote sharp enough to slice through rock.

What ordinary name does Sumarbrander, the sentient sword wielded by Magnus Chase, go by?

Jack is prized enough that the fire giant Surt attacks Magnus on a bridge to claim the blade, a fight that costs the boy his life.

Which deaf elf, experienced in rune casting, befriends Magnus Chase alongside the dwarf Blitzen in The Sword of Summer?

Hearthstone comes from Alfheim, and Magnus knows him only as a friend from the streets until he and Blitzen reveal what they really are.

Which daughter of Aphrodite carries Katoptris, a knife once owned by Helen of Troy, in The Heroes of Olympus?

Piper McLean also has charmspeak, a rare inherited gift that lets her talk people into doing what she says, and her blade shows visions of the future.

Which Rick Riordan private eye holds a Berkeley PhD in medieval studies and is a tai chi master?

Tres Navarre is an unlicensed Texas investigator whose 1997 debut was Riordan's first published book, eight years ahead of any demigods.

Which Long Island training ground for the children of Greek gods does Percy Jackson reach in The Lightning Thief?

Camp Half-Blood grew out of Camp Capers, the summer camp where Riordan spent three years as music director while he was in college.

What kind of mythical creature is Grover Underwood, the best friend and guardian of Percy Jackson?

A satyr who doubles as Percy's protector, Grover ends the original series carrying on the legacy of the lost god Pan.

What everyday object does Riptide, the shape-shifting sword carried by Percy Jackson, disguise itself as?

A pen hides a blade called Anaklusmos in Ancient Greek, which Zoë Nightshade once gave to Heracles and never got back.

In which Percy Jackson novel are New York City's mortals put to sleep during the final battle with the Titans?

The Last Olympian ends the war but introduces a new prophecy about seven demigods, the seed of the sequel series that began a year later.

Which legendary object must Percy Jackson's friends recover in The Sea of Monsters to save a magical tree?

The Golden Fleece works too well: besides restoring the tree, it revives the daughter of Zeus whose spirit had been bound up in it.

Which studio released two Percy Jackson films that author Rick Riordan had no involvement in making?

20th Century Fox adapted only the first two novels, in 2010 and 2013, before the screen rights passed to the makers of the television series.

Which Roshani Chokshi heroine, a girl who lights a cursed lamp, launched the Rick Riordan Presents imprint?

Aru Shah stretches the truth to impress classmates, lights the lamp to prove it is cursed, and frees a demon who can freeze time.

Which mystery novel, Rick Riordan's first published book, won both a Shamus and an Anthony Award?

Big Red Tequila appeared from Bantam in 1997 and opened a run of seven mysteries for adult readers about the same Texas private eye.

How did Rick Riordan, already a published mystery writer, first send out the manuscript of The Lightning Thief?

Under a pseudonym, the manuscript collected many rejections before an agent took it on, and in 2004 it sold for enough that he could quit his job.

Which author of LGBT middle grade fiction co-wrote The Sun and the Star with Rick Riordan?

Mark Oshiro took equal credit for the synopsis and the manuscript, and was brought in so that the story's central romance would ring true.

Which mystery prize did Rick Riordan win for The Widower's Two-Step, adding to his Shamus and Anthony honours?

The Edgar Award, named for Edgar Allan Poe, went to the second mystery about his Texas private eye, after the first had already won two prizes.

Where in Ireland did Rick Riordan complete an online master's degree in Gaelic literature?

University College Cork was a homecoming of sorts: Riordan's family came from Cork, and he finished the degree in 2021.

Which British author's Tales of the Greek Heroes does Rick Riordan credit with inspiring his mythology novels?

Roger Lancelyn Green's retelling was one of Riordan's first introductions to the myths, and he later wrote the introduction for its Puffin Classics edition.

Which publisher bought The Lightning Thief for enough money that Rick Riordan could quit his day job?

Miramax Books published the first three Percy Jackson novels before the imprint was folded into Hyperion, which released the rest.

Which powerful family do orphans Amy and Dan discover they belong to in Rick Riordan's The Maze of Bones?

The Cahills fight one another for the ingredients of a mysterious serum, and the two siblings turn down a million-dollar inheritance to join the hunt.

Which Rick Riordan collection gathers three crossover stories pairing Percy Jackson and Annabeth with the Kane siblings?

Demigods & Magicians opens with The Son of Sobek, in which Carter Kane and Percy warily team up against a giant crocodile.

Which artist painted the cover of The Sword of Summer and illustrated the book Percy Jackson's Greek Gods?

John Rocco also painted the cover of The Lost Hero and illustrated The Serpent's Shadow, so one artist links Riordan's Greek, Norse and Egyptian series.

What did the teenage Rick Riordan publish to mock his high school, prompting the football team to egg his car?

An underground newspaper got him into trouble even though he was also an editor of the official school paper and placed third in the state for feature writing.

Rick Riordan married Becky Klahn in 1985 on a day that was already which annual occasion for them both?

Their shared birthday falls on 5 June, so the wedding put three celebrations on one day; the couple later had two sons, Haley and Patrick.

Which Egyptian dwarf god does Rick Riordan name among his favourite characters because he is so much fun to write?

Bes makes that short list alongside Grover, and in the Kane books he is the god of dwarfs and protector of the innocent.

Which monster lures Percy Jackson and his friends into her Garden Gnome Emporium under the name Aunty Em?

Medusa wants to add the trio to her collection of stone statues, which already includes Grover's unlucky uncle Ferdinand.