''The Demigod Files'' is a collection of stories by
Rick Riordan
Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million co ...
published on February 10, 2009.
''The Demigod Files'' on the author's website
It is a supplementary book to series ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians
''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' is a series of five fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the '' Camp Half-Blood Chronicles''. The novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st centu ...
''. It mainly contains three short stories, titled "Percy Jackson and the Stolen Chariot", "Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon", and "Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades". It is set between the fourth and fifth novels, ''The Battle of the Labyrinth
''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' is an American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology written by Rick Riordan. It is the fourth novel in the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. The novel was first published in the United States on ...
'' and ''The Last Olympian
''The Last Olympian'' is a fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology by Rick Riordan, published on May 5, 2009. It is the fifth and final novel of the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series and serves as the direct sequel to ''Percy Jacks ...
''.
Additional contents are a letter from the Camp Half-Blood scribe Rick Riordan, question-and-answer style "interviews" with some of the campers, and various activities such as a crossword puzzle,
Stories
Percy Jackson and the Stolen Chariot
Percy Jackson
Perseus "Percy" Jackson is a fictional character, the title character and narrator of Rick Riordan's ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. He is also one of seven main protagonists of the sequel series ''The Heroes of Olympus'', appearing ...
saves Clarisse La Rue from feather-shooting birds in his school. After the fight, Clarisse reveals that, as part of a ritual for the children of Ares, she must bring the Ares war chariot back to his temple on the ''Intrepid'', an aircraft carrier that has now become a museum, by sundown or she would be in trouble. However her immortal brothers, Phobos (representing fear) and Deimos Deimos, a Greek word for ''dread'', may refer to:
* Deimos (deity), one of the sons of Ares and Aphrodite in Greek mythology
* Deimos (moon), the smaller and outermost of Mars' two natural satellites
* Elecnor Deimos, a Spanish aerospace company
* ...
(representing terror), the usual drivers and guardians of the chariot, have stolen it from Clarisse out of jealousy.
Percy offers his help, and Clarisse reluctantly accepts it. They meet the two gods at a zoo. They battle the two gods once they discover how to counter the terror or fear. They bring the chariot to Ares' Temple to the ''Intrepid''. The story takes place in between ''The Battle of the Labyrinth
''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' is an American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology written by Rick Riordan. It is the fourth novel in the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. The novel was first published in the United States on ...
'' and ''The Last Olympian
''The Last Olympian'' is a fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology by Rick Riordan, published on May 5, 2009. It is the fifth and final novel of the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series and serves as the direct sequel to ''Percy Jacks ...
''.
Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon
Percy Jackson
Perseus "Percy" Jackson is a fictional character, the title character and narrator of Rick Riordan's ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. He is also one of seven main protagonists of the sequel series ''The Heroes of Olympus'', appearing ...
and Charles Beckendorf are on the same team for capture the flag
Capture the flag (CTF) is a traditional outdoor sport where two or more teams each have a flag (or other markers) and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base", and bring it safely back to their own base. ...
. Beckendorf, a son of Hephaestus
Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter Burk ...
,suggests Percy to ask Annabeth, daughter of Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
, to the Fourth of July fireworks, the biggest dating event of the summer at Camp Half-Blood. During the game, he and Beckendorf try to sneak up to the enemy territory to find the flag. Instead, Percy gets caught by Annabeth and Silena Beauregard while Beckondorf finds the dreaded Myrmekes
Myrmekes (Μύρμηκες) is Greek for "ants". Greek mythological animals and tribes were called with this name.
Mythology
* Myrmidons, ants transformed into a tribe of people by Zeus.
* Herodotus, wrote about Gold-digging ants in India which w ...
(giant, blood-red ants) carrying a bronze dragon head at the Ant Hill. Beckendorf, who believes this is a blessing from his father Hephaestus, runs up to get it and end up getting captured.
Percy, Annabeth and Silena attempts to rescue Beckendorf. They decide to find and recreate the huge bronze dragon that was once one of Camp Half-Blood's defences. They eventually manage to make the dragon (an automaton) and get it to save Beckendorf. The dragon blasts open the ant nest, but gets attacked and ends up damaged. Percy, Annabeth and Silena find valuables after darting in the anthill. Once back at camp, they learn the games hasn't yet been finished. Annabeth forces the boys to stay in Capture the Flag prison while the girls go finish the game. Before resuming the games, Annabeth asks Percy to the fireworks.
Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades
Rick Riordan wrote this short story for World Book Day
World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote reading, publishing, and copyrig ...
2009. It takes place between ''The Battle of the Labyrinth
''The Battle of the Labyrinth'' is an American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology written by Rick Riordan. It is the fourth novel in the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. The novel was first published in the United States on ...
'' and ''The Last Olympian
''The Last Olympian'' is a fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology by Rick Riordan, published on May 5, 2009. It is the fifth and final novel of the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series and serves as the direct sequel to ''Percy Jacks ...
''. It seems to be part of the canon as a whole, as it was referenced in ''The House of Hades
''The House of Hades'' is a fantasy-adventure novel written by American author Rick Riordan, based on Greek and Roman mythology. It was published on October 8, 2013, and is the fourth book in ''The Heroes of Olympus'' series, preceded by ''The M ...
'' and ''The Lost Hero
''The Lost Hero'' is an American fantasy-adventure novel written by Rick Riordan, based on Greek and Roman mythology. It was published on October 12, 2010, and is the first book in '' The Heroes of Olympus'' series, a sequel to the ''Percy Jacks ...
''.
Persephone
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...
calls Percy
The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...
, Thalia
Thalia, Thalía, Thaleia or Thalian may refer to:
People
* Thalia (given name), including a list of people with the name
* Thalía (born 1971), Mexican singer and actress
Mythological and fictional characters
* Thalia (Grace), one of the three ...
and Nico
Naftiran Intertrade Company Société à responsabilité limitée#In Switzerland, limited (NICO) is a Switzerland, Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC bu ...
, the children of the Big Three, into the Underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
...
to retrieve Hades
Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...
' new sword from a demigod spy who stole it. Persephone gives them a magical flower to track the thief. Percy, Nico and Thalia must retrieve the sword before time runs out.
They track the thief, Ethan Nakamura, with the help of the flower. Issues arise when Ethan revives the Titan Iapetus
In Greek mythology, Iapetus (; ; grc, Ἰαπετός, Iapetós), also Japetus, is a Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia and father of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius. He was also called the father of Buphagus and Anchiale in other ...
using a special key in the sword. After a fight with the enemy, Percy flings Iapetus into the river Lethe
River Lethe is located 18 km (12 mi) west of Mount Katmai, Alaska Peninsula, and is the middle branch of the Ukak River. It flows through the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and meets the Ukak at .
The river was named in 1917 by R. F. G ...
, a river that erases memories. After being memory-wiped Iapetus is convinced by Percy that his name is Bob and that they are friends. When the three heroes and "Bob" return to Hades and Persephone with the sword, they learn that Persephone commissioned the sword against Hades' orders after seeing Hades in anger and threatening Persephone never to disobey him again.
Camper interviews
The book contains fictional interviews with multiple characters at Camp Half-Blood including Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, the Stoll brothers Connor and Travis, and Clarisse La Rue.
Critical reception
The book received mixed reviews. ''Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' criticized it saying, "Bland illustrations depicting the contents of Annabeth's trunk, a map of Camp Half-Blood and a short 'sneak peek' at the book ''The Last Olympian
''The Last Olympian'' is a fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology by Rick Riordan, published on May 5, 2009. It is the fifth and final novel of the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series and serves as the direct sequel to ''Percy Jacks ...
'' pad the contents (barely) to book length; the inclusion of a crossword puzzle and a word search makes the book difficult to share. Not a must-read-but try telling that to rabid fans."School Library Journal
''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...
'' reviewer Tim Wadham commended the writing, saying, "Despite the fact that this is more of a marketing package than anything else, the quality of and interest in the three stories likely justifies its purchase."
See also
*Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
*Greek gods
The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion.
Immortals
The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...
*Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
*Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...
*Mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
*The Demigod Diaries
''The Demigod Diaries'' is a collection of short stories relating to '' The Heroes of Olympus'' book series.
Summary
''The Demigod Diaries'' contains four new stories, illustrations of Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, ...
References
External links
Official UK Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demigod Files
2009 short story collections
Fantasy short story collections
Percy Jackson & the Olympians