''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 cent ...

''. 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''. 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, and a preview of ''The Last Olympian''. Antonio Caparo created the character designs.

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'', appear ...

saves

Clarisse La Rue A description of most characters featured in various mythology series by Rick Riordan. Overview List indicator(s) * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to ...

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 ''

'' and '' The Last Olympian''.

Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon

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 B ...

,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 v ...

, 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 (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 2009. It takes place between ''

'' and '' The Last Olympian''. It seems to be part of the canon as a whole, as it was referenced in '' The House of Hades'' 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 aft ...

calls Percy, Thalia and

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pl ...

, 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 underwo ...

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 Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

Iapetus In Greek mythology, Iapetus (; ; grc, Ἰαπετός, Iapetós), also Japetus, is a Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia and father of Atlas (mythology), Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus (mythology), Epimetheus, and Menoetius (mythology), Menoetius. ...

using a special key in the sword. After a fight with the enemy, Percy flings Iapetus into the river Lethe, 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 ...

'' 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'' 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."

References

External links

Official UK Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demigod Files 2009 short story collections Fantasy short story collections Percy Jackson & the Olympians