Demigods and Monsters
A non-fiction collection of critical and appreciative essays about Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, written by an assortment of young-adult and fantasy authors and edited by Leah Wilson, with an introduction by Riordan himself. Published by Smart Pop, an imprint of BenBella Books, it is part of the publisher's pop-culture essay line and is aimed at older fans, students, and adult readers interested in the ideas behind the series rather than at the middle-grade audience of the novels. The contributors examine the Greek gods, demigods, monsters, prophecy, and mythology that power Riordan's books, exploring topics such as how Percy compares to his far less admirable mythological namesake Perseus, the meaning and treatment of Percy's dyslexia and ADHD, the role of oracles and prophecy, and how the ancient myths are reframed for a modern audience. Riordan's own introduction offers insight into the series and how he came to write it, and the volume closes with a glossary of Greek mythology covering the places, monsters, gods, and heroes that appear across the books. Contributing authors across its editions include figures such as Rosemary Clement-Moore, Cameron Dokey, Jenny Han, Sarah Beth Durst, Kathi Appelt, and Hilari Bell, among others. An expanded edition adds further essays. Read it as literary criticism and companion commentary, not as a story set in the Percy Jackson world.
No. It is a non-fiction collection of essays about the Percy Jackson series written by various authors, with an introduction by Rick Riordan; it does not tell a new story in the Percy Jackson world.
The essays were written by a range of young-adult and fantasy authors, including Hilari Bell, Kathi Appelt, Jenny Han, Sarah Beth Durst, Rosemary Clement-Moore, and Cameron Dokey, among others, with the collection edited by Leah Wilson.
Riordan wrote the introduction, which gives further insight into the series and its creation; he did not write the essays themselves.
They explore the series' Greek gods, demigods, monsters, and prophecy, including Percy's dyslexia and ADHD and how he compares to his mythological namesake Perseus, and the book includes a glossary of Greek myth.
It was originally published in 2008 by Smart Pop, an imprint of BenBella Books, and a later expanded edition was released in 2013.