Welcome once again to the Riordan Retrospective.
For those of you just joining the fun, I'm taking a look back at the
works of Rick Riordan, collectively known as the Riordanverse. That means
the Percy Jackson series, its sequels
and its spin-offs. Last time, we took a look back at The Battle of the Labyrinth. This time, we're taking a look
at The Demigod Files.
Now, this time is going to be a bit different; since
we're looking back at a short story collection rather than a novel. As
such, this retrospective might run a bit shorter than the rest, but there's
still lots of fun to be had. Let's get started by talking about the
stories themselves. As per usual, beware of potential spoilers beyond
this point.
Our first story is entitled “Percy Jackson and the
Stolen Chariot”. Percy is at school when he looks out the window and sees
Clarisse La Rue being attack by feather-shooting birds. After getting
excused from class, Percy learns that Clarisse is on a mission to retrieve Ares
missing war chariot. It's been stolen by her brothers, the gods Phobos
and Deimos, who have hidden it at the Staten Island Zoo. Percy and
Clarisse have until sundown to get the chariot back to Ares temple, aka the USS
Intrepid.
Overall, I thought that “Stolen Chariot” was a great
way to expand on the worldbuilding of the Riordanverse. We get the sense
that Percy is having adventures even when he isn't at Camp Half-Blood.
This is also the first time that minor gods have played a major role in a
story. Granted, Janus appeared in Battle
of the Labyrinth, but this time minor gods are front and center.
Also, this story confirmed a theory I'd long suspected: Percy can walk on
water! Albeit, it takes an extreme amount of concentration on his part.
The fact that the gods still have temples, of a sort, has...interesting
implications. We'll touch more on this when we get to next retrospective.
We also gain some interesting insights when Percy and
Clarisse confront their greatest fears. Not so much what their greatest
fears were; Clarisse fear being a disappointment to Ares, and Percy fears that
his friends would get hurt and he wouldn't be able to save them. No, the
interesting part is that Percy apparently counts Clarisse as one of his friends.
It really says something about how far they've come since the series
began. Rick Riordan originally posted this story, in three parts, to his
blog back in 2007 to help hold readers over until book four came out. So,
chronologically, I'd say this story takes place between The Titan's Curse and The
Battle of the Labyrinth.
Our next story is “Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon”.
Percy Jackson and Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus, are on the same
team in capture team in capture the flag. Things are not looking very
optimistic. Athena Cabin and Ares Cabin are playing on the same team and
kicking everyone's butts. Things only get worse when Beckendorf is
captured by a swarm of Myrmekes when trying to retrieve a bronze dragon head from
their nest. The head belongs to a mechanical dragon the used to help
guard the camp. Percy's going to have to team up with Annabeth and Silena
Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite, to save Beckendorf and put the bronze dragon
back together.
In every series there's always a few ensemble darkhorses, as TV Tropes would put it. They're those character who, even
though they don't necessarily play a major role in a given work, but you love
them anyway. Everyone has their personal ensemble dark horse, but to me,
it's always been Beckendorf and Silena. I can't really explain why, but
I've always been fond of them. So, I was very happy that they both played
starring roles in this short story. These stories might seem like fun
little side adventures, but they have actual relevance to the overall plot of
the series. The titular bronze dragon becomes incredibly significant in The Heroes of Olympus.
In terms of chronology, I'd say that this story takes
place between The Titan's Curse and The Battle of the Labyrinth. It a
plot point that Beckendorf wants to ask Silena to the Fourth of July fireworks
show, the biggest dating event at Camp Half-Blood. This is significant
because Silena and Beckendorf didn't officially become a couple until the end
of Battle of the Labyrinth.
Then again, that doesn't necessarily work out so...you know what?
Don't question it, it's a story with Beckendorf and Silena, enjoy it for
that alone. It was also really nice to have a story set a Camp Half-Blood
where the fate of the world wasn't at stake. As with “Stolen Chariot”, it
helps to expand the worldbuilding.
Our third and final story is “Percy Jackson and the
Sword of Hades”. It is set between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The
Last Olympian. Percy, Thalia and Nico have been summoned to the
underworld by the goddess Persephone. Hades new sword has been stolen by
a demigod working for Kronos, and it's up to the children of the Big Three to
get it back. This is especially important because the Keys of Hades have
been forged into the sword. The keys allow anyone to enter the
underworld, or free any spirits in the underworld, anytime they please.
This is another story that winds up having huge
significance in The Heroes of Olympus.
This is when we first meet the titan Iapetus, or as he's known after
falling into the River Lethe, Bob. Thalia and Nico have always been very
popular ensemble darkhorses in their own right, and I like to think that this
story made a lot of fans very happy. In fact, Nico gained such popularity
that he'd later go on to play a major role in The Heroes of Olympus. I loved that the story included an
appearance by Melinoe, goddess of ghosts. She's definitely not a goddess
most people would know off the top of their heads.
Fun fact, Rick wrote this story for World Book Day
back in 2009. I gotta say, I did not see the end of this story coming.
Turns out it was Persephone who made the sword in hopes of bringing
balance of power among the Big Three. Hades had not clue, and wasn't
entirely happy about what Persephone was up to. That actually brings up
an interesting point. Zeus has his thunderbolt, Poseidon has his trident,
but Hades doesn't really have any iconic weapon. He has his Helm of
Darkness, and his two-pronged staff, but nothing with any offensive
capabilities.
Now that's we've talked about the short stories, let's
talk about the character interviews. Well, actually, let's talk about the
introductory letter. From this letter we learn that Rick Riordan himself
is a character in the Riordanverse. Specifically, he's apparently the
head scribe of Camp Half-Blood. The
Kane Chronicles would later reaffirm Riordan's existence as a character in
the Riordanverse. This is certainly interesting, but it does raise the
question of why Percy never mentioned Rick in any of the books.
Okay, now let's talk about the interviews.
They're a collection of fictional interviews with Percy, Annabeth,
Grover, Clarisse and the Stoll Brothers. Overall, I thought they were
pretty fun. My favorite bit was when the Stoll brothers recalled the time
they tossed a golden mango with the words "To the Hottest" into the
Aphrodite Cabin and then laughed their asses off as all the Aphrodite girls
fought over it. Of course, it was the Aphrodite girls who ultimately got
the last laugh. Also, their names are Conner and Travis Stoll, and their
dad is Hermes, god of thieves (amoung other things). Funny, but it should
be noted here that one of Rick Riordan's former students really is named Travis
Stoll. Also, I'd like to take the opportunity to point out that, contrary
to popular fan belief, Conner and Travis aren't actually twins. Rick has
stated this multiple times, as has Percy in various books.
The Grover interview was also pretty fun. I
especially liked he part where he asked his story about meeting wood nymphs in
Upsate New York to be retracted. He wouldn't want to upset his girlfriend
Juniper, after all. I did find it a bit disappointing the everyone said
their favorite god, besides their parents, was Zeus. That just seemed too
predictable. I like to think they said something else, but then they
heard a clap of thunder and changed their answers.
There a few bonus features including a crossword
puzzle, a word jumble, a look inside Annabeth's camp trunk, and a sneak peak at
The Last Olympian. There's also
a map of Camp Half-Blood, but it has since become out of date.
There's not much to say about the cover, as there's
just the one. We see a sword, presumably Percy's sword Riptide, in front
of a glowing trident symbol. This is accompanied by a swirl of bubbles and set
against a blue background. As per usual, you know I'll take this moment to plug the excellent audiobook version.
Well, I think that wraps up this retrospective of The Demigod Files. Join me again
next time when we take a look back at The
Last Olympian. Until then, I will see you guys next time.
