Ask the Author: Rick Riordan
Answered Questions (529)
Rick Riordan
Well, since I write books, of course I am going to say that books are always better, but that's my personal bias! I think the crew and cast have done a remarkable job in a very challenging time for the TV industry bringing the Percy story to the screen, and I can tell you firsthand that hundreds of people poured their hearts and souls into this show, working long days for years to make it happen. If we had infinite time and infinite money and 20-20 foresight, are there things I would've changed or added? Sure! I think everyone on the team could pick some things like that. But making a TV show is a team sport, which means you have to let all the participants do their jobs and make their best creative decisions based on what is possible given the budget and the time frame, while juggling the wish list of the production team, the studio, the platform, and of course the fans. Absolutely I am involved and weigh in -- especially on the scripts. But no one can possibly control every single decision or detail, and no one is going to be 100% satisfied with everything.
The result is always going to be a compromise. As viewers, we all have our own litmus tests about what constitutes a good adaptation. Some changes that would bother you might not bother me at all, or vice versa, and in fact I think a lot of the changes in the series improved the story! But I respect and understand that everyone is going to have their own opinions, and reactions to the show are going to be in a wide range.
Having said that, I think the show has checked a lot of boxes for a lot of viewers and Percy fans, and the reception, judging from the metrics I've seen and the fan interactions I've had, has been overwhelmingly positive. The young actors, in particular, are incredible! I also think we're getting better as we go. I think season two improved upon season one, and season three is even better.
So I hope you'll keep watching and enjoying the show, but I get that it is a different experience than the books and that it may not work for everyone! I will say I've gained a great deal of respect for the work that producers, crew and actors do. It is unbelievable to me how hard they work to make even just a single episode of TV.
The result is always going to be a compromise. As viewers, we all have our own litmus tests about what constitutes a good adaptation. Some changes that would bother you might not bother me at all, or vice versa, and in fact I think a lot of the changes in the series improved the story! But I respect and understand that everyone is going to have their own opinions, and reactions to the show are going to be in a wide range.
Having said that, I think the show has checked a lot of boxes for a lot of viewers and Percy fans, and the reception, judging from the metrics I've seen and the fan interactions I've had, has been overwhelmingly positive. The young actors, in particular, are incredible! I also think we're getting better as we go. I think season two improved upon season one, and season three is even better.
So I hope you'll keep watching and enjoying the show, but I get that it is a different experience than the books and that it may not work for everyone! I will say I've gained a great deal of respect for the work that producers, crew and actors do. It is unbelievable to me how hard they work to make even just a single episode of TV.
Rick Riordan
Thanks for writing! Best advice for teachers: Don't give up after one year. It will be tempting, because the first year is completely overwhelming, but if you can make yourself do a second year, you will find (I hope) that it is much, much easier. Never easy, but definitely easier.
There are not a lot of deleted scenes from my books, honestly. There are a couple that I've mentioned in blog posts in the past -- you can probably find those with a web search. One is a short hazing scene from The Lightning Thief, the other is an aside in The Last Olympian where Percy stumbles across Nancy Bobofit.
There are not a lot of deleted scenes from my books, honestly. There are a couple that I've mentioned in blog posts in the past -- you can probably find those with a web search. One is a short hazing scene from The Lightning Thief, the other is an aside in The Last Olympian where Percy stumbles across Nancy Bobofit.
Rick Riordan
That is totally normal. When you start to read like a writer, it can be hard to enjoy a book because you will analyze what works and what doesn't. This can be a helpful problem, though. When you find a book that's really good, you may forget to analyze it and just enjoy it. That's a sign that the author really did a good job! I would just keep reading, but it might help to widen the types of books you are reading. For pleasure, I usually read books that are NOT like what I'm trying to write -- like adult fiction or nonfiction. That way I don't feel quite so obliged to study the text. Good luck!
Rick Riordan
Happy reading! As you said, I leave reviews for many of the books I have enjoyed, so you can start there. It also kind of depends on what subjects interest you. "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" is a short science read that I liked a lot. Coates' books, "Between the World and Me" and "The Message" are also quite short and thought-provoking.
Rick Riordan
I don't really have a daily schedule! Somehow, I've written all these books without ever developing a routine. I just try to get a little bit done everyday, whenever I can, and somehow it has worked out pretty well. ADHD creation techniques for the win!
Rick Riordan
There is no canon on that in the books, as far as I can recall. I imagine that Stygian iron is mined from the banks of the Styx, probably by undead blacksmiths in Hades' employ. No, the sword wouldn't affect Nico if he cut himself, other than getting a regular cut, which would still hurt.
Rick Riordan
You can certainly read Heroes first. You might be a little confused in the beginning why so many people are talking about this guy "Percy Jackson," but many readers have started with HoO. In a perfect world, I'd recommend starting with Percy first, since the action is chronological. Happy reading either way!
Rick Riordan
Thanks for reading! My thoughts on your question are covered pretty thoroughly on my page about Rick Riordan Presents. I'd check out those books! https://rickriordan.com/rick-riordan-...
Rick Riordan
It will be announced, sure, but I am not sure when. Disney PR usually decides when things are announced, but the actor is super -- and I'm saying this as a guy who wrote five books from Apollo's POV! : )
Rick Riordan
I support the fans' freedom to make head cannons. That's the best thing about books, is that you can make them your own and imagine yourselves in the characters' places. This interpretation isn't one I thought of or intended, so it's hard for me personally to see evidence of it in the books, but I also don't see anything that would contradict it, so hey, why not let it be some readers' vision of Will? It's a cool idea!
Rick Riordan
I mean, that's the challenge for everyone who wants to write! I wrote my first eight novels, including The Lightning Thief, while being a full-time classroom teacher and raising two young boys with my wife (thank goodness for her!). Writing meant getting up extra early before I started my work day, like 4 or 5 A.M., and doing an hour or so or writing before work. I also used late nights to work. I basically stopped watching TV or seeing movies during the 1990s because I didn't have time if I wanted to finish my books. I'm also an extreme introvert, so going out with friends, having dinner parties, and otherwise socializing has just never interested me, which was helpful in preserving time. And social media wasn't a thing, so that time-sink didn't exist either.
But was writing easy? Absolutely not. If you're driven to write, you have to find the time. I don't have any secret tips. Just look at how you are spending your time, and try to find an hour you can cut out every day for writing. Good luck!
But was writing easy? Absolutely not. If you're driven to write, you have to find the time. I don't have any secret tips. Just look at how you are spending your time, and try to find an hour you can cut out every day for writing. Good luck!
Rick Riordan
Still a lot to develop, and you're right, there haven't been any deep dives into Will as a main character so far, really. Nothing I can share outside the context of the books. Mark Oshiro and I have talked about this, and while nothing is for certain yet, maybe we'll get the chance to explore that more in the future. Thanks for reading!
Rick Riordan
I would love to read a book like that, but that would not be for me to write, as I don't know much about it. It should really come from someone from that culture who understands it from the inside out and can explore it in greater depth!
Rick Riordan
It's a great question! No, I don't know what that gift might have been or if Prometheus even meant what he was saying, but it is an intriguing thought, isn't it? And if we did get a gift, would we use it the right way?
Rick Riordan
I can only speculate based on the myths about Artemis, but given what I know, I would guess the answer would be yes. There are at least two myths about cis-male followers of Artemis (Orion and Hippolytus). Neither story ended well, but it does indicate at least that Artemis was willing to accept non-cis-female followers as long as they played by her rules. Many of her followers had escaped sexual violence or abusive families (or gods, or both), and were accepted by the goddess for sanctuary. Given all that, if a trans girl or nonbinary person wanted to join the Hunt and otherwise was willing to honor the goddess, I don't see why Artemis would turn them away. Of course this is just my guess. While the Ancient Greeks and Romans were well aware of what we would call gender fluidity and recognized a wide spectrum of sexual orientation, they did not use the same terminology. If they were around today, however, I doubt any of our concepts about gender or sexuality would surprise them.
Rick Riordan
Thanks for reading! The pen cap reappears in his pocket along with the pen, so he can just cast it aside and not worry about it. Otherwise he'd always be rummaging around in the woods, looking for the cap, and that would be annoying. As far as I'm aware, Disney+ releases all their series week by week, so I would plan for that to be the case for Percy s2. I know some viewers like the "Netflix dump" method better, but since I was born back in the Dark Ages when all shows came out weekly, I'm kinda used to it. Hope you enjoy the new season!
Rick Riordan
So glad you are enjoying Percy Jackson! I know, South America hasn't gotten the love it deserves. Sadly, I very rarely get to do international events because of my writing schedule. I'm doing one in Italy later this month, but that's the first and only time I've done a book event anywhere abroad in over a decade. Long way of saying, you probably won't see me in Chile, alas! As far as the show goes, I would imagine that Disney+ will be announcing their PR plans for season two soon, but there are no specifics I can share yet. I know the actors will be doing some press stops, as they did last season, but keep in mind there are only so many days they can take off from filming and only so many places they can go, so it's not likely they will be able to do a big world tour of all the places where fans would like to meet them. We'll see what is announced!
Rick Riordan
I don't have a master plan, nor do I know when I will die. At this point, I only write new books in Percy's world that feel interesting to me, and allow me to explore characters or ideas I haven't yet explored. As long as I'm enjoying myself and being successful at it, why should I stop? I consider myself very fortunate to have this job. You are, however, welcome to stop reading the books whenever you please if they don't work for you!
Rick Riordan
Thanks for reading. The anecdote about Jesus and Thor comes from the 13th Century Icelandic Sagas. I didn't make it up. The idea of exclusive monotheism (no god exists but the god the 'correct' group believes is) is a fairly new phenomenon. Christianity (for the most part) and Islam take this stance, but even in Jewish scripture, a.k.a. the Old Testament, there was never a claim that other gods didn't exist. The focus was simply that the God of the Hebrews was supreme, and his people shouldn't be worshipping other lower beings like Baal, etc. This, at least, has been my reading of the various monotheistic scriptures. For most of history, humans have been polytheistic and syncretic, meaning they accepted that each people had their own set of gods, and that these gods were all real. It was just a question of which gods were stronger and worth sacrificing too. The Greek and Romans and many other ancient cultures had no problem adopting gods from outside their homelands if those gods became popular or were judged to be useful. Isis (Egyptian) was enormously popular in Rome, for instance. Long way of saying: Yes, to the Ancient Greek and Egyptian mind, and the Norse mind, I think it's safe to say that people believed all people's religions existed side by side. They might think other people's gods were weak and puny -- like Thor supposedly thought of Jesus -- but they didn't claim that no other pantheons existed.
Rick Riordan
Thanks for reading! Typically, I only have time to do a tour in North America for my publisher here when a new book comes out. The tour is usually about one week long, so somewhere between five and seven stops. Bookstores submit proposals to my publisher to host these events, and the publisher chooses the best / most likely to draw a good crowd. That means that for me to visit a place, it has to have a well-established bookstore (or great library system) that has experience doing large events and an enthusiastic, well-organized staff that can commit to putting on that sort of book signing. Since I usually do large events (like 500-2000 people) it also means the bookstore has to be able to find a site that can hold that many, like a local theater or school auditorium. We try to pick different places for each tour, but we do tend to go to cities where the publisher knows they've had successful events in the past, and where there is a big reading community. Over the years, I've been all over the United States and Canada, with some strange exceptions I can't really explain: never been to Idaho, the Dakotas, Montana or Wyoming, for instance. Never been to Hawaii, sadly, or anywhere in Canada except Toronto and Vancouver. As for international touring, I usually simply don't have the time or bandwidth to do that. I'll be doing an event in Italy later this month, and that's the first time I've done so in eight years. I'll be doing an event in December in London (more on that later) and I haven't done one of those in over a decade. Fifteen years ago, I did a week of events in Malta, which was cool. But that's it. As far as I can recall, I have never done a public event in any other country. Most of the time, I need to be at home in Boston writing in order to keep up with my deadlines!
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