Review: The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson was my childhood. And now it’s back. I was shocked when I learned that Rick Riordan was writing another PJO book, set after the events in Heroes of Olympus. This, along with a TV adaptation? A dream come true. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. But still, I’m so happy.

Title: The Chalice of the Gods
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: MG Fantasy
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #6
Page Count: 268 (hardcover)

Percy Jackson, modern-day son of Poseidon, is just trying to get through high school. After saving the world multiple times by battling monsters, Titans, and giants, Percy is now settling in at Alternative High School in New York, where he hopes to finally have a normal senior year.

Unfortunately, the gods aren’t quite done with him yet. Poseidon breaks the bad news that if Percy expects to get into New Rome University, he will have to fulfill three quests in order to earn the necessary three letters of recommendation from Mount Olympus.

The first task is to help Ganymede, Zeus’s cupbearer, retrieve his golden goblet before it falls into the wrong hands. You see, one sip from it can turn a mortal into a god, and Zeus would not be pleased with that result. Can Percy and his friends Grover and Annabeth find the precious cup in time? And if they do, will they be able to resist its special power?

Readers new to Percy Jackson universe and fans who have been awaiting this reunion for more than a decade will delight equally in this latest hilarious take on Greek mythology by the “storyteller of the gods.”

There are no spoilers in this review.

This book gave me so much nostalgia! I loved being back with Percy, Annabeth, and Grover in a relatively low-stakes environment. They needed a break from everything that happened in Heroes of Olympus.

The Chalice of the Gods is Rick Riordan’s most “relaxed” PJO book. And by that, I mean, they don’t have to leave New York to complete their quest. However, I feel like it took some of the stakes out; I didn’t feel as hyped up when they were doing things, if you know what I mean.

“It was like a job requirement for them: 1) become a god, 2) get a cool magic thing, 3) lose it, 4) ask a demigod to find it.”

I was expecting that I needed to remember more from the other series before reading this, but I didn’t. There’s a lot of mentions of Percy’s past quests and his time in Tartarus, but there’s nothing you have to remember from Heroes of Olympus in order to understand this one.

I missed Rick Riordan’s hilarious writing! There is humor infused in almost every single page, with funny chapter names and wild thoughts by our lovable boy with ADHD. This book is still aimed at middle grade, so it read a bit younger than the characters actually are. Percy and Annabeth are seventeen, I believe, but I think the narration reads a few years younger.

I’m also a senior in high school so I really felt for Percy with all the college preparation, minus godly letters of recommendation. I enjoyed the contrast between youth and old age in this story. Percy interacts with both in the span of a few days, and it was interesting to see the comparison.

“I am a guy of limited talents. If I can’t kill it with water, a sword, or sarcasm, I am basically defenseless.”

I’m looking forward to the books that Rick Riordan will be writing, which will be about the next two quests that Percy has to complete. The next book, Wraith of the Triple Goddess, is expected to be released in September!

My Rating: 4/5 dragons