Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide [Hardcover]

Mary-Jane Knight (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

It's the handbook no half-blood should be without: a fully illustrated, in-depth guide to gods, monsters, and all things Percy. This novelty companion to the best-selling series comes complete with trading cards, full-color diagrams, and maps, all packaged in a handy, "manual-size" POB with a crisp, magnetic flap enclosure.

 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rick Riordan is the author of all the books in the New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series: The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian. His previous novels for adults include the hugely popular Tres Navarre series, winner of the top three awards in the mystery genre. He lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and two sons.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 156 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (January 18, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423121716
• ISBN-13: 978-1423121718
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary Criticism & Collections
  • #10 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Social Science
  • #24 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Greek & Roman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for any demigod.....the perfect reference book/guide!!, January 20, 2010

By 

Marcy Gomez (Kansas City, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide (Hardcover)

The Percy Jackson & The Olympians "Ultimate Guide" is a book any fan of the series or any budding demigod should be without. Don't let the size of this book fool you. At 146 pages, it is filled to the brim with information on Camp Half-Blood, Greek mythology and the Percy Jackson book series.

The cover itself is fantastic - hardbound with hologram images and a magnetic clasp. On the surface, it looks almost like a journal or diary. Open the book and you'll find richly illustrated, glossy pages filled with tons of Percy Jackson/Greek Mythology info. The book is broken down into 8 sections as follows:

1 - Percy Jackson - all about Percy, including his family and his childhood
2 - Life at Camp - map of Camp Half Blood, 10 signs that you may be a half-blood, a cool full color photo/drawing of the cabins, introduction to the campers and other camp characters, and various camp info/trivia
3 - Gods & Spirits - Kronos, the Olympian Gods, minor gods and spirits
4 - Percy Jackson's Bestiary - the various beasts and monsters that Percy and his friends meet in the books
5 - The Labyrinth - the different encounters from the Labyrinth (nice reference for book 4)
6 - The Underworld - all about Hades and his domain
7 - The Storehouse of the Gods - the various artifacts and curiosities from the books
8 - Compendium - the mortals we meet in the books, other characters

I should also add that interspersed within this book are lots of color photographs or drawings of people, places, creatures and things. Also within this book are the various prophecies that lead to the quests that Percy and his friends go on in the 5 books. It's hard to pick a favorite part or section.

I bought this book for my son, who is a huge Percy Jackson fan. He has read all 5 books at least twice over and absolutely loves this book. I've actually "borrowed" the book a few times myself. The Bestiary, for example, is very helpful in providing visuals to some of the creatures from the books. I'm re-reading "The Titan's Curse" and just looked up a picture of the manticore in the guide. For those who are not as familiar with Greek mythology, this is a great orientation to the various gods, goddesses, titans, Greek stories/heroes, beasts and creatures that are covered or introduced in the 5 books. I should also add that this isn't an "all inclusive" guide or a who's who in Greek mythology. For that you will need an encyclopedia or a combination of books on the subject. However, if you want a handy, useful guide on the various characters, locations, beasts/monsters and objects from the 5 books, then you will want a copy of this book.

This is an excellent book for any fan of the Percy Jackson series (kids and adults alike). My son and I highly recommend it. It is a definite "must have" for any demigod/half-blood that can be enjoyed even long after you've finished reading the series.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME!!!!!, January 20, 2010

By 

M. Sarrao (New Mexico, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide (Hardcover)

This book is intended as an companion to the "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series. My 11-year-old son just began reading this series. He has only finished "The Lightning Thief," but plans to read more. I ordered this book for him because it looked "cool" and he LOVES it! He said that the story was sometimes confusing, and this book has helped him understand things better. We were at someone's house the other night. Their oldest daughter, who has read the entire series (also 11) a LOVED this book, as well. She was It has really cool holographs on the cover. All four images change! There are also character cards on the inside front cover and the flap is magnetic. Very cool! I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the series, to anyone who plans to read all the books in the series, and to fans of fantasy. This series is really written for kids/youth.

The series is about the Greek gods in today's world. My son tells me that they live on top of the Empire State Building, but humans can't see the added floors. So it is modern day fiction, with a bit of Greek mythology mixed in. The contents of this book include:
Section1: Percy Jackson (Tells about Percy's life event, his parents, his friends, etc.) Describes The Furies and the Three Fates and the Prophecy.
Section2: Life at Camp (map of the half-blood camp, 10 signs you might be a half-blood, info on centaurs, pegasi, satyrs, cyclops and other characters living at the camp.)
Section3: Gods & Spirits ( The story of the kronos, Zeus and his brothers and children of the gods. Info on various gods, including Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, Aphtodite, Apollo, andmore.)
Section4: Percy Jackson's Bestiary (Describes various beasts/monsters such as Carniverous Sheep, Cerberus, Centaurs, Chimera, Cherry-Color Cows, Flesh-eating Horses, Hellhounds, Hippocampi, Hydra, Minotaur, Pit Scorpions, and MANY more).
Section5: The Labyrinth (A map of the labyrinth, including who/what you will encounter there. A history of Alcatraz.)
Section6: The Underworld (A map of the undersorld. A guided tour of the underworld by Hades' son.)
Section7: The Storehouse of the gods (List and explanation of artifacts and curiosities in the storehouse, such as basketball shoes - with wings, a celestial bronze knife, chariots, golden drachmas, javelins, invisibility cap, greek fire, yellow duffel bag, video shield, metal spider, mechanical statues, etc.)
Section8: Copendium (a list of mortals who see through the mist - they can see the gods - and a list/description of additional characters such as, Pan, Prometheus, Hyperion, Atlas, etc.)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars O' the wonders of Percy Jackson, May 9, 2010

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide (Hardcover)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians:The Ultimate Guide is great for those of us who enjoyed the books that Rick Riordan wrote.The Ultimate guide is great.It includes much of the info that we already knew and some that we didn 't!There was a little quiz to see what greek god or godess was your parent!I enjoyed every second that I read it!This great book included some cards about the main charaters!I enjoyed it and I hope you do too!