Rick Riordan's two protagonists will team up in a new short story
If the two heroes of Rick Riordan鈥檚 children鈥檚 series can go up against gods and supernatural forces alone, just imagine what they can accomplish together!
That鈥檚 the idea behind Riordan鈥檚 new short story, 鈥淭he Son of Sobek,鈥� in which the protagonist of the "Heroes of Olympus" series, Percy Jackson, and the main character of the "Kane Chronicles," Carter Kane, will team up. 鈥淭he Son of Sobek鈥� will be released this May for the first time in the paperback version of Riordan鈥檚 book 鈥淭he Serpent鈥檚 Shadow,鈥� the third book in the "Kane Chronicle" series.
Riordan says he was inspired to arrange the literary meeting by his readers.聽
鈥淎t least once a day I鈥檒l get an email or a letter asking 鈥楢re you ever going to combine the series?鈥� 鈥� he told .
Riordan said he also thought the pair would be interesting together because the characters are so different.
鈥淭hey represent very different sides of me,鈥� the author said. 鈥淐arter is thoughtful and cautious and Percy is impetuous and sarcastic. I started to experiment with how it would be to put them together and have them join forces against a common foe.鈥�
With the release of 鈥淭he Serpent鈥檚 Shadow,鈥� the "Kane Chronicles" was concluded, and the "Heroes of Olympus" series will get its second screen adaptation when the movie 鈥淧ercy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters鈥� comes out on Aug. 16. The next "Heroes of Olympus" book is due in October and is titled 鈥淭he Heroes of Olympus, Book Four: The House of Hades.鈥澛�
Riordan said there was always a possibility that he might bring Percy and Carter together again.
鈥淚鈥檇 love to play around with that idea, and I always like to leave some room to create other adventures for my characters,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y problem is never ideas. I鈥檝e got more than I鈥檒l ever have time to write. It鈥檚 all about how many I can get to, and which ones readers want to see the most.鈥�
In addition, he says that he鈥檚 found that the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian themes found in his books stick with kids.
鈥淚 get letters from college kids who have read Percy Jackson when they were younger who tell me, 鈥業 just passed my Classics exam,鈥� 鈥� Riordan said. 鈥淭he books are accurate enough that they can serve as a gateway to Homer and Virgil.鈥�
Eager readers can check out a preview of the short story 鈥淭he Son of Sobek鈥� .
Riordan's series, which consist of the "Percy Jackson" series, the "Heroes of Olympus" series, the "Kane Chronicles," the "39 Clues" books (of which Riordan is one of the writers), and the "Tres Navarre" series, in addition to the stand-alone book "Cold Springs," have all been bestsellers. The "Percy Jackson" series was first adapted for film with the movie "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief." The author is also planning a series centered around the Norse deities, which has a planned release date of 2015.
