Mythology brought to life, humor alongside real stakes, and the found-family dynamic that makes Riordan's series unforgettable. What to read next.
What makes Percy Jackson work beyond the mythology: the voice — Percy's first-person narration is genuinely funny and self-aware without undercutting the stakes. The found-family dynamics. The way the ancient world's logic applies to the modern one. These 20 books share one or more of those qualities, organized from closest-match to broader recommendations.
Carter and Sadie Kane discover they're descendants of Egyptian pharaohs and get pulled into the world of Egyptian mythology. Riordan applies the Percy Jackson formula to a new mythology with equal success. Dual narration — brother and sister alternating — adds a dynamic the PJO series lacks. Best read after finishing the original Percy Jackson series.
Get The Red Pyramid →A homeless teenager in Boston discovers he's a Norse demigod. Riordan's Norse series is his most socially conscious — Magnus Chase has a diverse friend group and the series includes one of fantasy's most positive portrayals of a gender-fluid character. The Norse mythology is less familiar than Greek, which keeps the surprises coming even for mythology buffs.
Get The Sword of Summer →Part of Riordan's editorial imprint — books he champions but didn't write. Aru Shah accidentally releases a demon and discovers she's a Pandava hero from Hindu mythology. Chokshi brings the same funny first-person voice as Riordan with authentic cultural grounding. The Pandava Quintet is five books. Best alternative for Percy Jackson readers who want more mythology variety.
Get Aru Shah and the End of Time →Shadow Moon is released from prison and hired by a mysterious man named Wednesday to work for him. Wednesday is Odin. American Gods is what Percy Jackson grew up to be — old mythology made contemporary, but for adults, without the humor, and with Gaiman's characteristic melancholy. The Amazon TV series is also worth watching after reading.
Get American Gods →The story of the witch Circe from the Odyssey — her exile, her discovery of power, her encounters with Odysseus. Miller writes literary fiction that happens to be about Greek mythology. Accessible to readers who've never read mythology; rewarding for those who have. Good stepping stone for Percy Jackson readers ready to approach mythology in a more adult register.
Get Circe →The Iliad from the perspective of Patroclus — the childhood companion and eventual lover of Achilles. Miller writes the friendship/love between them with the same emotional directness that makes Percy and Annabeth's relationship resonate. The tragedy of the Trojan War is already known; Miller makes you feel it anyway. Orange Prize winner.
Get The Song of Achilles →The Earth is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Arthur Dent barely escapes with his friend Ford Prefect, who turns out to be from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse. Adams writes with the same self-aware humor as Riordan — the narrative voice is aware of its own absurdity and uses that awareness to make the emotional moments more effective. Essential.
Get The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy →Twin siblings discover that their employer Nicholas Flamel is 600 years old and has been protecting the Codex — the book that contains the secret of immortality. Historical figures (Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Billy the Kid) appear as characters on various sides of the conflict. Six books, moving through multiple mythologies. The broadest mythology crossover YA series after Riordan.
Get The Alchemyst →A criminal gang plans a heist of the most secure prison in the world. Bardugo's Six of Crows is the best YA ensemble fantasy of the decade — six characters with distinct voices and genuine dynamics, a plan that the reader can follow alongside the crew, and stakes that the novel makes you believe. Different in tone from PJO (darker, no humor), but the found-family dynamics are the same.
Get Six of Crows →A Roman-inspired empire where a Scholar girl and a Martial soldier navigate an impossible world. Tahir writes YA fantasy that doesn't soften its violence or its politics. The stakes feel real; the choices cost something. Best for Percy Jackson readers who are ready for darker YA.
Get An Ember in the Ashes →Gaiman retells the Norse myths — Odin, Thor, Loki — in his own prose, straightforwardly. Not a novel; a collection of myths that reads as a linked collection. The best introduction to Norse mythology for readers who've been charmed by the Riordan versions. Gaiman writes with the warmth and economy of the best oral tradition.
Get Norse Mythology →Arthur's life from boyhood through the end of Camelot. White writes the Arthurian mythology with the same mixture of humor, adventure, and genuine sorrow as Riordan writes Greek mythology — the jokes are funny, the stakes are real, and the ending is devastating. The sourcebook for most of what Camelot looks like in popular culture.
Get The Once and Future King →A witch who accidentally gives a baby magic instead of starlight. Barnhill writes fairy tale logic with unusual emotional complexity. The best middle-grade fantasy for Percy Jackson readers who want something smaller in scale but equally magical in feel.
Get The Girl Who Drank the Moon →A mortal girl who wants power in the Faerie court. Black invented many of the fae tropes that current YA fantasy uses. The Folk of the Air trilogy is a natural next step for Percy Jackson readers ready for romance and darker political scheming alongside the fantasy.
Get The Cruel Prince →Jake discovers that his grandfather's stories about a children's home full of unusual children were true — and that the home exists in a time loop. Riggs builds the world around vintage photographs, which gives it an atmosphere unlike any other YA. The peculiar children's abilities echo the demigod powers in Percy Jackson without the mythology framework.
Get Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children →A girl inherits a billionaire's fortune for reasons nobody understands — and moves into the estate with his four grandsons to solve the mystery. Barnes writes YA puzzle-mysteries with the same addictive pacing as Riordan's quests. The Inheritance Games series is the most popular YA mystery currently published.
Get The Inheritance Games →West African mythology, a world where magic has been suppressed, a girl who discovers she can bring it back. Adeyemi writes the action with kinetic energy and the world has the same "mythology made physical" quality as Riordan's. The Legacy of Orïsha series is the closest modern equivalent to Percy Jackson in structure: a mythology the author knows deeply, translated into YA adventure.
Get Children of Blood and Bone →Bree discovers that the secret society at UNC Chapel Hill is descended from King Arthur's Round Table and that she has a role in its mythology — tied to her own family's history of enslavement. Deonn connects Arthurian mythology to American history in a way that gives the familiar legend new weight. The best Arthurian YA in decades.
Get Legendborn →If you read Percy Jackson as a child and haven't returned: it reads differently as an adult. Riordan embeds a lot of real Greek mythology accurately, and the jokes land differently when you recognize the references. The audiobook read by Jesse Bernstein is one of the best narrations in YA audio.
Get The Lightning Thief →An angel and a demon who have been on Earth since the beginning of time try to prevent the apocalypse because they've grown fond of the place. The same mixture of genuine mythology (the Four Horsemen, the Antichrist), found-family dynamics (angel-demon friendship is the Percy-Annabeth equivalent), and humor that makes everything more effective. The best co-written fantasy novel ever.
Get Good Omens →