“The Chalice of the Gods”: An Unconventional Hero Story

For the first time in years, there’s a new Percy Jackson and the Olympians book. Not just a same universe story like Heroes of Olympus, Magnus Chase, or Trials of Apollo, but an actual first person, Percy’s perspective, Percy Jackson and the Olympians book. And this time, he’s not saving the world; he’s trying to get into college.

This is a big diversion from the rest of Rick Riordan’s stories, where the end of the world or Apollo’s position as a god are at stake. This time, Percy is doing smaller quests, with somewhat lower stakes (saving Ganymede from the wrath of Zeus and being humiliated is what’s at stake in this book), though there are admittedly big stakes involved as well: Percy’s ability to go to New Rome University with Annabeth.

The Chalice of the Gods is the first of three new books that are being released as a sort of tie-in to the upcoming new Disney+ adaptation of (hopefully all) the original five books. In them, Percy must complete new quests in exchange for letters of recommendation from the gods in order to gain acceptance to New Rome University so that he and his girlfriend Annabeth Chase can go to school together like they planned. The letters are unique to him, of course, a sort of punishment for his existence as a child of one of the big three. And they must be new quests, saving the world twice has no impact on his acceptance.

Just like with Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, this is a brilliant change of pace from traditional hero stories (and a note to self to write about that series’ unique take on hero stories later, too). While the stakes are lower, they are more personal and more relatable, which for me made it almost easier to get highly invested.

While I never had a dream school the way Percy and Annabeth do, I still remember very clearly what I had to do ten years ago to get into the school I did go to. For my university program I had to read the entirety of Antigone, write an essay on it (I forget how many pages exactly but it was rather long), and then attend an in person full day workshop (which for me required travelling across most of Ontario and making use of planes, GOTransit, and taxis, as opposed to the 24 hour drive). Probably much easier than dealing with gods and monsters, but when you’re trying to figure out what school to go to and you’re stressed out about options and requirements and distance from home and family and whether or not you’re making the right decisions because you’re only somewhere between 17–19 and really still a kid… Yeah, you may as well be dealing with gods and monsters since the actual adults around you are essentially telling you that you need to have your whole future figured out before you’re even 20.

I can’t really think of any other story with characters who have magical powers doing more normal things like this, trying to just live their lives and get into schools, and doing helpful things for others where the fate of the world is at stake. It’s truly refreshing to get a glimpse at how the more ordinary aspects of life might feel to demigods, and comforting to think that they might have similar struggles, albeit with more literal monster fighting involved.

It also has a theme and message that is really important: it’s the smaller things that matter, everyday acts of kindness and helpfulness that make someone a hero. So many stories focus on having the fate of the world at stake, often with huge fight scenes and cities being destroyed. The change of pace here is like a breath of fresh air.

The portrayal of Percy and Annabeth’s relationship is also refreshing. There’s no forced drama, just two characters who clearly love each other and just want to live their lives and go to New Rome University together after high school. A healthy, supportive relationship, and one that their parents are happy with, too.

Overall, The Chalice of the Gods is just a really good, well told, heartwarming story that doesn’t try to outdo the other books in the shared universe by upping the stakes even more, it just gives something new and surpasses all expectations because it provides such a refreshing change of pace with characters that are well developed and the reader can’t help but care about. It doesn’t feel like most hero stories, and that really sets it apart.

This book proves that the world doesn’t need to be ending for the reader to care about what’s happening, we just need the characters to care about what’s going on, and to be well rounded and enjoyable. I truly can’t wait to see what Percy’s next quest for a letter of recommendation brings.