The Fantasy 101 › Books Like

Books Like Percy Jackson

Riordan, 2005 · #11 on the Epic Fantasy 101 Booklist · 97/120 · adapted for screen

A twelve-year-old with dyslexia and ADHD discovers he is the son of Poseidon. He must stop a war among the Greek gods, who are alive in modern America.

Its strongest scores: divine influence and real-world blend. The five books below have the closest scores across all eleven criteria.

If you liked Percy Jackson, read:

1. Moonheart

   de Lint, 1984 · #30 on the list · 87/120

   Two friends in a sprawling Ottawa house find a doorway to an otherworld of Celtic and Indigenous spirits, and an ancient enemy behind it.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, creative details.

2. Three Hearts and Three Lions

   Anderson, 1961 · #29 on the list · 87/120

   A Danish resistance fighter in 1943 is thrown into a world of Carolingian legend, where he is a hero he has forgotten.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, creative details.

3. The Pendragon Cycle

   Lawhead, 1987 · #22 on the list · 91/120

   The Arthurian saga is retold from the fall of Atlantis through Merlin's Celtic and Christian Britain.

   Close on mood, structure, further reading, creative details.

4. American Gods

   Gaiman, 2001 · #3 on the list · 102/120

   Shadow Moon walks out of prison into the service of a con man named Wednesday. A war is brewing between America's old gods and its new ones.

   Close on structure, further reading, real-world blend, divine influence.

5. The Chronicles of Narnia

   Lewis, 1950 · #10 on the list · 97/120

   Children step through a wardrobe and other doors into Narnia. There the lion Aslan calls them into its battles from creation to last days.

   Close on structure, further reading, creative details, divine influence.

How the scores work: each book is rated 1 to 10 on eleven criteria; real-world blend and climax and fights count double, for a maximum of 120. See the full Fantasy 101.