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Rick Riordan's two protagonists will team up in a new short story

Rick Riordan says he was inspired by his readers to bring together his characters Percy Jackson and Carter Kane.

Riordan says that at least once a day he gets an email or a letter from a reader asking him to combine the "Heroes of Olympus" and the "Kane Chronicles" series.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

If the two heroes of Rick Riordan’s children’s series can go up against gods and supernatural forces alone, just imagine what they can accomplish together!

That’s the idea behind Riordan’s new short story, “The Son of Sobek,” 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. “The Son of Sobek” will be released this May for the first time in the paperback version of Riordan’s book “The Serpent’s Shadow,” the third book in the "Kane Chronicle" series.

Riordan says he was inspired to arrange the literary meeting by his readers. 

“At least once a day I’ll get an email or a letter asking ‘Are you ever going to combine the series?’ ” he told Publishers Weekly.

Riordan said he also thought the pair would be interesting together because the characters are so different.

“They represent very different sides of me,” the author said. “Carter 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.”

With the release of “The Serpent’s Shadow,” the "Kane Chronicles" was concluded, and the "Heroes of Olympus" series will get its second screen adaptation when the movie “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters” comes out on Aug. 16. The next "Heroes of Olympus" book is due in October and is titled “The Heroes of Olympus, Book Four: The House of Hades.” 

Riordan said there was always a possibility that he might bring Percy and Carter together again.

“I’d love to play around with that idea, and I always like to leave some room to create other adventures for my characters,” he said. “My problem is never ideas. I’ve got more than I’ll ever have time to write. It’s all about how many I can get to, and which ones readers want to see the most.”

In addition, he says that he’s found that the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian themes found in his books stick with kids.

“I get letters from college kids who have read Percy Jackson when they were younger who tell me, ‘I just passed my Classics exam,’ ” Riordan said. “The books are accurate enough that they can serve as a gateway to Homer and Virgil.”

Eager readers can check out a preview of the short story “The Son of Sobek” here.

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.

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