Rick Riordan book cover changes

I recently got into the whole Percy Jackson universe again, when I started reading Circe by Madeline Miller, which is also about Greek mythology. Ever since then, I have the urge to reread all of the series, but unfortunately, I don’t own every book. So the big reread has to wait, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t fanby (gender-neutral version of fangirl/fanboy) about his books! I’ve just seen Ashley’s video about cover changes, and I got inspired! She is a huge Riordan fan, so I’d recommend checking out her channel. So in this post, I’m going to talk about three of his series that got new covers.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Let’s start with the OG covers! These are the editions I read from the library when I first read the series in 2017. I love how each book has its distinctive colour, it makes the whole series colourful. They are beautiful illustrations, though I don’t really like how the characters look on the second, third and fifth cover. My favourite is The Lightning Thief, everything looks perfect on that, the colour choice, Percy, and the background too.

These are the new editions, which came out in 2014. I absolutely adore the fact that all five covers are a continuation of each other, and they give out one big picture. Their spines are also connected, they make a nice wavy pattern. These ideas! Hats off to the creator(s). The new covers are definitely more modern, I am so fond of that every book has the same vibe, same colour palette. Though I know some prefer each instalment to have a distinct cover, these complement each other well. I also adore how the series title looks like! My only complaint is for the character art again. They are just not that pretty, to be honest. My favourites are The Sea of Monsters and The Battle of the Labyrinth (basically the ones where you can’t really see people, haha).

Final verdict: I prefer the new ones, they look much more pleasing to the eye.

The Kane Chronicles

Side note, but I’m so sad that I don’t really like this trilogy… I loved the first book, but not the other two. The main characters irritated me so much! Now, moving onto the covers. I quite like these old ones, not gonna lie. Well, the last is not that pretty, because it feels like someone turned the contrast to the maximum level, but the first two are lovely. I love that they have one main colour and then its variants. Yet again, the people illustrations are not that great, except for the first book. My favourite is for sure The Red Pyramid, I adore that sand colour, and I love the whole vibe of it.

These new covers were published in 2018. They feel much more modern, and geared towards today’s youth. I like how they kept the backgrounds quite simple, it looks clean. Unfortunately, the characters’ illustrations are not that aesthetic, to say the least. My favourite is The Red Pyramid because I love that red colour.

Final verdict: I prefer the old covers, they are more beautiful.

The Heroes of Olympus

Ahh, the old covers. I read them in these editions, and they look even more magnificent in real life. I absolutely adore them! I think the colours chosen for each cover blend so well together, even though every book has its own, the shades used complement each other well. They are dynamic, the scenes shown are lively, perfect for these action-packed books. I love all of them, but if I had to choose, my favourite is The House of Hades, as that one’s literally perfect.

These new ones came out in 2019, in preparation for the 10th anniversary of The Lost Hero’s publication, which was in 2020. I am fond of the fact that all of these have pastel colours, they look nice. Like with the new covers of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, I really like how the series title looks. I think it’s amazing that they chose Annabeth and Arachne to be featured on the third cover! At this point, I know you will be able to guess that the one thing that bothers me is the portrayal of the kids. My favourite is The Blood of Olympus, because there even the characters look so nice, and I just like how everyone’s there.

Final verdict: I prefer the old covers, those have a special place in my heart.

What do you think? Which covers do you prefer for these series? What is your favourite Rick Riordan book cover? Would you like to see more posts like this, where I talk about covers?

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