The God-to-Human Glow-Down
If your kid has been living in Rick Riordan’s world for years, this isn’t just another series. It is the finish line. By the time they reach The Trials of Apollo, they’ve likely spent ten books watching demigods save the world. This time, the perspective shifts from the heroic kids to the very god who caused half the problems in the first place.
Apollo starts the series as a narcissistic, whiny teenager named Lester Papadopoulos. He is, frankly, annoying. This is a deliberate move by Riordan, but it’s the specific friction point where some readers drop off. If your kid complains that the protagonist is "too much" in the first book, tell them to hang on. The payoff isn't just in the monster battles; it’s in watching a literal god learn what it actually feels like to be human, to fail, and to feel grief.
The 15-Book Marathon
You have to treat this series as the third act of a massive trilogy of series. While the synopsis says new fans can jump in, doing so is a mistake. The emotional weight of the later books, specifically The Tower of Nero, relies entirely on the reader’s history with characters from the previous series.
If your kid is asking for this box set but hasn't touched the original Percy Jackson books, point them there first. If they’ve already inhaled those and the Roman sequels, this is the natural next step. For kids who are obsessed with the lore but starting to age out of middle-grade tropes, this series feels slightly more mature. The stakes are higher, the losses are more permanent, and the humor has a sharper, self-aware edge.
Beyond the Myths
Riordan has spent years building a world where a kid can be a hero regardless of their identity, and this series is the peak of that effort. The diversity here isn't a subplot or a marketing checkbox. It's just the reality of the world Apollo inhabits. Seeing a major protagonist navigate fluid identity and queer relationships in a way that feels secondary to the "don't get eaten by a giant" plot is exactly why these books stay relevant while other YA series from the same era have faded.
If they finish this and are still hungry for more ancient lore, The Best Mythology Reading List for Kids is a great way to find their next obsession. This series effectively closes the door on the Camp Half-Blood era, so they’ll likely need a new "world" to move into once the final page turns.
Why the Box Set Matters
Buying these individually is a hassle because the overarching mystery of the "Triumvirate" spans all five books. It’s one long story rather than five episodic adventures. The inclusion of the poster and the matching spines is a nice touch for a shelf, but the real value is the momentum. Because the first two books are the weakest of the bunch, having the third and fourth books sitting right there on the shelf makes it much more likely they’ll push through the "Lester being a brat" phase to get to the actual heroics.
