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So you’ve just finished reading Percy Jackson! After all the incredible Camp Half-Blood adventures, you’re probably wondering if Rick Riordan’s latest work, Daughter of the Deep, is worth the read or not?
I’ll admit that I too was disappointed to find out that this book is a new stand alone; however, I was very pleased with the same style of fun, adventures, and chaos that can be found in Riordan’s other novels.
Is Daughter of the Deep related to Percy Jackson? No, Daughter of the Deep is not related to Percy Jackson! This is actually Rick Riordan’s first book that isn’t inspired by mythology, and it isn’t in any way connected to his other series. However, with a new Percy Jackson book on the way, who knows what could happen!
Daughter of the Deep follows Ana Dakkar, a student at a fictional marine science school, Harding-Pencroft Academy. This book has many references to Jules Verne’s work, specifically Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island.
This book starts off with Ana Dakkar and her brother, Dev, deep sea diving before Ana takes her freshman trials.
Harding-Pencroft is one the top marine science schools and features some of the best marine scientists, naval warriors, and groundbreaking underwater scientific discoveries.
Ana is surrounded by some eclectic characters in her freshman class, including Nelinha da Silva, Ana’s roommate and a total expert at all things fashion and engineering.
Ester Harding is another member of her friend group as well as a descendent of THE eponymous Harding of the Harding-Pencroft Academy!
Finally, there’s Gemini Twain, top of his class and slight rival to our main character (he did call Nelinha a scholarship kid once, which she did not take so well!).
As the group embark on their journey to finally find out what exactly their freshman trials will entail, a tragic accident occurs and changes the course of not just their trials but also their entire lives.
While adventures ensue, Ana and her classmates discover so much more about their school than they ever thought possible. It turns out that what they have been studying in Theoretical Marine Science might not be so theoretical!
How Is Daughter Of The Deep Similar To Rick Riordan’s Other Books?
Even though the mythology has been left behind, you’ll still get the classic Riordan-experience of learning something new and fascinating!
The characters in this book are also equally diverse just like Rick’s other books.
Rick Riordan also has some very obvious source texts he’s pulling from for this book’s inspiration, just like his other novels.
In essence, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne is to Daughter of the Deep as Greek Mythology is to Percy Jackson & the Olympians.
This is still a great urban fantasy read, and if you love magical elements entangled with high school experiences and adventures, then you will love this story!
Another similarity is the use of Houses within the school that the students are divided into, much like the use of cabins in Camp Half-Blood.
The houses at Harding-Pencroft are House Dolphin, House Shark, House Cephalopod, and House Orca.
The use of houses is a fun way for readers to see themselves in the different characters and relate to the story by picking a house that they most identify with.
Personally, I found the way the houses were used in Daughter of the Deep to be a bit confusing and a lot less relatable than the cabins in the Percy Jackson series (I’m in cabin 7 in case you were wondering…hehe).
The houses are mostly divided by different interests within marine science, as opposed to groups split up by personality traits like other YA series such as the Harry Potter houses or the factions in Divergent.
Another similarity to Rick’s other books is the diversity of the characters within Daughter of the Deep.
Riordan tends to write characters of different races, religions, and sexual orientations, and I think it’s a great way to educate and start conversations among young readers.
The main four characters in this book (Ana, Nelinha, Ester, and Gemini) are all unique and represent different upbringing and cultures.
Ana is an Indian-American teenage girl, and she is the first female to be the main and only narrator of a Rick Riordan book.
Nelinha is Brazilian and comes from a non-affluent family. Her struggle with being labeled as a “scholarship kid” is a trial for her throughout the novel.
Ester throughout the book deals with a severe anxiety disorder and even has an emotional support animal. I personally think this is a great addition for kids and teens struggling with the same kinds of anxieties!
Gemini was raised by his grandmother along with his siblings due to his parents not being willing to raise their children.
He was also raised Mormon, which I found very interesting having not read YA books where the characters were raised as Mormons.
Do I Need To Read Rick Riordan’s Other Books Before Reading Daughter Of The Deep?
You do not need to read any other Riordan books before reading this book (but they are great books so I would recommend reading them all the same)!
I do wish, however, that I had read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island before reading this book just to fully get the references.
After reading Daughter of the Deep, though, I do know much more about Jules Verne’s popular book and characters! Classic Rick Riordan, teaching people things without the reader even realizing!
What Mythology Is Daughter Of The Deep?
There is actually no mythology in Daughter of the Deep.
This book, instead of being mythology based in a fantasy world, is classified as science-fiction and delves into the world of underwater science and all the fantastic discoveries of Captain Nemo from Jules Verne’s classic novels.
Is Daughter Of The Deep A Standalone?
Daughter of the Deep is a standalone novel and is not going to be developed into a series anytime soon.
However, I feel as though the ending left the characters in a place that a sequel (or even a series!) could definitely happen should Rick Riordan choose to do so.
We know that the next book to be published by Rick Riordan is a co-written book with Mark Oshiro that takes place in the Percy Jackson Universe and follows Nico Di Angelo and Will Solace.
All we know so far is that it is set to be published in the summer of 2023 and will follow the two boys as they try to save Bob (formally known as the Titan Iapetus) from Tartarus.
Now that the Disney+ series of Percy Jackson & the Olympians has begun, as well as the announcement of the Netflix adaptation of The Kane Chronicles, it is safe to assume that Rick Riordan is focusing more on adapting existing series to television.
Because of that, I would say that the likeliness of a Daughter of the Deep sequel is not something we will see anytime soon.
Rick Riordan Books That Are Related To Each Other
All of Riordan’s books (with the exception of Daughter of the Deep) revolve around mythology, whether that’s Greek, Roman, Egyptian, or Norse. Not all of their plots are connected but they all exist within the same world.
There are crossover stories between characters as well as appearances from Percy and Annabeth within The Kane Chronicles and the Magnus Chase series.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, The Trials of Apollo, and Riordan’s upcoming Nico Di Anglo book all follow the same characters and are directly connected to each other.
What Order Should I Read The Rick Riordan Books In?
As the reader, you can read any of Riordan’s books in any order. However there are certain series that would be better understood if read before others.
You don’t have to read a series in publication order, but there have been some crossovers between all the books so I find it best to read in the following order!
Percy Jackson & the Olympians
- The Lightning Thief
- The Sea of Monsters
- The Titan’s Curse
- The Battle of the Labyrinth
- The Last Olympian
The Heroes of Olympus
- The Lost Hero
- The Son of Neptune
- The Mark of Athena
- The House of Hades
- The Blood of Olympus
The Kane Chronicles
- The Red Pyramid
- The Throne of Fire
- The Serpent’s Fire
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
- The Sword of Summer
- The Hammer of Thor
- The Ship of the Dead
The Trials of Apollo
- The Hidden Oracle
- The Dark Prophecy
- The Burning Maze
- The Tyrant’s Tomb
- The Tower of Nero
Daughter of the Deep can be read at anytime! As a standalone novel with no connection to any of the other books or series written by Rick Riordan, you can enjoy Ana and her adventures without needing to read any books prior!
What I Liked About Daughter Of The Deep
I think that my favorite part of this book was the writing style.
I have read many Rick Riordan books and he is definitely one of my favorite authors.
Having not read a new Rick Riordan book in some time, it was very fun to jump back into his style of writing. The characters for me were not as instantly beloved, but I will say that I hope this becomes a series!
As I stated earlier in this post, I do wish that I had better knowledge about Jules Verne and his novels.
However, after reading Daughter of the Deep, I have a new found desire to read Jules Verne that I never had before. I’d guess that that was Rick’s intention all along!
Have you read Daughter of the Deep? Did you like it or did it just make you miss Percy Jackson? Let me know what you liked and didn’t like about it!
-Paisley
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