On a scale of 1 to 10, there seem to be a LOT of similarities between these two series of books.
Let me be clear. I do not mean to denigrate, descry or besmirch Rick Riordan’s books (the first of which came out after the first book in the HP series) in any way. I love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians stories; Greek mythology has been a fascination of mine since I was eleven years old. I think he’s brilliant, and that it’s a wonderful anthology of original, wonderful books.
That being said, there are a very large number of corollaries between the books. Let me elucidate:
- Harry = Percy
- Harry starts preteen = Percy starts preteen
- Harry ages 1 year per book = Percy ages 1 year per book (more or less)
- Hermione = Annabeth
- Ron = Grover
- Dumbledore = Chiron
- Mr. D = Snape
- Fudge = Zeus
- Malfoy = Luke
- Voldemort = Chronos
- Voldemort gets a body in book 4 = Chronos gets a body in book 4
- Harry’s hair won’t stay flat = Percy’s hair won’t stay flat*
- Malfoy starts to look weak, wasted and used late in book 6 (being used by Voldemort) = Luke starts to look weak and used late in book 4 (being used by Chronos)
*Sea Of Monsters (Book 2) on Circe’s Island, Percy is frustrated that his hair never lies flat = Harry’s discomfiture that his own unruly hair will never lie flat (throughout the HP series)
{ 18 } Comments
Not to mention the fairly large plot point – that they both had no idea they were ’supernatural’ or whatever you’d like to call it until they were pre-teen, at which point they found a whole other world with various legendary creatures concealed from mortal humankind
they both also don’t seem to like the girl in the group as a girlfriend until a couple books later.
@Damel What a great call. Totally that should be in the list.
@Luce Same thing, great call. I will update shortly.
thanks,
David
i totaly agree i love both of these books :mr green:
wow this is so like thhe same. Oh yeah and GOOOOOOOO PERCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
omg, perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you guys who are reading this who will you choiche percy jackson or harry potter i will like to know yor opinian please
that is wrong. the Percy Jackson series rocks way more. Also, they are definitely not the same. Percy does not age 1 year per book; Book 1 Percy is 12 book 5 he is 16 – right at the end. All your character comparisons are a load of nonsense. the fact that are slight similarities simply shows that they are both good stories.
Harry potter got ripped off by Percy Jackson, more similarities are….
harry’s invisibility cloak=annabeths invisibility hat
dumbledor is wrongly accused and forced to leave the school=same with chiron
harry can talk to snakes=percy can talk to horses
voldemort tortures harry through dreams=same with percy and kronos
fred and george=stoll brothers
slytherin house=ares cabin
harry has black hair and green eyes=so does percy
luna=rachel
hagrid loves magical creatures and is big and super friendly=same with tyson
voldemort needs a body=kronos too
houses eat meals at thier own table and arent allowed to switch seats=same with the cabins
weasley family=hermes cabin
harry rides buckbeak=percy rides blackjack(in the second books blackjacks called a girl, in every other hes a guy….im confused)
harry has a prophecy that hes not told about=same with percy
ministry of magic makes all decisions for wizard world=same with olypians
both weapons are connected to darkness: harrys with voldemorts, and riptide has a dark past
harry potter is the best character ever= oh wait, haha no similarity in that
GO HARRY
also anyone who thinks percy could beat harry in a fight…FAT CHANCE, his sword cant hurt mortals so harry could do more damage poking percy with his wand than percy fightning at his best with his sword. And if he decided to use a spell….percy’s got no chance.
@tippy
Thanks for your comment Tippy! Those were a great list. I am super impressed. I still love both series very much, but I think your devotion to Harry does you credit. Thanks for reading and for commenting with such a great contribution.
DS
Hmm…i got to disagree. I mean if the book got some teens, old mentors, and best friends, then it’s ripped? and about the houses and cabins, I mean the four houses have been popular in European schools(most of them are named after trees), and it just happened that JK was first to incorporate it in the Potter novels. Riordan on the other hand likes summer camps so he’s incorporated it in his novel, what’s ripped in that?
I love Harry Potter books, but claiming new novels being ripped from Potter is so tiring. Was harry potter the only green-eyed teen in the whole planet? I don’t think so, and for the sake of it, why can’t we just be entertained?
And about TIPPY’s well-searched post(which I like btw), I think we need to delve in deeper…
harry’s invisibility cloak=annabeths invisibility hat (At least Annabeth’s was believable being from Athena)
dumbledor is wrongly accused and forced to leave the school=same with chiron (Did you not read the book? he was kronos’s son, so that was acceptable)
harry can talk to snakes=percy can talk to horses (Sighs, of course, poseidon being his father, and this one’s even believable)
voldemort tortures harry through dreams=same with percy and kronos (actually, most fantasy authors do that, that’s why its fantasy; unlimited realms)
fred and george=stoll brothers (I don’t see the red-hair)
slytherin house=ares cabin (If you’ve been in a private boarding school, you would know every section got different personalities )
harry has black hair and green eyes=so does percy (I must admit I smelled the obvious reference, but Poseidon got green eyes too, so it’s simply genetic)
luna=rachel (I’ll skip this one)
hagrid loves magical creatures and is big and super friendly=same with tyson (Again, every character got a personality)
voldemort needs a body=kronos too (Just like with every fantasy villains)
houses eat meals at thier own table and arent allowed to switch seats=same with the cabins (of course, that’s why there are cabins, to sort people)
weasley family=hermes cabin (Poorly presented, doesn’t make sense)
harry rides buckbeak=percy rides blackjack(in the second books blackjacks called a girl, in every other hes a guy….im confused) …(Same here, dunno what you mean, and riding a flying beast isn’t new; HERCULES, ERAGON, NAZGUL, DRAGONRIDERS, or should you say they ripped potter too?)
harry has a prophecy that hes not told about=same with percy (Again, prophecies are common sight in fantasy)
ministry of magic makes all decisions for wizard world=same with olypians (Of course, just like with the government to its citizens, the parents to their children, in short, Gods are responsible for their kind, just like with wizards)
both weapons are connected to darkness: harrys with voldemorts, and riptide has a dark past (Yep, just like Eragon’s (forgot the name), z’arroc or something, LOTR’s ring to frodo, The Field Guide in Spiderwick…I mean, c’mon, this is fantasy)
@iceberg
Thanks for your comment IB. I don’t entirely agree with you, in that the point of my post was not to attack Percy, Rick Riordan, or non-HP authors in general. I respect what they do. I think the Percy Jackson series is fantastic, I’ve read them all at least twice, and I will read them again. I don’t think Rick Riordan was in any way trying to rip off JK Rowling. They’re totally distinct books and series, and each stand 100% on their own merits. I only thought there was an interesting number of plot devices that each shared, and that’s what inspired the post.
In any case, I really appreciate the comment – clearly you read the post and the followup comments.
I’m always glad to hear from readers – thanks for visiting the site!
David
Let me clarify what you can’t understand…
They both have magical garments that makes them invisible from thier parents, Rick could have easily have made it an item annabeth obtains on a quest but no its the same as harry potter. (Don’t get me wrong, I love both series, but there are just soooo many similarities.)
I’m not saying Chiron wasn’t accused I read the book, I’m saying they were both WRONGLY(Chiron has been at the camp for thousands of years, they trust him) accused and forced to leave.
They both have conections to these animals because of who they are. Why can’t Tyson talk to horses if its a son of poseidon thing. No, Rick has to make Percy stand out even more. Im just so glad percy doesnt make horse whinneys and nays to communicate.
They aren’t DREAMS they are happening as they watch it. They both are seeing what the bad guy sees without them noticng. An emposi-thing realizes percy is there, not kronos. Voldemort doesnt know harry was seeing what he was doing. Both villans minipulated the visions when they figured out what was happening.
Fred and George to the stoll brothers…WASNT IN THE HAIR COLOR(really you couldnt figure out it was the prankster personallity) why did they have to be twins anyway, only one was based off of Ricks beta reader, he could have left him as one person but he made twins. Both sets of twins are mischievious and get into trouble. Along with pranking.
The houses and cabins are not based on personality, the houses are based on qualities of the students. The cabins are based on the parent of the kid. None of the cabins have a certain trait. Thats why each individual camper has there own fatal flaw so that not all kids of Athena’s would be hubris.
WITH ALL OF THE COLORS FOR HAIR AND EYES IN THE WHOLE WORLD, THOUSANDS APON THOUSANDS OF COMBINATIONS RICK HAPPENS TO PICK GREEN EYES AND BLACK HAIR. Its not genetic to poseiden it says they dont get genes from their god parents, thats why they can date eachother, then it that case percy would have green eyes from his mom, which is even more of a similarity.
Luna and Rachel are the two characters who are “out there”. Both view things in ways others don’t. Why did Rick have to have an “out there” character, as you said there are many personalities…SO WHY ARE ALL HIS CHARACTERS EXACTLY LIKE THE POTTER CHARACTERS.
Hagrid and Tyson(I kinda explained that one as well, just go back up)
Kronos and Voldemort have too many similarities, im not going to write them all, I will write one of the biggest similarities however. First, they both have a trusted servant who betrays them(both of whom used to be good, then turned good at the end. and both servants helped thier master get a body.)
The weasley familt is over crowded and super friendly. Why did the Hermes cabin have so many kids. All of whom look the same. Luke is like percy(from harry potter) both the pride of thier family, do something to ruin it, and end up being good again)
Just felt like putting this one up cuz I wanted to get the word about how blackjack is mentioned as a girl, check book 2 page 242 ch18.
good, one you finally get(prophecy comment)
you also for the most part understand the ministry(good my hands hurt from so much typing
)
Sorry if I came across as a jerk, I’m not. I really enjoyed reading both series but there were just too many similarities to not think that it was being ripped off.
Let me clarify what you can’t understand…THANKS TIPPY
They both have magical garments that makes them invisible from thier parents, Rick could have easily have made it an item annabeth obtains on a quest but no its the same as harry potter. ——>>>Well, invisibility is a special thing. It’s like “Either have it, or you don’t”
I’m not saying Chiron wasn’t accused I read the book, I’m saying they were both WRONGLY(Chiron has been at the camp for thousands of years, they trust him) accused and forced to leave——->>>That’s why it happened in the present day era because if he was accused before percy’s time, then we don’t have a story.
They both have conections to these animals because of who they are. Why can’t Tyson talk to horses if its a son of poseidon thing. No, Rick has to make Percy stand out even more. Im just so glad percy doesnt make horse whinneys and nays to communicate.—->>> Actually, Tyson can speak to horses too (please read The Sea of Monsters carefully)
They aren’t DREAMS they are happening as they watch it. They both are seeing what the bad guy sees without them noticng. An emposi-thing realizes percy is there, not kronos. Voldemort doesnt know harry was seeing what he was doing. Both villans minipulated the visions when they figured out what was happening.—>>>Thanks, but Kronos knew Percy was there when he talks to Luke(in the Lightning Thief), and can you cite an incident where Kronos had manipulated a dream to his advantage? because i cant remember a single scenario.
Fred and George to the stoll brothers…WASNT IN THE HAIR COLOR(really you couldnt figure out it was the prankster personallity) why did they have to be twins anyway, only one was based off of Ricks beta reader, he could have left him as one person but he made twins. Both sets of twins are mischievious and get into trouble. Along with pranking.—->>> Eragon had a twin characters so OK, he copied rowling too.
The houses and cabins are not based on personality, the houses are based on qualities of the students. The cabins are based on the parent of the kid. None of the cabins have a certain trait. Thats why each individual camper has there own fatal flaw so that not all kids of Athena’s would be hubris.—->>>(the houses are based on qualities of the students, this is what I meant literally), And you said it yourself that the cabins were based on the parents, so does that mean Griffindor students came from Godric? (If ripping rowling is absolutely true?)
WITH ALL OF THE COLORS FOR HAIR AND EYES IN THE WHOLE WORLD, THOUSANDS APON THOUSANDS OF COMBINATIONS RICK HAPPENS TO PICK GREEN EYES AND BLACK HAIR. Its not genetic to poseiden it says they dont get genes from their god parents, thats why they can date eachother, then it that case percy would have green eyes from his mom, which is even more of a similarity.—->>>(they dont get genes from their god parents), aherm, I read the Olympians book for about three times and I can’t remember stuff like this(or I should read again?). If you have time please post the page and the paragraph order so that I may correct my mistake.
Luna and Rachel are the two characters who are “out there”. Both view things in ways others don’t. Why did Rick have to have an “out there” character, as you said there are many personalities…SO WHY ARE ALL HIS CHARACTERS EXACTLY LIKE THE POTTER CHARACTERS.—->>>Rachel, as a mortal, happens to see through the mist, so it is acceptable that her thinking is “Out There”, please note that when she met the demigods, it’s like she’s one of them, which is not considered an “Out there” persona anymore.
Hagrid and Tyson(I kinda explained that one as well, just go back up)—>>>Same here, i’m kind of tired with the Giant leap thing (lol)
Kronos and Voldemort have too many similarities, im not going to write them all, I will write one of the biggest similarities however. First, they both have a trusted servant who betrays them(both of whom used to be good, then turned good at the end. and both servants helped thier master get a body.)—->>>Of course, did you not understand Rowling? Evil will never triumph over good, so every author has their piece of this recipe.
The weasley familt is over crowded and super friendly. Why did the Hermes cabin have so many kids. All of whom look the same. Luke is like percy(from harry potter) both the pride of thier family, do something to ruin it, and end up being good again)—->>>Hermes is a jack-of-all-trade stereotype so he won’t have preferences with woman as long as they attract him.
Just felt like putting this one up cuz I wanted to get the word about how blackjack is mentioned as a girl, check book 2 page 242 ch18. —->>>Thanks very much
good, one you finally get(prophecy comment)
you also for the most part understand the ministry(good my hands hurt from so much typing
)
Sorry if I came across as a jerk, I’m not. I really enjoyed reading both series but there were just too many similarities to not think that it was being ripped off.—->>>Well, as a potter fan, I do feel you. It’s sad that JK couldn’t stretch the book for another one. I enjoyed my sixth years at hogwarts(like we all do), but i think we have to move on, give other fantasy a chance because potter time is OVER. And if you can recommend an original book that is the same with Rowling’s humor, then please do so, and thanks in advance
You are exactly right. I’ve been reading both series at the same time and have been confuzing the two sice they’re sort of similar.
the 3 headed dog
I just finished reading the first Percy Jackson book to my DD9, and I was struck by the huge number of similarities between it and the Harry Potter series. I truly enjoyed Percy Jackson and we’ll continue reading the series, but in the end, it doesn’t hold a candle to the magic of Harry Potter. It just doesn’t.
I think both books are interesting but I always loved to hear the greek tales. Harry Potter is a great series but they have nothing to show for it. Like in Greece they have statues and all that but I do not see any wizard stuff around.
I like books where there is a friend that turns you down like in the percy jackson series Luke turned him down.Both books are good.
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