Rick Riordan on His Latest Mega Seller 'The Red Pyramid'

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By Lauren Barack Jul 1, 2010

Rick Riordan loves flavoring his mythological-based tales of Ancient Greece and Egypt with a heavy dose of educational spice, sending his young readers racing for forgotten tomes in their libraries. We catch up with the adored author and former English teacher on the launch of his new series, the Kane Chronicles, and its first tale, The Red Pyramid (Hyperion, 2010) as he muses on librarians, readers, and why he believes the legends, gods, and mysteries that surround the world of Ancient Egypt will enthrall his fans.

Why did you pick ancient Egypt as your next world?

As I was touring around with the Percy Jackson books (Hyperion, 2005), one of the questions I got asked the most often by young readers was, 'Will you ever do another mythology series.' I realized when I was a classroom teacher the only subject that ever came close to the Greek and Romans was Ancient Egypt, which really hasn't been tapped in children's literature, or not as well. And I found that a great challenge as much as a high interest.

Do you think kids will use your books as launching pad for further research on these ancient cultures?

That certainly has been the case. I'm always really happy to hear from readers and from librarians that the research sections on these areas are getting a big workout; sections that used to be gathering dust and now librarians can't keep them on the shelf, and that's fantastic. I've heard from classroom teachers that they've used Percy Jackson as a launching point for the Illiad and the Odyssey, and I am starting to hear the same thing about The Red Pyramid, of students descending on their libraries, and that's fantastic. It's really neat when kids feel like they're experts and they want to learn more.

Were there books that had you similarly enthralled as a child?

Definitely. One of the first books was called Tales of the Western World (The Steck Company, 1953), which my father used to read aloud to me when I was in elementary school. It was tales of Native American mythology. Then I started reading Norse myths and then The Lord of The Rings (George Allen & Unwin, 1954) captured my imagination the most. That was the first time I remember reading for fun and not because I was just assigned a book.

You thank librarians in the foreword to The Red Pyramid and say without them you'd "be lost in the Duat." How important are librarians to the new series and to your career?

That's such an enormous question. I could write a book on the debt I owe to librarians. Libraries all through my school career were a sanctuary. School can be a scary place and a library is a safe haven for students who feel stressed and are not sure what's going on in their life. Through books you can meet friends and go to new worlds. And I learned quickly in my career, I'd better make friends with the school librarians. They are the single most critical people in a school, and I've been devastated when I hear about cutbacks happening in schools to librarians. When I became a writer, the first champions of my books were librarians, especially in my home state in Texas. I really doubt I would be talking to you today if it wasn't for the librarians who got out there and made a grass roots effort to get the Percy Jackson books into the hands of readers.

Your stories are populated with children who have hidden powers that they have to discover. Why do you think children are drawn to these tales?

That is an archetype that goes back three to four thousand years. It is one of the central themes in children's stories that goes back to Perseus discovering he is the son of Zeus. All of the Greek heroes have that experience of not knowing who they are and finding they all have amazing parentage. It's hard to find a fantasy novel that doesn't have that theme. The reason it is so pervasive is that kids dream about being independent, discovering something about themselves, and coming into their own. And the idea that you have a magic power is a very appealing fantasy. It's the same when little kids dream about dinosaurs. They are very powerful figures and young children are attracted to that because they have so little power themselves. Mythology holds the same draw for older children who think that maybe they too are special, their parents are not who they thought, and that maybe they are a long lost princess or Greek hero.

Manhattan played a large role in the Percy Jackson series, and now in a minor way, again in The Red Pyramid. Why that city?

My wife's family is from New York State and she was raised in Westchester and her mother's family had a farm on Long Island. I remember very vividly my first trip to New York on our honeymoon. I'm also often in New York for publishing, and it just seemed like if I were a god that's where I would park my headquarters. It's the eye of the storm.

Do you think reading changes whether it's in digital format or a bound book?

The answer to that question is really grounded in how comfortable the answerer feels about new media. I imagine in the middle ages people having this discussion about how Papyrus scrolls would be changed by the bound book. But things change, and each way of reading has its uses. I think the electric form has a lot of appeal for travelers because they can carry so many books in so many forms. I have heard of dyslexic readers who love eReaders because there are only so many words on the screen and it's not as imposing. I am interested in that because I have a dyslexic son. But my kids don't like reading on the Kindle or the iPad because they would much prefer to have a book in its physical form. Yet, I think more options are generally good. I went on a trip last week, and we were on vacation and I read six novels. I read two on a Kindle, two on an iPad and two physical books and I found no difference in the experience in reading the stories.

Did you always know you would be a writer?

I still have my first rejection note from when I was 13 years old because my English teachers encouraged me to send in a story. I knew even then I wanted to a writer and a teacher, and I feel fortunate that I got to be both. I stopped teaching about five years ago. It really was purely a question of time, as I needed to put my full effort into the books. It wouldn't have been fair to my students and to my family. I love teaching, and feel it's my true calling. And I love doing school visits but I am not able to do as much anymore.

Does being a former teacher affect your writing?

You can take the teacher out of the classroom, but not the classroom out of the teacher. I'm pretty into subversive learning, and teaching kids without knowing they're being taught, to have kids so engaged and so engrossed. I don't want them to feel lectured to by the stories and that there's a test at the end of the book. But I do want to inspire them to learn more, to become life long readers and learners, and you can only do that by making the subject matter engaging. I never want them to feel, 'Oh I'm glad that book's done.'

Do your children play a role in how you shape your stories?

Absolutely. That's how The Lightening Thief started, as an impromptu act with my son when he was in the first grade. I find reading the story to them a really instructive part of my revision process. I can hear the narrative aloud, and just by watching my sons' expressions, I can tell if it's too slow, or the jokes are not as funny as I thought. And sometimes I put myself back in the classroom and it's fifth period, after lunch, and I see if the story is going to keep the students' attention. I tend to do at least four comprehensive revisions before I sit down with my sons. And they're always one book ahead of everyone else. They're often careful not to look at my computer screen as I'm writing because they don't want to know what's coming up ahead.

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