Rick Riordan Quotes

Ever since my famous battle with Python, I've had a phobia of scaly reptilian creatures. (Especially if you include my stepmother, Hera. BOOM!)

~ Rick Riordan

Four different kinds of Tater Tots? I felt overwhelmed by culinary confusion. Why would anyone need so many? Chili. Sweet potato. Blue?

~ Rick Riordan

People don’t just appear on the beach unless they’re demigods or gods or really, really lost pizza delivery guys. (It’s happened—but that’s another story.)

~ Rick Riordan

And of course I'm in the press all the time. So many books have been written about me; Into thin air, up in the air,Gone with the wind-

~ Rick Riordan

To all my librarian friends, champions of books, true magicians in the House of Life. Without you, this writer would be lost in the Dust.

~ Rick Riordan

He hated being filled with terror. It was embarrassing.

~ Rick Riordan

Nico remembered something Jason Grace had told him in the palace of Notus: Maybe it’s time you come out of the shadows. If only I could, he thought. For the first time in his life, he had begun to fear the dark, because he might melt into it permanently.

~ Rick Riordan

Nothing is more tragic than loving someone to the depths of your soul and knowing they cannot and will not ever love you back.

~ Rick Riordan

Nico scowled. ‘It’s none of your business, but I don’t belong. That’s obvious. No one wants me. I’m a child of –’ ‘Oh, please.’ Will sounded unusually angry. ‘Nobody at Camp Half-Blood ever pushed you away. You have friends – or at least people who would like to be your friend. You pushed yourself away. If you’d get your head out of that brooding cloud of yours for once –

~ Rick Riordan

It’s not mind-reading,’ she said. ‘Not even an empathy link. Just … a temporary wave of exhaustion. Primal emotions. Your pain washes over me. I take on some of your burden.’Nico’s expression became guarded. He twisted the silver skull ring on his finger, the same way Reyna did with her silver ring when she was thinking. Sharing a habit with the son of Hades made her uneasy.

~ Rick Riordan

Jason’s heart lifted when he saw Nico di Angelo on the front lines with the Greeks, slashing his way through a crowd of two-headed men.

~ Rick Riordan

They’d welcomed him aboard their ship. Nico had never allowed himself the luxury of friends, but the crew of the Argo II was as close as he’d ever come. The idea of any of them dying made him feel empty – like he was back in the giants’ bronze jar, alone in the dark, subsisting only on sour pomegranate seeds.

~ Rick Riordan

When Nico had woken up at Barrachina and found the Hunters’ note about kidnapping Reyna, he’d torn apart the courtyard in rage. He didn’t want the Hunters stealing another important person from him. Fortunately, he’d got Reyna back, but he didn’t like how brooding she had become. Every time he tried to ask her about the incident on the Calle San Jose – those ghosts on the balcony, all staring at her, whispering accusations – Reyna shut him down.

~ Rick Riordan

Nico didn’t respond. He’d never had anyone talk to him this openly before, except maybe for Hazel. He felt like he was watching a flock of birds settle on a field. One loud sound might startle them away.

~ Rick Riordan

Too bad Jason wasn’t a metal automaton. At least then Leo would have some idea of how to help his best friend. But with humans … Leo felt helpless. They broke way too easily.

~ Rick Riordan

What I'm saying... I hate it when people let me down, when things are temporary.

~ Rick Riordan

I just came from Bunker Hill,’ I told Sam. ‘Hel offered me a reunion with my mother.’I managed to tell her the story.Samirah reached out as if to touch my arm, then apparently changed her mind. ‘I’m so sorry, Magnus. But Hel lies. You can’t trust her. She’s just like my father, only colder. You made the right choice.’‘Yeah … still. You ever do the right thing, and you know it’s the right thing, but it leaves you feeling horrible?’‘You’ve just described most days of my life.’ Sam pulled up her hood. ‘When I became a Valkyrie … I’m still not sure why I fought that frost giant. The kids at Malcolm X were terrible to me. The usual garbage: they asked me if I was a terrorist. They yanked off my hijab. They slipped disgusting notes and pictures into my locker. When that giant attacked … I could’ve pretended to be just another mortal and got myself to safety. But I didn’t even think about running away. Why did I risk my life for those kids?’I smiled.‘What?’ she demanded.‘Somebody once told me that a hero’s bravery has to be unplanned – a genuine response to a crisis. It has to come from the heart, without any thought of reward.’Sam huffed. ‘That somebody sounds pretty smug.’‘Maybe you didn’t need to come here,’ I decided. ‘Maybe I did. To understand why we’re a good team.

~ Rick Riordan

People are more difficult to work with than machines. And when you break a person, he can't be fixed.

~ Rick Riordan

Legion, cuneum formate!’ Reyna yelled. ‘Advance!’ Another cheer on Jason’s right as Percy and Annabeth reunited with the forces of Camp Half-Blood. ‘Greeks!’ Percy yelled. ‘Let’s, um, fight stuff!’ They yelled like banshees and charged. Jason grinned. He loved the Greeks. They had no organization whatsoever, but they made up for it with enthusiasm.

~ Rick Riordan

Intelligence won wars, not brute force.

~ Rick Riordan

Forget the chicken-nugget smoke screen. Percy wanted Leo to invent an anti-dream hat.

~ Rick Riordan

THAT'S IT! Terminus cried. That's AGAINST THE RULES!Polybotes frowned, obviously confused that he was being told off by a statue. What are you? he growled. Shut up!He pushed the statue over and turned back to Percy.Now I'm MAD! Terminus shrieked. I'm strangling you. Feel that? Those are my hands around your neck, you big bully. Get over here! I'm going to head-butt you so hard--

~ Rick Riordan

The eidolons started pounding on the door. 'Who is it?' Leo called. 'Valdez!''Valdez who?

~ Rick Riordan

So, great. This is Camp…what do you call it? Camp Fish-Blood?”Aphros frowned. “I hope that was a joke. This is Camp __________.” He made a sound that was a series of sonar pings and hisses.

~ Rick Riordan

Now-what’s our game plan?” Coach Hedge belched. He’d already had three espressos and a plate of doughnuts, along with two napkins and another flower from the vase on the table. He would’ve eaten the silverware, except Piper had slapped his hand. “Climb the mountain,” Hedge said. “Kill everything except Piper’s dad. Leave.” “Thank you General Eisenhower,” Jason grumbles.

~ Rick Riordan

my sword reappeared in my pocket.yeah,great timing.now i could attack the walls all i wanted.my cell had no bar,no window,not even a door

~ Rick Riordan

Even from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music.

~ Rick Riordan

Grover and Nico came back from their walk, and Grover helped me fix up my wounded arm.It's green! Nico said with delight.

~ Rick Riordan

As for Percy, he held his magic ballpoint pen like he was trying to decide whether to bust out some sword moves or autograph Nike’s chariot.

~ Rick Riordan

They passed a couple of guys making a bronze windup toy. At least that’s what it looked like. It was a six-inch-tall centaur—half man, half horse—armed with a miniature bow. One of the campers cranked the centaur’s tail, and it whirred to life. It galloped across the table, yelling, “Die, mosquito! Die, mosquito!” and shooting everything in sight.

~ Rick Riordan

Hmph. Yes. Him. He had the nerve to turn down our offer of immortality and tell us to pay better attention to our children. Er, no offense.” “Oh, how could I take offense? Please, go on ignoring me.

~ Rick Riordan

So…we’ll start by boasting, will we? Just like old times! Very well, demigod.

~ Rick Riordan

Should I get you a shovel so youcan dig that hole a little deeper?

~ Rick Riordan

We need our goats!” I yelled.I waded through the crowd until I reached our chariot. I grabbed Otis’s face and pressed my forehead against his.“Testing,” I whispered. “Is this goat on? Thor, can you hear me?”“You have beautiful eyes,” Otis told me.

~ Rick Riordan

You're sure?' I asked. 'I mean, the Lord of the Sword is great. But you could also be, I don't know, the Slammer of the Hammer'.

~ Rick Riordan

Just follow my lead,’ I said. ‘It’ll be fun.’‘Please,’ Sam begged, ‘don’t let those words be carved on my tombstone.

~ Rick Riordan

The the glow become brighter: a holographic golden sickle with a few sheaves of wheat, rotating just above Meg McCaffrey.A boy in the crowd gasped. 'She's a communist!'A girl who'd been sitting at Cabin Four's table gave him a disgusted sneer. 'No, Damien, that's my mom's symbol.

~ Rick Riordan

The guy had literally been through hell and back. Even when he wasn’t trying, he made the toilets explode. What would Percy be like if he wanted to act scary?

~ Rick Riordan

A general never shows despair. He instills confidence in his troops. He leads them forward, even into the mouth of death.

~ Rick Riordan

Your art…” I gaped at the field of white. “There was a lovely portrait of me—right there.”I get offended whenever art is damaged, especially if that art features me.

~ Rick Riordan