Above Us, Olympus. Below Ground, the Underland.
August 9th, 2009 by Karen
The first book in The Underland Chronicles
In my last post, I railed against the claim that Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is a rip-off of Harry Potter. But I have to admit that when I read PJTO, I did notice some similarities to a different series: the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins.
Don’t get me wrong — I am in no way suggesting that PJ is a copy of Underland, or even that one is better than the other. The truth is, PJ and Underland currently tie for my second favorite series (after HP, of course).
But I bring this up because I think Underland doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves, and so there’s a good chance you’ve never read the books. Well, fear not — Kidsmomo to the rescue! I’m here to tell you that if you’re a PJTO fan, you should definitely give Underland a try.
What, my word’s not enough to convince you? Well, here’s a side-by-side comparison to entice you:
| PJTO | Underland | |
| Regular kid who’s thrown headfirst into a crazy adventure | Percy | Gregor |
| Important prophecies (usually annoyingly difficult to interpret) | From the Oracle | Carved into stone by Bartholomew of Sandwich |
| Feisty love (like?) interest | Annabeth | Luxa |
| Creatures not of our world | Minotaur, Sphinx, centaurs, and hellhounds, just to name a few | Giant roaches, bats, mice, and rats (all perfectly capable of talking with humans) |
| Tension that turns into all-out war | Gods vs. Titans | Humans vs. Rats |
| A “friend” who betrays the hero at the end of Book 1 | Yeah, right — I can’t tell you everything! | |
So, what are you waiting for? Go underground and give Gregor a chance! (And after you read The Underland Chronicles and love it, please remember that I accept thanks in the form of cash and/or chocolate.)
— Karen
6 Responses
Thank you so much! I read both series, and personally liked UC better, but that’s just me. I noticed a lot of similarities too- and one you missed is about the final prophecies in the fifth books. So strangely similar… maybe Suzanne Collins and Rick Riordan are long-lost twins or something. It’s always possible.
That is a bold idea but I like it. Maybe they could work on a book together. I think UC is better too but I have only read the first book!
This is me later and now I have read each book twice and even wrote a whole cast list of actors for roles! I had a lot of free time. But the books are much alike and Suzanne and Rick should fully make a crossover of the characters paths.
Wow I was excited and then read the April fools bit bad joke I started searching up each and every single one of the actors 🙁
that is a very mean joke the regulations say that comments cant be mean spirited but that joke was mean spirited
:(:(:( very disappointed :(:(:(