Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro discuss ‘The Court of the Dead,’ a ‘Percy Jackson’ spinoff novel centered on Nico di Angelo

LOS ANGELES — Best-selling authors Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro bring readers another Nico di Angelo adventure with “From the World of Percy Jackson: The Court of the Dead.” This marks their second book written together.

The story resumes a few months following “The Sun and the Star,” with demigods Nico di Angelo and Will Solace joining Nico’s half-sister Hazel Levesque on the West Coast. Hazel requires assistance with a group of refugee monsters who have taken sanctuary at Camp Jupiter. The demigods soon discover a mysterious dark force at play when the monsters begin to vanish from camp one by one.

On The Red Carpet had the opportunity to converse with the authors about the process of creating the sequel, Riordan’s key storytelling elements, the dynamic between Nico and Will, and their upcoming book tour.

When it came to conceptualizing “The Court of the Dead,” Riordan told us it all began with his first “Percy Jackson” novel.

“It all started as a joke about where the Minotaur gets his signature underwear, his tighty-whities, from ‘The Lightning Thief.’ We wondered, ‘what if he knits his own? And why would he do that?’ This led us on a journey to discover, ‘who is this Minotaur, and why does he enjoy knitting?’ Mark took that idea and made it vibrant and viable,” Riordan shared.

Oshiro embraced the concept, adding, “I don’t think I mentioned it to anyone at first. I just jotted it down in my notes, imagining the Minotaur appearing at Camp Jupiter, seeking Hazel’s aid. What would he need help with, and how would Hazel react?”

Oshiro elaborated on their development process.

“We explored aspects of Nico and Hazel that haven’t been directly covered, focusing on what they have in common. Both dislike being judged, and whenever that happens in the series, they respond strongly. I loved the idea of a story centered around them and others being judged,” Oshiro commented.

“The Court of the Dead” sees a more “subtle” examination of Nico and Will’s relationship, Oshiro told us.

“‘The Sun and the Star’ was about their relationship existing and what happens when it’s challenged by these outside forces. And so, this book our challenge was that one, we didn’t want to repeat ourselves – but I actually think there is little to no strife between Nico and Will – But instead it’s, how do they keep going on and what happens?”

Before Oshiro could drop any spoilers, they acknowledged that “Nico is on a very particular journey with his mental health,” in this book. “Will is learning, ‘how do I actually support this person?'”

Riordan has written over 20 stories as a part of the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, appealing to audiences who grew up with the series and new readers. We asked Riordan what goes into keeping his books accessible to readers of all ages.

“I try to create a story that I would be comfortable and happy telling my middle school students back when I was a middle school teacher. So it’s gotta be relevant. It’s got to be fast paced. It has to be fun and funny. But there’s also got to something real there, something they care about, something that speaks to them,” said Riordan. “If I can make a story that appeals to that very difficult audience of middle school kids who have so much else going on and so many other things pulling at their attention, hopefully it will also appeal to kids that are younger and kids that are older and adults.”

To celebrate the novel, the pair will be traveling around the U.S. for a book tour.

“Oh, I’m so excited,” Oshiro exclaimed. “You know, we try to design a show that is entertaining and silly, and it does have an element to it that is chaotic, where we get to answer questions from the audience and whatnot, so that it does have a unique feel to it. And so what I’m most excited for and what was so fun about touring for ‘Sun and the Star’ was getting to see fans’ enthusiasm.”

If you’re thinking about cosplaying your favorite character, Oshiro is here for it!

“Getting to see how much these characters in particular mean to people and the number of cosplayers of Will and Nico- And now I’m excited to see Hazel cosplayers, hopefully,” they said.

Riordan is just excited to see fans. “It really is sort of a feedback loop of good feelings and Lord knows we need those these days. It’s nice to see so many people come together just to celebrate reading.”

“From the World of Percy Jackson: The Court of the Dead: A Nico di Angelo Adventure” hits shelves September 23.

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