Breaking a few rules... 2010-09-08

Reviewer: Lindsay Pasch

It's been a year since Percy Jackson learned that he is a demigod, the son of his human mother and Poseidon, the Greek God of the sea. On his last day of school, Percy hopes to finish the year without any major disasters and head off to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods. Unfortunately, trouble has a knack for finding Percy, and he has a run-in with some monsters in gym class. Saved by his friend Annabeth and his classmate Tyson, they escape to camp.

Camp Half Blood is not how Percy remembers it. The protective magical boundary of camp is collapsing, monsters are invading the borders, and the camp staff has changed. To make things worse, Percy keeps having dreams about his friend Grover, a satyr on a quest, being in danger. It turns out that Grover has created and "empathy link", allowing him to communicate with Percy from a distance. Between Grover, Hermes, and the Gray Sisters, Percy pieces together clues as to how he can save Camp Half Blood, as well as Grover. Percy's latest quest will take him to the Sea of Monsters, the fabled site of creatures such as Charybdis and the Sirens. In this sequel, Percy will take on old foes and new ones, make new friends, and discover more about his father and family.

One of the things I love most about this series is how covertly educational it is! Percy interacts with many characters from Greek mythology and Percy often recalls a quick line or two about the story behind those characters. I recall learning about mythology in grade school and it's fun to revisit those tales. Mention is also given to the works of Greek historians, and I must give kudos to Riordan for making Homer's Odyssey seem interesting!

I love how you never know what's going to happen next in this series. Yes, you know something isn't going to be as easy as it initially seems, but you never know who or what to expect! Riordan has a tendency of leading the reader to feel like the worst is over, and then suddenly he throws in another unexpected element. I enjoy guessing what is coming based on context clues (e.g. in book one, when they were at Auntie Em's Garden Emporium and there were tons of horrified looking stone statues- If you know your Greek mythology, you know Medusa is coming!).

The only thing that drove me nuts about this book was how oblivious Percy seems to have become. In the first book, he's not well versed in mythology so Annabeth and Grover are often explaining what things are to him. If I suddenly discovered that all of those stories I'd learned in school were in fact real, I'd head home and hit the books to learn as much as I possibly could. I'd also become more aware of my surroundings. Percy, however, seems to have gone home and left his demigod self at Camp Half Blood for the year. He is fully aware of the "mist" and how it keeps humans from perceiving otherworldly things, but allows himself to be fooled by it on multiple occasions. He also requires a great deal of explanation from Annabeth regarding mythological stories. Percy has obviously never heard the quote, "Know thy enemy"!

This book is by no means a difficult read. It's obviously geared towards a younger crowd, but adults can definitely enjoy it as well! I'm 23, and I love what I've read thus far! I even went ahead and bought the remainder of the series! This book took me a grand total of two days to read, but part of that was because I couldn't put it down. It's well written, and you have the opportunity to learn more about the key characters and their lives, as well as gain more of the history of Camp Half Blood.

This second installment in the Percy Jackson series is exciting and interesting, taking the reader to many new places along the East coast of the United States. If you've got a child, or even if you enjoy a light read yourself, this book is the second installment in a series that has many great elements- adventure, mythology, action and more! Check it out!

Review by an 11 year old 2010-08-26

Reviewer:

WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS
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Percy Jackson is finally on his last day of school. If he can make it through today without creating a minor explosion, or vaporizing a teacher, this will be his first completed school year. Percy had never completed a school year without being expeled. Freak accidents always seem to follow him, accidents involving horrific scenes of ancient greek monsters that only he can see. Monsters follow him wherever he goes because Percy isn't a ordinary guy. He is a half blood, half god and half human. To half bloods, the only haven in a world full of monster is Camp Half Blood. So, when Percy is attacked by 8ft tall cannibals, and is accused of the crime of blowing up the school building, he and his two friends, Annebeth (a demigod daughter of Athena) and Tyson (a young, homeless cyclops who saved Percy multiple times durring the attack on the school), rush off to Camp Half Blood only to find it in chaos. The boundaries have been injured when Thalias tree was poisoned. A quest will have to be authorized to find the golden fleece that will heal Thalias tree and restore the poisoned boundaries of the camp. But will Percy be given the quest? And if not what will he do? Will he stay in Camp Half Blood while the events unfold? Or sneak off and risk exile from the Camp?

I don't think Riordan could have done a better job on a sequel to the Lightning Thief than what he wove together with The Sea of Monsters. I liked it even more than the first.

Hilarious second book in the series 2010-08-18

Reviewer: dirtjarproductions

Of course after reading The Lightning Thief I had to get this book immediately to satisfy the curiosity of what happens next. The Sea of Monsters is hands down the funniest story of the series. The combination of the characters Dionysus, Tantalus, Tyson, Grover and situations in the camp and on their adventure create humor that made me laugh hysterically the first time I read it. Tantalus is my favorite character simply for how the author weaves his backstory and resulting character in the book.

The Sea of Monsters is pure entertainment. It felt like The Odyssey in some places but still remained original enough to keep my attention, which is always important. The story ends on a cliff hanger which is frustrating but only gives you that desire to read the next book.

Again, I recommend reading this book to anyone with a love for adventure stories. Excellent work Mr. Riordan.

Sequel Slump 2010-08-17

Reviewer: Worcester

*NOTE: There are spoilers peppered throughout this review*

The Sea of Monsters lacks the originality and cleverness of its predecessor, The Lightning Thief.

Many twists in the plot that were utilized in the first book were repeated in this sequel. In The Lightning Thief, Medusa's lair and the Lotus Casino lured the heroes into a trap through the temptations of food, fun, etc. This same plot point was reiterated with CC's island. How many times must we endure the heroes falling for the same trap, time after time after time? This repeated lack of common sense is out of character and it makes the heroes look idiotic.

The plot of The Sea of Monsters was also too simplistic. I enjoy the modern twist given to Greek mythology in this series, but The Sea of Monsters blatantly mimics Odysseus's travels and confrontation with Polyphemus, making the plot highly predictable and uninteresting.

That aside, there were many parts of The Sea of Monsters that I greatly enjoyed. To be brief:
-Annabeth's reaction to the Sirens' song (potential foreshadowing?).
-Cliffhanger: Thalia emerging from the tree
-Grover's dialogue with Polyphemus

Overall, The Sea of Monsters was a quick, forgettable read. Hopefully the third book in the series will have some fresh ideas.

Just as good as the book 2010-08-14

Reviewer: C. Moore

I am a big fan of the audiobooks. I love to read but its nice to have a book while driving in the car. Percy Jackson is great to listen to and lets the story unfold before you.