The Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters follows the adventures of Percy Jackson and his two friends, Annabeth and Grover, after the events of Book One. Percy has returned to his mother's home has started a brand new school and has met a new friend named Tyson, but Percy has been dreaming of Grover being chased down a set of stores by a much larger creature and Camp Half-Blood is suffering from numerous attacks by some mysterious enemy bent on poisoning the tree that protect the outer edges of the camp.

Percy must save the tree and sets out on a quest to find the legendary Golden Fleece, a mythological artifact with healing properties that could save Thalia, Zeus' daughter, and save Grover from the dreaded Cyclops Polyphemus. Navigating the Bermuda Triangle and trying to keep themselves alive won't be easy but Percy knows the fate of the camp rests upon their shoulders.

Throughout the journey, Percy's loyalty and friendship are tested, and he also learns more about his abilities and destiny as a demigod. He must make difficult choices and face dangerous adversaries to complete the quest and save the camp.

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters explores themes of bravery, heroism, friendship, and the power of destiny. It is a thrilling adventure filled with humor, action, and references to Greek mythology. The book has gained popularity for its engaging storytelling and relatable characters, particularly for its target audience of young adult readers.

Again, Riordan improved on his previous novel. This book is the best in the series, and they were all good.

Like the previous one, this one moves at a blinding pace. It’s one battle after another with short bits of character development in between. I was surprised at the length of the falling action. The book didn’t end with the abrupt post-battle, “Go celebrate! That’s all folks” short chapter. The book actually has three chapters after the battle, and Riordan does a nice job of tying up the various dangling threads.

The love triangle is finally resolved; although, it seemed pretty obvious where that was going early in the novel. Nonetheless, the tension was fun. I can’t really discuss what I liked about the ending without significant spoilers, so I will have to be satisfied by saying I really liked that everyone had a place in the final battle and after.

Also, as with The Halfblood Prince, I think this is my favorite of the series because it gives us a large dose of bad-guy backstory. I’ve heard the next series, The Heroes of Olympus, is actually better than this one, so I’m looking forward to starting it soon. I also can’t wait for the new Disney+ series. I hope they do it well.

I got to the end and wanted more. I think this is a good sign. I think I'm going to wait to start the 3rd book until The Newest Olympian podcasts gets to it, and that'll be a at least a couple of months. Again, I just couldn't wait and only read the book at the chapter per week pace of the podcast.

Again, the voices of the characters ring pretty true to their age and experiences. Riordan infuses the characters with humor and sass while they deal with their frustration and fears. I'd like more about Luke's motivation. It just doesn't seem like enough that he's willing to take down all of western civilization because of his daddy issues.

My favorite parts of the book are the parallels to the Greek myths, like the sea of monsters and Polyphemus with Odysseus, and a particularly like that the characters know those stories, that those stories were real.

I'm not sure how I feel about the whole story line being a manipulation to get to the surprise(ish) ending. I like the direction things are going, but I'd like it better if this whole adventure wasn't the machinations of the bad guy.