Book Review: The Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2)

by Rick Riordan

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy 

Publication: April 2006

Format: Paperback, 265 pages

My sister loaned the second book of Percy Jackson and the Olympians to me. She loves Rick Riordan’s work, and had refused to read other books by other writer when I offered her to. When I told her that The Sea of Monsters is a bit dull as compared to The Lightning Thief, she thought that there’s something wrong with me. She told me that the second book is better than the first one. Apparently we didn’t share the same thought.

In The Sea of Monsters, Percy had a dream hinted that Grover was in danger. Soon, he found out that camp half blood too was in danger as Thalia tree is poisoned. To restore Thalia tree back to normal Percy and Annabeth along with Percy’s half brother, Tyson, broke out of camp half and headed to the sea of monster to find a Fleece to heal Thalia tree and to save Grover.

Somehow I found that the second book is boring as compared to the first one, which might have explained why it took me days to finish this although it was a short one. I’m not quite sure what I didn’t like about the book. Perhaps it was the unnatural dialogue? The boring adventure? Or Percy’s point of view itself?

But I know for sure that I love the ending. It was very surprising :)

Book Cover’s Description

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any normal friends. But things don't stay quiet for long. 

Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders that protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia. Only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name: The Bermuda Triangle.

Together with his friends, Percy must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family, one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.