The Sea of Monsters
Ratings1,095
Average rating4
percy describes a lot and it doesn't motivate me to keep reading but this was a good journey
3.5/5
Never having read Percy Jackson as a child I have found this to be so fun. I really enjoy seeing which mythological characters get introduced and how Riordan spins them for a young audience. Tyson was a great addition and I can't wait to see how he plays into the story further along.
Similar story structure to the first book, but much more emotional. The character development for Percy, Tyson, Annabeth and Clarisse felt richer, some smart mythology modernised yet again, and it doesn't fail to provide some genuine laugh out loud moments.
What a cliffhanger ending though.
I ... hmm ... actually liked this. I mean, I didn't hate the first book, but it felt a little juvenile for me. The writings, the characters, the plot, that kind of stuff. This one started out that way, what with the whole ‘poor Percy and Annabeth being picked on by their new teacher' but... I actually liked it once we got away from that. Characters show a little more depth than I expected (Clarisse especially, but even Luke a little) and it was nice. Also, the sub-plot with Tyson was handled well. Finally, what Percy did towards the end... That finally got me to stop comparing this to Harry Potter, because ... well ... What Percy did? Yeah. Harry wouldn't have.
Also, I've either gotten used to the weird stuff in this world, or there's less weird stuff in this book than the previous one.
I've been dwelling over this review for a few days now, I have literally read 2 and a half more books since I finished this one and have reviewed those on the site before coming to review this one. I had read the first Percy Jackson novel in the series earlier in the year and liked it but I hadn't felt an instant draw to pick up the second and so when I did I hoped it would offer me a huge incentive to keep coming back for more from the half-boy half-god son of Poseidon.
This was quite a quick, light read. I flew through it in just over a day but if I'm honest I could happily have seen this book have another hundred or so pages added to it because at times I felt that it lacked some of the expansive world of the first book. I wanted lots of Camp Half-Blood and instead we spend very little time there. No sooner have we arrived than we are off again on a Quest and so we skim the surface of one of the most enjoyable aspects of the world I liked in Book 1. We also have a very brief glimpse of Percy's mom but she is mentioned only in passing and we don't really return to this aspect of Percy's world again in the book.
All the characters we fell in love with in Book 1 are back, Percy, Annabeth and Grover are the fantastic trio but here we find that one of the three isn't present having still gone off on his own journey so Grover is absent for much of the book which is a shame. This is offset somewhat by the arrival of a new character, Tyson, a cylops who is another child of Poseidon and therefore Percy's half-brother. Tyson is almost the saving grace of this book, he is sweet and childlike and innocent and it's clear he is thrilled at finding not just a friend but family but Percy isn't always so thrilled and their story is the high point of this book.
As for the adventure our hero goes on, in this book he is in search of The Golden Fleece because the tree that protects Camp Half-Blood is dying and evil seeks to destroy everything they hold dear, so they need to retrieve the Golden Fleece to restore the order and save everyone before it's too late. To do this they need to cross The Sea of Monsters. This in itself was a good quest but throughout this book I just wanted Riordan to slow everything down just a little, take his time and build the tension a bit more slowly.
Everything seemed to be flying off so quickly, our hero would lurch from one disaster to another and unlike book one there wasn't so much time to pause and expand the story emotionally as we went along. Instead we are so focused on the action that by the end I wasn't sure I had invested my heart into the quest as much as I should have. I didn't feel I'd had enough Annabeth and Percy and Grover moving forward together as friends as I'd expected. I wanted them to grow together and I'm not sure they did.
I liked the book, I'm not sure if this had been the first book in the series I'd have been keen or felt invested enough to return for a second round. The only thing keeping me coming back for more is the glimpses of brilliance I saw in book one. I know Riordan can write great drama and emotion as well as the action and I'm sure that this series would not be so acclaimed unless we could expect more of that as the series goes on. I will be giving book 3 a try but I could only give this one 3 out of 5 stars.
Glad I decided to read these again. Enjoying them a lot more than I did in 2016
Such a good second book! Percy is a brilliant narrator. Love this series so far!
I loved the Sea of Monsters. It was even better than the first book! I love Tyson genuinely, he is one of my favorite characters and he never fails to make me smile.
Despite the very very short length of this book, there is so much information and so much action and I LOVED IT! Percy and Annabeth were fucking awesome and cute little 13-year-olds, and OH MY GOD, I LOVED IT SO. SO SO MUCH.
This was just amazingly hilarious and amazing and funny and great and I loved it and
I'm totally repeating myself.
Meilleur que le premier, et sans aucun doutes meilleur que le film, le rythme est toujours extrêmement bien construit et s'enchaine avec fluidité. La relation avec la mythologie se creuse de plus en plus et de façon extrêmement intéressante tandis que l'univers s'épaissit et prends plus de forme. Les personnages eux aussi commencent à devenir plus attachants, en acquérant plus de personnalité à travers ce tome. Un chouette livre de littérature adolescente, je suis impatient de continuer la saga ;)
Better than the first one!
Muito bom, mesmo. E leitura rápida, parece que Percy está conversando com o leitor, contando os fatos, simplesmente, o que torna fácil o entendimento e bem interessante!
Ainda não consigo ver a evolução da descrição com a sua idade. Era para ser um pouco mais maduro. Em compensação, é visível o maior interesse de Percy por Annabeth, e a possibilidade de um romance futuro.
Tyson, por mais inocente, é adorável. E fiquei razoavelmente contente com seu desfecho.
Odeio Clarisse. Pronto, falei.
Nesse ponto, conseguiram fazer uma personagem detestável, só por existir.
Senti pena de Percy e de sua relação com Poseidon ser tão difícil... Por mais que justificável. Estranho que não desenvolvi o mesmo sentimento por Chase ou Luke, o mais problemático de todos.
Bora seguir com a série!!
I can see why Emma likes these books so much. They're full of action and the nuances of Greek mythology. I enjoy how they relate the Greek mythology into the modern day things.
But the books don't feel as weighty as Harry Potter and they don't keep me engaged for very long. Inevitably while reading, my mind will drift to other things. I never find myself fully engrossed in the book. I'm completely interested in the outcome, or what is coming throughout the journey, but for some reason I get easily distracted. Which is why it took me so long to finish the book!
Finally got around to reading this one, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would!
Yeah! Totally solid fantasy-adventure-mythology! My favorite part of the narration is Luke's evil bro voice.
When I was pressured into reading the Percy Jackson series, I didn't hold high hopes for it. Essentially, it was a book about some boy who was like half-god half-human. But then, I really started getting into the book because of the easy and simple way it was written in.
My mom made blue waffles and blue eggs for breakfast. She's funny that way, celebrating special occasions with blue food. I think it's her way of saying anything is possible. Percy can pass seventh grade. Waffles can be blue. Little miracles like that.
Rick Riordan (2008-01-01T18:30:00+00:00). The Sea of Monsters (Kindle Locations 46-48). Disney-Hyperion. Kindle Edition.
In the second book of the series, Percy is getting comfortable in his role as one of the half-bloods and excited about going back to camp for more training. But as normal, the mosters that seek after the children of the Gods cause problems and another adventure is started.
There is a new character added to this story, so the group of three: Annabeth, daughter of Athena, Grover, a Satyr searching for the missing God Pan, and Percy are joined by another reoccurring character Tyson. While the new character is a friend of Percy, Tyson does create some internal struggle and brings up the problem of the Gods as absent parents.
Like a lot of children's books, the parents in this series are longed for, but usually out of the picture. Even the adult protectors have been fired and that leaves it up to the kids to save the day.
The pacing and action are still very good in this book and I blew through it on a plane ride. On to book 3.
This is an excellent series. It's not Harry Potter but it's the closest I've read to it. Sea of Monsters captured my attention from the first chapter and didn't let go. I love the adventures Percy has and I am excited to read more. I plan to savor the rest of the books.
Even better than The Lightning Thief and a joy to read with my six year old son. I hope that the series keeps his attention as the characters age. I'm sure it will so long as there are monsters to fight and anaklusmos is put to good use.