Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book Two
By: Rick Riordan
“Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we’re related for better or for worse…and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.”
The Sea of Monsters
*This post contains spoilers for The Sea of Monsters
Overview:
Percy Jackson’s seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep-school campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get… well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percy’s friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed.
The Sea of Monsters
Percy, Annabeth and Grover find themselves on another quest. This one mirrors Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece. The three heros believe that the Fleece is the only thing that can heal Thalia’s tree that was poisoned by their fellow camper Luke.
The story is just like the first installment, full of references to Greek myth. Of course in Riordan’s universe all the Greek myth locations are conveniently located close to the United States instead of across the ocean.
It is a good concept to have the half-bloods follow this well know quest and make it a modern retelling. The quest for the Golden Fleece however, may be a little too expansive of a story to fit into a book under 300 pages. Some aspects felt rushed and it would have been nice to be able to flush some of these characters and locations a bit more. Riordan could have done half a book on Circe’s island easily but instead it is boiled down to one chapter.
It almost seems like a waste or an afterthought to mention all of the adventures that are squeezed into one book.
If you read this book with knowledge of Greek mythology it is both a good and bad thing. The good comes because you understand some of the more subtle references and characters. Also, having knowledge of Jason’s quest, you know what the heros will face.
The bad comes because you know too much backstory of the myths. The obvious one is the half-bloods themselves. The Gods in Greek myth weren’t exactly asking consent in any of those stories. Riordan tries to sweep this under the rug by saying that the Gods had full relationships with mortals. The sheer amount of children at the camp would invalidate this concept.
The Gods of Greek myth in general have very little regard for mortals and often did awful things to them.
Overall,
This book and this series are a good introduction to mythology for young readers. As an older reader it seems a little forced to make everything a reference. I can see why this series is immensely popular to younger readers. It is important to have gripping stories to get them interested in reading and to continue to seek books later on in life.
The second installment is not as good as the first but shouldn’t discourage readers from continuing the series.
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
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