Riordan, Rick.
The Sea Of Monsters. New York: Miramax, 2006. 281 pp.
The
Sea Of Monsters is the second installment in the series
Percy Jackson & the Olympians. It follows immediately after the first book, and Riordan does a great job of portraying the characters’ maturity levels from book to book. This book is about 13-year old demigod Percy Jackson, and his struggles to save Camp Half-Blood. Percy and his friends, Annabeth, and Tyson, embark on a journey to the Sea of Monsters, where they must find a cure for the magical tree guarding the border to Camp Half-Blood. Percy must also try to save Grover, his best friend, from the clutches of the evil cyclops Polyphemus.
Riordan once again pleases fans with quality writing. He possesses the difficult skill of flowing characters from setting to setting, book to book, without making the story seem contrived. This is a unique book as not only is it a adventurous, fantasy novel, but it is also very humorous and keeps the reader’s attention throughout the course of the book. Right from the beginning when Percy finds himself caught up in a dodge ball game with seven foot tall cannibals, the reader is immediately entertained.
Riordan set out to make an entertaining sequel to an
exiting first book. His goal was exceptionally well met, and this book is almost more exiting than its edge-of-your-seat preceder. The Sea of Monsters is a modern day adventure novel, with a mythological twist. Riordan draws the reader so far into the story that’s it almost seems believable that the ‘gods’ live amongst us today.
Rick Riordan is also the author of the wildly popular
Tres Navarre series. Although
Percy Jackson & the Olympians was not as immediatly popular as the
Tres Navarre books, Riordan displays the same audience-captivating writing that all Riordan fans look for in his books.
The book has relatively long, humorously named chapters, making the book incredibly easy to follow. The book is targeted to the well reading teen, ages 12-18, and yet is still enjoyable for anyone who likes a good read.
My recommendation? If you like exiting, page-turning, adventure novels, or you are a fan of Rick Riordans’ other works, than this book is a must read! Even if you’re into sappy, fairytale, love stories, you might still be pleased with this book.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars.