The Sea of Monsters
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| The Sea of Monsters | |
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| Author | Rick Riordan |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Percy Jackson and the Olympians |
| Genre(s) | Children's Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Miramax Books |
| Publication date | May 3, 2006 |
| Media type | print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 279 |
| ISBN | 0786856866 |
| OCLC | 64664383 |
| Preceded by | The Lightning Thief |
| Followed by | |
The Sea of Monsters (2006) is the sequel to The Lightning Thief. It was written by author Rick Riordan and is the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This book chronicles 13-year old demigod, Percy Jackson adventure to rescue his satyr friend Grover from Cyclops Polyphemus and save the camp from the Titan's attack by bringing the Golden Fleece to cure Thalia's poisoned pine tree.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Percy has surprisingly made it to his last day of school without being expelled. However, he has a dream in the eve of the last day of school where he sees his satyr friend Grover stuck in a bridal boutique in Florida. The next day in school, when Percy tries to defend his friend Tyson from the bully Matt Sloan, the latter threatens him to "wait until P.E". Subsequently, Gym starts and Percy is stuck playing dodgeball against rather large seventh graders who turn out to be Laistrygonians (cannibals), and attempt to kill Percy. Percy is protected by Tyson, who is somehow unharmed by the monsters' fireballs. Annabeth saves Percy by stabbing the last Laistrygonian. She leads Percy and Tyson from the school, and gets a ride from the Gray Sisters.
After their arrival at Camp Half-Blood Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson find the camp under attack. When danger passes, Percy finds out Thalia's tree, which protects the camp, has been poisoned by an unknown intruder, so consequently the camp is constantly being attacked by monsters. Chiron, the centaur assistant director, has been fired because he is suspected of poisoning the tree, and is replaced by Tantalus, a spirit from the Fields of Punishment that is not allowed to eat or drink. During dinner, it turns out that Tyson is a cyclopes, and is claimed by Poseidon, therefore becoming Percy's half-brother and upsetting Percy, because this only damages his social status more. Later, Annabeth and Percy ask Tantalus to send somebody on a quest to find the Golden Fleece. Under pressure from Tantalus, Clarisse accepts.
Percy, upset from not getting the quest, sneaks out to the beach at night. He meets up with a jogger, who turns out to be Hermes, god of thieves and travelers. Hermes asks Percy to try to convince Luke that he has always loved him, despite neglecting him, and gives Percy gifts to help him along the way. Annabeth and Tyson arrive right after Hermes leaves, but Harpies arrive to eat them, so Percy gets some help from some sea creatures-hippocampi-who are summoned by his father Poseidon, and they sneak onto a passing cruise ship, the Princess Andromeda, which is soon revealed to be owned by Luke. Percy, Tyson, and Annabeth are captured, and they learn that Luke is trying to revive Kronos. They manage to escape. They are saved by Clarisse, who has a boat of her own, given to her by her father, but the boat is destroyed on entering the Sea of Monsters and the adventurers are separated.
They reach an island resort, belonging to Circe, an evil sorceress that temporarily turns Percy into a guinea pig, but Annabeth turns Percy and Blackbeard, a son of Ares, back. Percy and Annabeth then steal Blackbeard's ship. On the way to the island where the Golden Fleece awaits, Annabeth is tempted by the Sirens. She nearly dies, and afterward Annabeth tells Percy that her fatal flaw is her hubris, or pride, and that every hero has a fatal flaw. They soon reach the island of the Cyclops, and save Grover, with the help of Tyson and Clarisse. They recover the Fleece and make their way to Florida. Percy sends Clarisse to camp, with the Fleece, on an airplane.
Soon after, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson are captured by Luke. Percy manages to contact camp with an Iris-message, tricking Luke into admitting he poisoned Thalia's tree. In a fight with Luke, Percy is nearly killed, only saved by Chiron and his family of wild centaurs. Chiron is re-hired after being proven not guilty (he was suspected of poisoning Thalia's Tree because his father was Kronos), and the Fleece cures Thalia's tree of its poison.
Soon after, they find out that the Golden Fleece also brought Thalia (Zeus's daughter) back to life, thus giving Kronos another chance to control the prophecy of the very confusing fate of Olympus.
[edit] Awards and Nominations
The Sea of Monsters was awarded or nominated for several literature related awards.
- BookSense Top Ten Summer Pick for 2006[1]
- YALSA Best Book for Young Adults 2007[1]
- Best Book of 2006, Child Magazine[1]
- Best Fantasy Sequel of 2006, Kirkus Reviews[1]
- Barnes & Noble Best Children's Book of 2006[1]
- VOYA Top Shelf Fiction Pick for Middle School Readers, 2006[1]
- CCBC choice award 2007, Cooperative Children's Book Center[1]
- Mark Twain Award (Missouri Association of School Librarians) 2008[2]
[edit] Critical Reception
The Sea of Monsters received generally positive reviews. School Library Journal said, "Percy is an appealing kid, and the subject of a chilling prophecy may resonate with readers."[3] Booklist reviewed that Riordan's clever mix of classical mythology, contemporary teen characters, and an action-packed adventure would bring new readers to the series.[3] Child Magazine wrote, "Featuring the cliff-hangers and sassy attitude kids loved in The Lightning Thief -- plus a surprising new family secret -- this outstanding sequel should win over a fresh legion of fans."[4] Children's Literature called the writing extraordinary[4] and added, "This book, sequel to The Lightning Thief, is an amazing mixture of mythology and young adult fiction."[4].
However, Kirkus was critical of the book, writing, "it's doubtful Percy wouldn't guess Tyson's otherworldly connection immediately after the dodgeball game ... some of the humor will zip over the heads of the target audience"[4] before adding, "Percy's sardonic narration and derring-do would keep the pages turning."[4]
[edit] See also
- Mythology
- Greek gods
- Olympus
- Greek mythology
- Fantasy
- The Lightning Thief
- The Titan's Curse
- The Battle of the Labyrinth
- The Last Olympian
- The Demigod Files
- Percy Jackson
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians
[edit] Characters
Percy Jackson Annabeth Chase Hermes Tyson
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Rick Riordan : Percy Jackson" (in English). http://www.rickriordan.com/children.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
- ^ "Mark Twain Award Previous Winners". Missouri Association of School Librarians. http://www.maslonline.org/awards/books/MarkTwain/PrevWin.php. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ a b "Amazon.com : The Sea of Monsters" (in English). Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Monsters-Percy-Jackson-Olympians-Book/dp/0786856866. Retrieved on 2009-04-10.
- ^ a b c d e "Barnes & Noble : The Sea of Monsters" (in English). barnesandnoble.com. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Sea-of-Monsters/Rick-Riordan/e/9781423103349. Retrieved on 2009-04-10.
[edit] External links
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