The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan | Book Review

The Sea of Monsters is the second book in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

Book Description

The heroic son of Poseidon makes an action-packed comeback in the second must-read installment of Rick Riordan's amazing young readers series. Starring Percy Jackson, a "half blood" whose mother is human and whose father is the God of the Sea, Riordan's series combines cliffhanger adventure and Greek mythology lessons that results in true page-turners that get better with each installment.

In this episode, The Sea of Monsters, Percy sets out to retrieve the Golden Fleece before his summer camp is destroyed, surpassing the first book's drama and setting the stage for more thrills to come.

Review

I read the first book in the Percy Jackson series (The Lightning Thief {review}) a couple of years ago. I decided since the first book was so fun, I'd try The Sea of Monsters on audio. I thought it might ramp up the entertainment value. I think it was a good choice. I liked the narrator, and he did a great job of pulling me into the story.

In The Sea of Monsters, Percy heads back to Camp Half-Blood and immediately takes on a quest to help save the school. It's a fun read, but I didn't come out of it feeling as good as I did after The Lightning Thief. There was something I didn't particularly like about Percy which made me not care much for the characters in general. He's flawed like most boys are his age so I'm probably just being too unforgiving.

Even though The Sea of Monsters wasn't a complete win for me, the series is a lot of fun so far so I will continue on. I have the audio for The Titan's Curse on hold with the library so I can continue on with the audio versions.

For the record, I haven't seen either of the movies. This is just a series I'm working my way through. I will probably watch them once my kids are old enough.

If you enjoy YA fantasy books, this is a good series to pick up and try.

6/10: Good Read

Have you read this series or seen the movies? Did you like them? I'm also curious about Rick Riordan's other series. Have you read those? How do they stack up with Percy Jackson?

Book Review: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson #1) by Rick Riordan

This is a quick and cute read.

Book Description

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

The Lightning Thief was a little like Harry Potter meets Clash of the Titans. I thought it was a whole lot of fun. It made me smile. It made me happy. I dig that.

Have your read any of Percy Jackson? I will be checking out book 2 soon.