Monday 11 October 2010

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

by Rick Riordan (Author)The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2) (Paperback)
After having read The Lightning Thief, I had to see where Riordan was going to take his series, thus The Sea of Monsters.

Percy Jackson is half human, half god (his dad’s Poseidon) and as such, leads a very non-ordinary life. This year, he’s in a new school waiting for the end of the year so he can take off for Camp Half Blood where he’ll learn the things he really needs to know to survive in the world like sword fighting, archery, Mythodic History, Monster Identification…you get the gist. Being normal during the rest of the year is difficult for Percy and this year, although better than most, has been no exception. Still, he manages to make it to the last day with nothing worse than poor grades, until PE. Suddenly he is attacked my monsters on the dodge ball court with his only help being the large, but not particularly bright, Tyson. They manage to fend them off and with Annabeth’s help, run off to Camp Half Blood, where Percy finds there is yet more trouble which he must help fend off. His new adventure leads him to the Sea of Monsters where he meets up with, and fights, many creatures straight from the Odyssey.

Although Percy is sometimes as dense as granite, he’s still a pretty likeable guy with good friends and an interesting life. Riordan really knows how to cobble together all the elements to make a good story which will appeal to younger generations. What he really should be applauded for though was actually making me want to go back and read the Iliad and the Odyssey, neither of which I really cared for much the first time around. Then it was just a long, boring story about a guy running around sticking his nose in a lot of business that wasn’t his. Riodan’s version takes on new life with his younger and not quite so arrogant character. He makes it all sound so much more adventurous.

Again this is a YA book, so it’s geared towards a younger crowd. Nonetheless, it’s a good tale and worthy of a read. 4/5

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