Title: Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2, Camp Half-Blood Chronicles #2
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Mythology, Urban Fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2006
5th sentence, 74th page: ‘To your mark!’

YOU CAN’T TELL BY LOOKING AT ME THAT MY DAD IS POSEIDON. GOD OF THE SEA.

It’s not easy being a half-blood these days. You mortals can’t even see the monsters we have to fight all the time. So when a game of dodgeball turned into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, I couldn’t exactly ask my gym teacher for help.

And that was just for starters. This is the one where Camp Half-Blood is under attack, and unless I get my hands on the Golden Fleece, the whole camp will be invaded by monsters. Big ones.

CAN PERCY SURVIVE THE TREACHEROUS SEA OF MONSTERS AND RESTORE ORDER TO HALF-BLOOD HILL?

I loved this continuation of Riordan’s journey into the world of Greek mythology. This time, he wrote a new spin on the tale of Polyphemus’ defeat. It is difficult to take a well-known tale and put a new spin to it. You know how it will end, but wanting to travel on the journey is the key to such a feat. And Riordan does this beautifully. The fact that Percy is actually following in his namesakes steps just helps to add to the potency of this story. Intertwined with this, the further explanation of Pan’s demise in today’s society carried both a strong message, and a great story.

Pan is the very personification of nature in Greek mythology – he literally is the natural world. And his disappearance is alluded to in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. But, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters gives us far more insight into how our own actions and the modernisation of the world has damaged nature himself. His total disappearance from the world and the confusion that the Satyrs feel at this reverberates through my own life. The necessity of conservation and ecological management is such a powerful message and this idea resonates throughout my very soul.

Throughout the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, the idea of fate and destiny are integral to the storyline. Primarily in the shape of The Oracle of Delphi’s prophecies. I’m always fascinated by this concept. It’s often shown to be inescapable, but whether it is through our actions, or the attempts at avoiding a predicted fate. The use of prophecies highlights this, but it also helps to show that there can be multiple meanings in our fates and multiple destinations. This is shown throughout Clarisse’s journey as she fights against the terrifying future which faces her, and finds an entirely different outcome than expected.

I loved getting to know Clarisse a bit better throughout the journey. It not only helped to create layers to her character, but also illustrated that the actions undertaken by an individual can have multiple sources. The feeling of sympathy that you felt just by reading her journey is echoed by Percy’s sudden understanding of her brash and bullying behaviour.

<- The Lightning Thief Review

The Titan’s Curse Review ->

Image source: Fantasy Book Review

Title: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1, Camp Half-Blood Chronicles #1
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Mythology, Urban Fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2005
5th sentence, 74th page: A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof.

LOOK, I DIDN’T WANT TO BE A HALF-BLOOD. I NEVER ASKED TO BE THE SON OF A GREEK GOD.

I was just a normal guy, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That’s when things really started going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends and generally trying to stay alive.

This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I’ve stolen his lightning bolt – and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.

CAN PERCY FIND THE LIGHTNING BOLT BEFORE A FULLY FLEDGED WAR OF THE GODS ERUPTS?

Honestly, the movie Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief really irritated me. I thought that it was just too centred on America. Yay. Demigods in modern day. A retelling of the popular stories of Greek mythology. But then why was the centre of the Greek mythology based in the middle of New York? The storyline was interesting, and kind of cute. But to me, that was just disingenuous. After all, you’re talking about Greek mythology, not American. But, reading Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief actually helped to explain this.

The explanation of an America-central plot was the first thing that really helped me to get into this book. It made the idea of demigods running around New York seem so much more realistic (or as realistic as it can be) and therefore let me connect with the characters more quickly. Riordan’s creation of vulnerable and relatable characters helped to further the connectivity between me as a reader and Percy, Grover and Annabeth.

As someone who has a slight obsession with ancient mythologies, I have spent a LOT of time reading and studying these stories. Including the more R-rated versions of the tales (full of masturbation, rape and adultery). I thought that Riordan did a great job of retelling some of these tales and bringing these characters back to life in a modern context. Bringing to life characters that are larger than life (literally, being gods and all) would be an incredibly difficult task. Especially when these characters are very well known across the world. However, I really loved this and reading the first journey of Percy Jackson definitely encouraged me to pursue more of Riordan’s books.

The Lightning Thief helped to remind me that special people, those who are different and don’t quite fit in have a place that they can belong. Part of me wishes that I read this series as a child. Riordan shows us that the very things that can make it hard to fit in and function with others, can actually be harnessed to become something special. Having a group of kids that suffer from ADHD and placing them in the position of heroes and heroines makes me hope that the boundaries that separate those with intellectual, social or physical disabilities might someday be dissolved, or at the very least less rigid. It gives me hope for a future where we see people’s attributes for the potential skills that they can truly be.

<- The Ultimate Guide Review

The Sea of Monsters Review ->

Image source: Penguin