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The Sea of Monsters: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book 2
Unavailable
The Sea of Monsters: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book 2
Unavailable
The Sea of Monsters: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book 2
Audiobook7 hours

The Sea of Monsters: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book 2

Written by Rick Riordan

Narrated by Jesse Bernstein

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

After a year spent trying to prevent a catastropic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson finds his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson--a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any "normal" friends.

But things don't stay quiet for long. Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: The magical borders which protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner by the Cyclops Polyphemus on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters--the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millenia--only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name...the Bermuda Triangle.

Now Percy and his friends--Grover, Annabeth, and Tyson--must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes by the end of the summer or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family--one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 13, 2006
ISBN9780739331200
Unavailable
The Sea of Monsters: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book 2

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Rating: 4.120614419348142 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    For more reviews, Cover Snark and more, visit A Reader of Fictions.I am now officially caught up with how far I made it into this series the first time. Woo! Progress. I can totally see where, reading this some time after The Lightning Thief without a bond formed to the characters, I would have been underwhelmed by The Sea of Monsters and not kept reading. The Sea of Monsters is fun, but continues to be a bit smaller in scale, primarily consisting of humorous adventures and action sequences, not the soul crushing pain that tends to draw me in. So yeah, The Sea of Monsters is a good read, but I’m guessing it’s probably the weakest one in the series, which means I ought to like the rest quite a bit if I’m right about that.In my review of book one, I made some Harry Potter comparisons. What’s just occurred to me is that they’re reversed, though, with Percy’s adventures occurring during the summer and normal life resuming during the school year. Not that Percy’s school life is particularly normal either, since he’s been kicked out of at least a school per year. Things have a tendency to explode around Percy that even the helpful Mist cannot explain away without some damage to his reputation with principals.Also, for as much as he loves his mom, he really looks forward to Camp Halfblood. I’d say it’s truly becoming his home in a way that it didn’t in The Lightning Thief. The time away made him realize how much he loved the place. He doesn’t have an easy time making friends, partially because he attracts trouble and partially because of his hero tendencies which include befriending the unpopular kid, Tyson. At Camp Halfblood, his life may be more stressful, but it’s also more fulfilling, because he’s around people who understand him, even if some of them don’t accept him.In The Sea of Monsters, one of my favorite things is watching the kids grow up a bit. They’re still young, but they’re just a bit more mature than they were last year. There’s more cooperation, even with people who were enemies before. Stereotypes are being challenged and grudging respect is being found. There’s a long way to go, but I like the way the network is expanding. Plus, I absolutely love the trope where two people who don’t get along are forced to work together, so watching Percy have to deal with Clarisse made me happy.The plot continues in a similar vein to that of The Lightning Thief. It’s high energy with constant new attacks, both sneaky and overtly dangerous. These are books to satisfy a desire for action. They are for the most part more towards the silly and humorous than the scary. However, as with book one, the twists on mythology are delightful. My favorite part may have been Circe and her guinea pigs.The overarching plot of The Sea of Monsters centers on the need to rescue Grover, who has been captured by Polyphemus (aka the cyclops that Odysseus faced and eye-poked) and will be made into the cyclops’ bride-to-be. The crew has to get together on a quest to save Grover and the camp, no longer protected by Thalia’s tree, which is dying of poison. Conveniently though explained well enough I’ll let that slide, what’s needed to save the camp is where Grover is. The image of Grover in a wedding dress is indeed a funny one, but I also missed him getting to have a real role in this one.The one thing I can point to that did make me narrow my eyes was Tyson’s love of horses. Percy loves horses and has an affinity through them thanks to Poseidon being his father and the creator of horses. Tyson, on the other hand, scares horses, which is why Percy has to calm them down before the chariot race. However, shortly thereafter, Tyson befriends another kind of horse very easily and is even able to talk to it. This seemed inconsistent; it could have been explained perhaps, but it wasn’t. Also, sort of related, I’m a little puzzled that the chariot races continued after the mission ended successfully since Chiron returned to the camp and he had stopped holding them because of the high chance of death/injury.After the dramatic ending and with an increased cast, I’m looking forward to the group dynamics in the third book. The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters have both been great, but I’m hoping that the feels are coming and the stakes will be getting much higher. So far, there’s no sense of peril in any of the adventure, which keeps my emotions low. However, the big bad is pretty intense and I have hope for the future. On to book three!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Love this book. The action continues as Percy takes on his mission. The pats in the sea with all the different monsters comes to life with all the details.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Percy Jackson's adventures that kicked off in The Lightning Thief continue in The Sea of Monsters, book two in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Since the bulk of the background about the nature of the fantasy reality that the story takes place in was already covered in The Lightning Thief, the story kicks off quickly, and pretty much never stops moving at a breakneck pace until the end.Having returned to the "normal" world for the school year after the Gods refused to take seriously Percy's warnings concerning the rumblings from the dark presence in the pits of Tartarus, Percy finds himself attacked by giants wielding fireballs until he is rescued by a big awkward kid named Tyson that he had befriended. Both Percy and Tyson are rescued by Annabeth and all three flee to Camp Half-Blood where they discover numerous changes have taken place. Chiron has been fired as camp director because Thalia's Tree has been poisoned and he is suspected as the culprit. Thalia's Tree is unable to protect the Camp anymore, and the dire situation sets the main plot of the book into motion as a hero is sent forth to recover the Golden Fleece, the only thing that can cure the tree.Interestingly, Percy Jackson is not sent on the quest, and neither is his friend Annabeth, which makes for an interesting twist on the story. It turns out that Grover is missing, however, and Percy, Tyson, and Annabeth set out to find and rescue him. Along the way, they intertwine paths with the fleece quester, and run across Luke, now openly consorting with monsters and raising an army to be used against Olympus. This also serves to seriously flesh out what is to become the main plot of the series, as Luke reveals that he seeks to revive an ancient and deadly foe of the Gods. This becomes a major complication as the heroes' quests all wind their way through the titular Sea of Monsters (which turns out to be the Bermuda Triangle) to their intertwined resolution. In the end, justice prevails, but things don't turn out exactly as one expects, and a new complication literally crops up at the end.Once again, the characters have to deal with numerous creatures from Greek mythology that serve as hurdles for our interpid heroes to overcome. One element of the fantasy reality that Riordan has crafted is the asymmetrical nature of the relationship between heroes and monsters. For heroes, the game is deadly: if they die, they are dead and presumably go to Hades. Monsters, on the other hand, are symbolic of the malaides of human nature, and as such, they will eventually reform if they are killed. As the monsters rally against the Gods and Demi-Gods, it seems that the balance of power is potentially insurmountably stacked against the heroes just by the very nature of the fantasy reality. Counterbalancing this to a certain extent is the fact that Riordan seems to have pumped up the power level of the demi-gods well past anything that one would expect from the original myths. With the exception of the prodigious strength of Heracles, the noteworthy half-blooded heroes of Greek myth such as Theseus, Perseus, and Jason seem to be extraordinarily brave and skilled in battle, but none of them display the divinely inspired supernatural powers that are de rigeur in the Percy Jackson series.The story, being set mostly at sea, bears some resemblances to the journeys of Ulysses in The Odyssey, although the heores don't wander the oceans for a decade. One of the more interesting encounters the protagonists have is when they run acorss the sirens, and Annabeth emulates Ulysses in order to hear their song, and ends up learning something about herself. Overall, the story is quite good, managing to pack plenty of humor and character development in among the fast paced action. Though many series suffer a "sophmore slump" in which the second book suffers a let down in quality, Riordan manages to avoid this, and this book is only a touch less good than the first one, and that is only because it is a hundred pages shorter. Just like the first installment in the series, this book is recommended for anyone who likes fantasy fiction, and highly recommended for any young reader who is interested in, or who is a fan of Greek mythology.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good fluff. I think I saw some plot holes, but they flew by so fast I'm not sure. Percy does learn, a bit - he's now much more interested in prophecies, and willing to think about them. Neat adventure, nice new abilities and equipment, and I like Tyson. It's a question whether he's just young, and will grow up smarter, or if he's like Polyphemus - guess we'll see, sometime in a later book. And a very solid hook for the next book, though I guessed who she was when Percy dreamed about her. I'm glad I read it, I intend to read more of the series, but I doubt I'll ever want to reread this.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Book 1 was only OK for me but since Book 2 was just sitting there on Hoopla, I thought I would give it a try. I liked it a bit better than Book 1. It seemed to move along at a swifter clip and Percy is growing up a little. After all, he’s gotten to use his sword (Riptide) a few times and beaten back several monsters.After another boring year at a regular school, he returns to the Half Blood training camp for the summer. There he’s surprised to find out that he has to share his living quarters with Tyson, who’s a big cyclops kid with some mental challenges. Percy spends his time being embarrassed by this big one-eyed kid that follows him around. While Percy doesn’t tease him, several other kids tease one or both of them. I really like that we have this character and that Percy has to figure out how to live with him.Pretty soon, there is a quest! A quest to save the camp! But Percy isn’t the one chosen to go on it. Alas, that honor falls to the combative Clarice, a daughter of Aires. Yet the god Hermes might have other plans for Percy and pretty soon he, Annabeth, and Tyson are on their way to save Grover (who is currently on some unnamed island in drag trying to avoid getting married or eaten).While there were plenty of moments that made me laugh, there were also those moments were I expected more emotion or reaction from Percy. Once again, there’s the death of a character that means a lot to Percy and yet he doesn’t really put a lot of thought into it, not any tears, no grieving. So it’s hard for me to get fully sucked into a tale that doesn’t take itself seriously. Even if the author knows that all will turn out OK, the characters don’t.I did like that the kids are getting a little older and Percy has started to notice the first niggling of some deeper emotion for Annabeth. I’m not sure if Grover will ever get a chance to grow up though. He’s pretty much just comic relief in this story.Tyson becomes the real shining star, teaching not only Percy but some of the other kids that different isn’t so bad. Tyson has different gifts than most of the kids, and in some of them he’s quite the genius. Annabeth is a bit prejudiced towards cyclops in general due to a past bad experience. She has to face this and learn to shelve it because Tyson isn’t a jerk.All told, it was fun and I liked it better than Book 1. Especially those Party Ponies at the end. 4/5 stars.The Narration: Jesse Bernstein continues to do great with the voices. He’s got the perfect Percy voice and his female voices are dead on. I really liked his combative voice for Clarice. All of his characters are distinct and his pacing is good. 5/5 stars.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In the second book of the Percy Jackson series, the forces of evil are amassing an army of monsters and attacking the Half-blood Camp. Percy has to go on a quest for the Golden Fleece to save the camp, and save his friend Grover, the satyr, from having to marry a blind cyclops along the way. Rollicking adventure and good times.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very enjoyable and the charters are growing which is really nice. I found my self reading until late in the night. Fast pasted and fun!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I actually listened to the audio version and the reader was so unskilled it nearly drove me crazy, emphasizing wrong words in sentences, giving half the characters weird Southern U.S. accents when that's not how they are described in the book. But, the book itself was a pretty solid young adult read. I'm still a little troubled by the male dominance of this narrative, the general incompetence or passivity of the female characters. But I'm not sure if I'm making too much of that.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Second book in the series, enjoyed reading Percy's continuing journeys.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I really loved this book, a great sequel and I cannot wait to read the next one. Super fabulous.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I looooooove Tyson

    "fish ponies"!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fun book. :)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I should probably preface this with the fact that I am on spring break and have endless reading time, so I can actually finish a novel a day for the next few days. This book does not disappoint and I was thoroughly entertained the entire time. The thought of how the myths mix with modern day is AWESOME. For example, Polyphemos still being blind and remember Nobody... EPIC! I also really like Tyson, whom you meet on page two (basically) and will love for the duration of the novel. I also am 99% sure I have a new favorite character whom you don't even meet until literally the last two pages Thalia... Punk rock/goth demigod? Of course she's Zeus' daughter. Of course. Luke is still... Luke. But I did enjoy meeting more of the gods, like Hermes, and seeing how they feel on the entire situation. Overall, very good book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Even though these are written for teens; they are written well; Good character development; fun stories; keep ya movie and not entirely predictable; hope they all are this way
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In the second installment of the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson is looking forward to his second summer at Camp Half-Blood until he is told not to return. He, of course, does not listen to this especially when his friend Annabeth helps him kill some monsters that attack him and his new friend at school. Through some dreams Percy learns that his friend Grover is in trouble and in order to save the camp he must complete a quest to save Grover and find the magical fleece that will save the camp.

    I'm continuing to enjoy this series. They're an easy read, which is great when I need a break from heavier reading. It's also a fun mix between mythology and fiction today.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Percy's just had an almost tolerable [read: uneventful] semester, and is looking forward to making it to his second summer at camp half-blood, when things literally explode on his last day at school. Aided by his new friend Tyson and the surprisingly well-timed arrival of Annabeth, Percy manages to escape the hairy situation only to find a more devestating one is happening at the camp itself. Someone has poisoned Thalia's Tree--a key part of their magical defenses, and only one thing is known that can save both the tree and the camp, the golden fleece. Now Percy, Annabeth and Tyson must make their way through the legendary sea of Homer's Odyssey, the sea of monsters and retrieve the golden fleece before everything collapses. The second book in this series is substantially shorter than the first--something that surprised and bothered me. This is probably just because I've gotten used to things getting longer and denser as series progress as in Hahrry Pottah! or maintaining a steady level of everything as in Redwall. And I will be the first to admit that I am not enthralled by Riordan's series, but I do thoroughly enjoy them. The writing is solid and light enough to lend itself to the constant motion involved in throwing Percy from one mess into the other while keeping the reader up on the fact that there is something horrible going on in the background, namely Kronos. Riordan has created a very active and mobile series that draws the reader through a fair amount of Greek mythology without having to stop and explain everything--possibly in order to get the readers to check it out for themselves. I found myself eagerly looking forward to the challenges I could remember from my high school reading of Homer's Odyssey, with Circe, Polyphemus and the sirens [the core of what I could really recall from the actual journey] and interested in the route Riordan would take once we got there. Since the Lotus Eaters were running a casino in Vegas, I had no idea what to expect for any of these things. And he delivered, partially with an updated version and partially with a gruesome monstrous adventure true to the original creatures, slimy and gross and evil. But none of it seemed out of place. I look forward to the next book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    PERCY'S BROTHER IS AWESOME
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Every once in a while I like to pick up one of my eleven-year-old's favorite books to read, and given that I once threw him a Percy Jackson birthday party, my Pinterest feed is still sprinkled with Percy references, making this one an obvious choice.

    I enjoyed reading this book more than the first one -- I'm not sure if that's because the story was better or because I had a better idea what to expect going in. There's also that this book is one long Odyssey reference, just another thing reminding me that I really need to get around to reading the original. (There are too many translations and editions and I can't decide which to read! Also, whether I really need to read The Iliad first. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

    But The Sea of Monsters! It's nice being able to appreciate just why my kid and so many other kids are so bonkers over Riordan. Because these stories are bonkers. From chain donut stores magically linked to a hydra so that every time the hydra loses a head, not only do two more pop up, but so does a new Monster Donut location, to giant carnivorous sheep that Percy describes as piranhas with wool. The mix of humor, campiness, myth, and peril is a good one.

    Deserving of every bit of his reputation.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Love this book. The action continues as Percy takes on his mission. The pats in the sea with all the different monsters comes to life with all the details.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    While most of Sea of Monsters is pretty goofy and action-packed, there were a few serious moments in the book, which is what I need to keep me hooked on a series. These books really aren't as similar to Harry Potter as I'd first heard there being claims too, but I started to notice a couple of significant parallels toward the end. However, the writing style, characters, and settings are so very different from HP, so this series is completely original. This book starts about a year after the last one ends. The ending really drew me in, and I think I'll have to read the third one. It's hard to review this book without giving too much away, since some people may not have read the first book. One thing that I don't like about these books (but others may like) is that Percy is in life or death situations, and the tone of the book does not match the severity of what he is involved in. It makes it unrealistic and hard for me to sympathize with the characters. There is plenty of action in this book all the way up until the end, even after the main conflict of this particular book is solved. I really don't like all action books, but for most people, I think this would be seen as a plus to the books.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Those crazy gods...they really are quite cruel to their children. You'd think after thousands of years they would have softened up a little bit. Guess not.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is probably my least favorite of the books released so far (I think I have something against the second books in series...)

    Although I LOVE Tyson himself, I thought his parentage was a little dubious (given all the stress of parentage in the first book), but this book is worth the read for Grover's storyline. Hysterical.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Percy Jackson books are quick reads, filled with action - perfect for reluctant male, junior high readers. In this installment, Percy has almost made it through another school year, when he finds out that something is wrong at the Half-Blood Summer Camp. Soon he and Annabeth, along with new companion Tyson, are off on another adventure - this time to save not just the Camp, but also their friend Grover. The laugh-out-loud humor works as great counterpoint to all the adventure with the mythology references adding just the right note of academic connection. I gave the first volume, The Lightning Thief to my 13-year-old nephew in late September and he liked it so much, he's already run through the four available titles in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    More entertainment for a long drive back after Christmas. A fun little adventure to keep me awake.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    After his adventures of the previous summer, Percy's pretty excited that he's made it almost all the way to the end of 7th grade without getting expelled. Nothing particularly weird has happened (unless you count the school's "project," the homeless kid they allow to be a student), and there are a few bullies--but Percy's dealt with bullies before. But then the monsters crash the dodgeball game, destroying the whole gym, and he knows there's something amiss. It's only when he and Annabeth get back to Camp Half-Blood do they understand the extent of the troubles--and now their only hope is to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the cyclops in the Sea of Monsters.

    Like the first book in this series, this didn't really grab me. I still think it had its moments (Annabeth taunting the Cyclops: "It's Nobody!" and the Cyclops replying "Nobody! I remember you!" made me laugh out loud, but I'm a big Odyssey nerd that way), and it certainly moves. There's not much time to catch your breath before Percy is thrown headlong into more peril. While this series doesn't do much for me, it does make me wish I were 10 years old again, because if I were a fifth-grader? this series would rock harder than Harry Potter.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked this one a lot. It was really good- not as good as the first book but still rather enjoyable. All the characters were much more developed in this one and I loved how silly some of the Gods were. The quest was intriguing and fast paced and kept me eager for more. I also thought Tyson was an excellent addition to the story and was a very enjoyable character. A really fun, easy read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The borders at Camp Half Blood are weakening. Percy is having weird dreams about Grover. Are the two connected in any way? Find out in this installment of the Percy Jackson series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another enjoyable and light read. Gently reminds me of much of the mythology that I've forgotten!

    As with the previous book, there was one glaring grammatical error (a different one in this book). What's the deal with editors these days? Is everything left to the almighty spell-check?

    The ending was a bit of a surprise and has set up some interesting directions that the story could take in the next books. I'm looking forward to following along.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I found the second installment of the series as much fun as the first. Its not going to make my list of favorite books ever as its a little bit simplistic for me. But I'm out of the target demographic. I still enjoyed it. Its a nice, fast paced adventure story that doesn't insult anyone's intelligence. I will probably recommend it to younger readers of my accquaintance and may read other titles in the series if I run across them.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The 2nd instalment of the Percy Jackson series sees our eponymous hero joining a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece in order to save Camp Half-Blood. He's also been getting strange dreams which indicate that his friend Grover, the satyr, is in serious trouble. Are they real and if so can he survive one quest in order to help his friend or will helping his friend derail the quest?I didn't find this one quite as likeable as the first and I'm not quite sure why as all the elements from the earlier book are included. It's a fast-paced, action-orientated story with a dollop of Greek mythology thrown in for good measure. Perhaps it's that there is no character development whatsoever whereas at least with The Lightning Thief those same characters were fresh. Percy just seems to reel from one action set-piece to another, often surviving by just the skin of his teeth. Annabeth seems only there to provide pointers of what to do next as she is the smart one and this time along the unusual member of the group is supplied via a juvenile Cyclops in the shape of Tyson. I guess there just wasn't the same sense of adventure about things this time around being just a case go here to do this and then go there to get that and return in time for tea. Ah well, maybe the next one will be better though I'm not sure I'd carry on if the next in the series wasn't already on the tbr shelves.