The Sea of Monsters
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The Sea of Monsters is the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. It came out in 2006 and has been praised several times like its prequel, The Lightning Thief.
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[edit] General Plot
Percy Jackson's seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep-school campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get...well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percy's friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only save haven for demigods will be destroyed.
In the fresh, funny and hugely anticipated follow up to The Lightning Thief, Percy and his friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their beloved camp. But first, Percy will discover a stunning new secret about his family- one that makes him wonder if being Poseidon's son is an honor, or simply a cruel joke.
[edit] Detailed Plot
The Sea of Monsters is a sequel to The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. In the Sea of Monsters, 12 year old demingod Percy (Perseus) Jackson goes on a quest with his best friend Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, and Tyson, a young cyclops to save Thalia's tree, which has been poisioned, and to save Grover, his satyr friend. In order to retrieve the Golden Fleece, which will heal the tree, he must travel across the dangerous Sea of Monsters, and travel to an island guarded by the cyclops Polyphemus, where his friend Grover is stuck. Throughout the journey, Percy, Annabeth and Tyson face many challenges, such as the Sirens, Flaming Dodgeballs, the sorceress Circe, and sea monsters such as the Charybdis and Scylla. Back at camp, since Thalia's tree is injured, the magical borders of Camp Half- Blood are going down, allowing monsters to come into the camp. Also, Chiron has been fired, and replaced by the extremely antagonistic Tantalus, overlooker of the Asphodel Fields in the Underworld and cursed to an eternal fast for serving his own children at a feast for the gods. In the end,Percy rescues grover, defeats Polyphemus, and retrieves the Golden Fleece. Chiron is re-hired and everything is perfect. When they return to camp, the camp places the Fleece on the tree. One day later, Grover awakens Percy. Everyone rushes to Half-Blood Hill, only to realize that the Fleece did its job all too well: it healed the tree so much that it turned it back into Thalia, the daughter of Zeus killed five years before.
[edit] Themes
- It is in the inside that counts.
- Appearances can be deceiving.
- Don't trust someone you know to be bad.
- Anything is possible, if you try it to be.
- Your parents will always love you, no matter what.
- You never know what might happen or who you might meet on a journey.
- You have to be stronger than temptation, or that might be the end of the line for you.
[edit] Characters
Percy: Demigod, 13 years old, has ADHD and dyslexia. son of Poseidon, owns a sword "Anaklusmos", which can be disguised as a ballpoint pen. He is skilled at swordfighting. True to his heritage, he is strengthened by contact with water, healed by it, can breath it, and controls it (to some degree). He's also blessed with instinctive sailing ability, and knowledge of his exact longitude and latitude when he's at sea.
Annabeth: 13 years old, demigod, daughter of Athena, has a Yankees cap that bestows the power of invisibility to the wearer. She dislikes Percy at first, but she eventually helps him to succeed on his quest. Very intelligent, loves to read, but is also dyslexic.
Grover: A large-hearted satyr (half human, half goat), whose favorite foods are aluminum cans and cheese enchiladas. He is 28 years old, making him between 12 and 14 in human terms, but his scrubby beard makes him look older. Hr accompanies Percy on his first quest and a large part of the second involves rescuing him.
Tyson: Cyclops, son of Poseidon, Percy's half brother, likes horses, is a little dumb, very strong.
Luke: Demigod, 19 years old and son of Hermes, main villain.
Clarisse: Belligerent demigod, daughter of Ares, camp enemy of Annabeth and Percy, possesses an electrically charged spear. Was sent to recover the fleece by herself, originally.
Chiron: "Mr. Brunner", immortal centaur, trainer of demigods, assistant director of Camp Half Blood. Fired and replaced by Tantulus.
Tantulus: Cruel guy cursed to never touch food or water, new assistant director at Camp, hates Percy, definitely a Severus Snape personality.
Dionysus: God of wine, disgruntled director of Camp Half Blood, skilled at pinochle, resembles a "cherub gone middle-aged in a trailer park". Banished to Camp Half Blood and banned from wine by his father, Zeus, as a punishment for a foul deed in the past.
Kronos: A evil Titan, condemned to Tartarus, stole master bolt through a half blood servant and a manipulated Olympian. Is being resurrected through a gold sarcophargus.
Zeus: King of the gods, Lord of the sky.
Poseidon: Sea god, Percy's father.
Hades: God of the Underworld.
Ares: God of war, a biker with a bad attitude.
Hermes: God of thevies, meets Percy, has two snakes named Martha and George.
Polyphemus: Villain, a cyclops who captures Grover. Mostly blind.
Circe: Evil sorceror who turns her prey to guinea pigs.
