Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters: Book Review (Uziel Beltrán)

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters: a Book Review 

The Sea of Monsters, a science fiction book written by Rick Riordan and published in May, 2006, is the second book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series, which follows up the events of The Lightning Thief (2005).  

The story is set in the Camp Half-Blood and other fictional places supposed to be in Manhattan, US in the XXI century. It starts with Percy living a quiet life with his mother, but not for long. Monsters break into Percy’s school and try to kill him; nevertheless, with the help of his friends, they manage to get away from them. Given the circumstances, the youngsters decide to go to the Half-Blood Camp only to find that it has been poisoned. Therefore, they have to find a magical object that will save the camp, and to rescue their friend Grover who has been trapped by a Cyclops. 

As it can be seen in the previous book, the novel includes Greek mythology, which I consider a good idea because the story is situated in a similar context to our reality. This can encourage young people to read it and learn from it.

On the other hand, there is an aspect I consider could be a bit different. In my opinion, it feels “convenient” that the object that will save the camp, and Percy’s best friend Grover are in the same place. However, the parts where this character is with his kidnapper are quite funny and exciting.

In short, this title opens a gateway for thrills to come and it soon gets the reader involved. If you are not familiarized with Greek mythology, it does not matter, you will undoubtedly learn from it. 

As the narrative structure is simple, this book is perfect for young people. Regardless the previously mentioned, I will gladly recommend it to anyone who enjoys science fiction stories. That is why I would definitely read another book by Riordan because I have always been fond of such genre.  However, I would also like to explore new genres so I can appreciate some other writing styles. This will help me expand my knowledge and improve my reading-writing skills due to the diversity of literature I can find out there.