The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, #2)

by Rick Riordan

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.

Reviewed by thepunktheory on

4 of 5 stars

Share
Book vs. Movie:
As you can probably tell by now, I'm a huge fan of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. What I love so much about it is how cleverly Rick Riordan mixed those bits of Greek mythology with a new story and turned them into something modern without seeming ridiculous. I absolutely love Greek mythology and am always excited to find out what Riordan comes up with next.
Apart from that Riordan manages to create relatable characters. Especially Tyson is such a lovely guy. In the novel he was kind of like a puppy. Not too smart, a little clumsy, yet adorable and you just have to like him. Great job Mr. Riordan.
Before I continue with my thoughts about the film, let me just say I devoured the book. So exciting, clever and funny, it was simply impossible to put down.
Unfortunately I can't find such kind words for the adaptation. To be honest, "awful" and "horrible" came to mind first. After the novel I was super excited to watch the movie but I just hate it. While the book was so smart the movie was nothing but a cheap teen flick with a bunch of special effects. Many parts of the story were left out, leaving so much unexplained. I was especially annoyed that they cut out almost all of the references to Greek mythology as those were my favourites. The overstretched many of the fighting scenes and made it all seem completely unrealistic.
For some reason they also made the character of Tyson appear completely different. In the movie he wasn't amiable at all, just annoying. Besides that some of the special effects seemed rather cheap. While the fight scenes were drowned in CGI effects things like the Golden Fleece which actually should look impressive, seemed like something you can buy at Wal-Mart for 5 bucks.

Summing up, I have to say that the movie is beyond awful. By now I'm really glad they decided not to do any adaptations of the remaining novel. Just stick to the books they are super awesome!

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 13 March, 2016: Finished reading
  • 13 March, 2016: Reviewed