All right I admit it, I've bought in, at least partially, to the Percy Jackson cult. I still am looking forward to The Throne of Fire, the second book in the Kane Chronicles trilogy, more, but I've at least partially bought in. The son of the sea god literally goes to sea in this book, and the adventures are far more in the fantasy realm than the fringes of reality we saw in The Lightening Thief, but the fast pace and verbal zingers continue. As in the first book there is a double edged quest, save Grover the lost satyr/bestie of Percy and retrieve the Golden Fleece to save the dying tree which controls the fate of beloved Camp Half-Blood, his only true home. Oh did I mention Percy also gets a Maury Povich-like reunion with his half brother Tyson, who happens to be a Cyclops? And why not, single eyes have been chic since pirates started wearing eye patches.
This book definitely delves in to the psyche more with out wounded demigods with lingering parent issues, understandable with Percy now saddled with a slow monster that loves ponies for a brother (face it, throw in a desire to buy underwear at K-mart and an awkward kiss with Annabeth in an elevator and you have a teenage remake of Rainman). Annabeth herself has a disquieting brush with bondage tied to the mast of a ship and the island of the Sirens, where she pathologically is fantasizing about lunch with her parents and the favorite hunky villain Luke. The best part of The Sea of Monsters comes from the big reveal at the end of the rebirth of Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Not only is she the possible other option to fulfill the prophcy Percy is dreading, but Annabeth's hints about how close Thalia and Percy are in personality, and how their could be real friends. The Harry Potter parallels continue to avalanche in, but unlike some others on the criticism circuit I can't fault Riordan for that. There are a few classic forms for stories, don't fix what ain't broke.
