“You carry the hopes of humanity into the realm of the eternal. … you fight the battles humanity must win, every generation, in order to stay human.”

Sea of Monsters, Rick Riordan

The Sea of Monsters has never been my favorite PJO book. It’s not bad by any means, it just never captured me the way the rest of the series does. 

However, I really enjoyed reading it this time. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve read past The Lightning Thief so there was a lot I forgot about and way more analyzing to do as an adult.

While Riordan keeps up Percy’s usual sarcastic inner monologue, the tone of the story shifts in Sea of Monsters. It becomes a little less silly and more serious. I thought it set the groundwork for the series in a way TLT didn’t by unveiling more of the concept of a Great Prophecy and expanding the world. 

Percy becomes a hero in TLT, but he learns more about what it means to be one in TSoM. He defines the hero he will be, while fighting the villain he could be. TSoM is all about defining a hero, and I loved that theme throughout, especially with Percy and Luke poised as foils to each other. The decisions we make define us, and that’s what separates Luke and Percy. 

Percy doesn’t want to be a hero. He’s just trying to skate by doing what he believes is right. While he likes the attention of being a hero, which we see in TLT, he doesn’t go in search of it. He wants the quest to save Grover and the camp, not personal glory; which we see when he gives Clarisse the Fleece to complete the quest on her own. Percy makes those decisions that define his heroism, and separates himself from Luke as well as Kronos’ manipulation. 

With that rant over, overall, Riordan really does well writing a tight story that engages readers with a fast pace, witty dialogue and a world you can’t help but getting sucked into. Not to mention, he writes some pretty great characters. But those are all things that remain consistent throughout the series. 

Here are all my thoughts on The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan.

• First Grover, then Tyson. Percy gravitates toward the most vulnerable. Stands up for them when no one else does. It sets such a a precedent for his character. Defines early on who he is as a person. But also builds the foundation of the hero he’ll become. This is why he’ll refuse immortality and instead have the courage to ask the gods for a favor to protect and help the unclaimed and minor demigods. He has always defended the most vulnerable. If only the gods kept their promise.
• Every was always “comparing me to Luke.” Luke and Percy as foils from the very start. Bitter heroes, scorned by the gods. The same but so different because of the paths they choose. To mend the system or burn it down and start anew. 
• But also something about how Percy makes his own decisions while Luke is being coerced into his by Kronos.
• Tyson telling Percy, “I should not have been born.” The irony of it. Percy was also a “mistake.” His father told him those words. That he shouldn’t have been born. And how Percy tries to console Tyson by saying Poseidon claimed him, so he must care. Percy speaks from experience. The campers will get used to him, and the camp will become a good home. Those are things he learned for himself. 
• Hermes coming to Percy to clean up his mess. If he showed up to Luke before, would things have been different? If he hadn’t abandoned his son after his quest, would Luke have felt so angry? What about if Hermes went straight to Luke now? Did he try? How so many things could have been different if only the gods cared about the kids they sired.
• And why would Percy of all people be the one to break through to him? Maybe because they are so similar. Or Annabeth could because of their personal connection. Maybe just anyone reaching out to him to show he’s not alone? 
• Oh, how Luke changes from one summer to the next. How he loses so much of his personality. How Kronos stripped him of his identity. His Bermuda shorts, messy hair and smile are gone. He’s no longer a child at summer camp. He’s something sinister.

• Percy often wishes he could drown … which is … interesting. 
• The thing is, any demigod could’ve been Luke. Luke just broke first. We see it with Clarisse. How Ares belittles her. How her siblings abandon her when she gets her quest. How easily she could’ve turned against the gods. How her spite would be justified. Just like Luke’s. She will never be enough for her father, so why try?

• Kronos thinks Thalia will be easier to convince than Percy. She’s had longer and more reason to despise the gods. She “died” because of them. Luke has more personal leverage over her. He can manipulate her. Or try to. 

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