Review: Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series has become big news of late, what with the release of the tie-in film and the reissuing of the books with some added bling to their covers. My goodness, that YA section has more sparkle going on than a certain love-struck vampire'but I digress.

Sea of Monsters is the second in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, which, as might be expected, follows the misadventures (in addition to the occasional adventure) of young Perseus Jackson, a young demi-god who owes his existence to a naughty dalliance between Greek god'Poseidon'and a rather homely mortal woman. The gods, it seems, are still alive and well'which perhaps is unsurprising given that they are indeed immortal'and much like the times of old, they still quite enjoy stirring up things on the mortal plane. And, despite his best efforts, Percy seems to find himself in the middle of things.

After a relatively uneventful school year with nary an expulsion to his name, Percy is looking forward to spending the summer at Camp Half-Blood, a rather ugly-named place for the various and numerous offspring of the gods to be themselves and spend time doing godly things such as building chariots and telling campfire stories. Unfortunately, Percy's last day at school doesn't quite go as blissfully as planned, and he finds himself an unwitting participant in a rather gory game of dodgeball that results in the immolation of his school. Yes, Percy is on the run again. Fortunately, the timely appearance of demi-goddess Annabeth means that Percy and his misfit friend Tyson, whom he has taken under his wing, are able to duck off to Camp Half-Blood relatively unharmed.

However, things are scarcely better at camp than they are back at school. There has been a substantial rearrangement of the powers that be, and the protective tree serving to keep dangerous forces out of the camp's bounds is dying a slow death from poison. Things only get stranger from here: Percy is aghast to find out that kind but dopey Tyson is actually a long-lost half-brother, and he's even more perturbed when he starts having dreams about his satyr friend Grover, who is being pressed into some unwanted nuptials with a rather unattractive cyclops who holds captive not only Grove, but also the famed Golden Fleece of Jason fame. Yes, it's time for a mission to recover both Grover and the Golden Fleece in order to restore life to the dying protective tree.

I'm fully aware how crazy and breathless this all sounds. And initially, the pacing of the novel does take a little time to become accustomed to. You need to boast a pretty high level of fitness to read this book without panting (never have I been more thankful for my nightly jog). But Riordan makes it work, and Percy Jackson is a hilarious and exhilarating read. The book is bursting with witty dialogue and clever asides relating to Greek mythology and history, and the way Riordan transposes the Greek pantheon into a modern day context is original and refreshing. A fun and zany read.