The Sea of Monsters

From Camp Halfblood

The Sea of Monsters

Author:	Rick Riordan
Publisher:	Miramax Books
Publication Date:	2006
Media Type:	Hardcover and paperback
Preceded by:	The Lightning Thief
Followed by:	The Titan's Curse

The Sea of Monsters is the second book in the Percy Jackson series, written by Rick Riordan.

[edit] Plot

After having a dream caused by an empathy link between Percy Jackson and Grover , Percy learns that Grover has been captured by the Cyclops Polyphemus, and that he must go save him Grover will be married to Polyphemus the cyclops because Grover manages to convince the cyclops that he is a lady cyclops. Percy learns that his good friend Tyson is a Cyclops, after Percy destroys yet another of his schools due to an attack by the carnivorous Laistrygonians.

While at camp Percy learns that Tyson is also a son of Poseidon and that Thalia's tree was poisoned, allowing monsters to come through the magical boundaries of Camp Half-Blood. He also learns that Dionysus had blamed and fired Chiron for the poisoning of the tree, replacing the latter with a sadistic ghost named Tantalus. After figuring out that the chariot races were reinstituted by Tantalus, Percy prepares. After losing to Clarisse, because of demon birds, Percy figures out that the only way to save Thalia's tree, and the camp, is the use of the Golden Fleece. However, when he announces his plans to go on a quest, Tantalus gives it to Clarisse instead.

Percy meets Hermes, in the guise of a jogger on the beach, while pondering whether to go on the quest regardless of Tantalus' disapproval. Hermes encourages him, wanting him to find and convince Luke to return to the side of good, giving him necessary items to aid him (including magical multivitamins and a thermos containing winds from the four corners of the earth). Along with Annabeth and Tyson, they run away from camp and their cruel new Activities Director, hoping to save Grover from Polyphemus and attain the Golden Fleece as well. They board the Princess Andromeda, Luke's ship, with the indirect aid of Poseidon, who sent them hippocampi to bring them there. They soon encounter him again, finding out that he was now pledged to the Titans.

Percy also learns that Luke is attempting to bring Kronos back, gaining parts of his body for every creature, monster or mortal, that joins the Titan's side. After an extended battle, Percy and his friends escape from the ship on a lifeboat that is propelled by the magical thermos given to him by Hermes. Unknowingly, Percy also rescues a black pegasus named Blackjack, who shows his gratefulness by aiding Percy in future books. Percy also learns about his ability to instinctively know his exact coordinates and the distance travelled while at sea.

They reach Chesapeake Bay and rest in a hideout made by Annabeth, Luke and Thalia while they were still runaways. They soon encounter a Hydra, whom they attempted to fight with limited success until they are saved by Clarisse and her ship, the CSS Birmingham.

Her crew, they soon learn, is made up of the spirits of the dead souls of the Birmingham's original crew that died in the war inhabiting their skeleton bodies, giving them a ghoul-like look. At the to the Sea of Monsters, the ship is destroyed by the engine exploding while fighting the currents of Charybdis and her sister, Scylla, eating up the crew. However, Tyson was in the boiler room attempting to fix the engine when the explosion went off. Percy and Annabeth manage to get into one of the two lifeboats and arrive on an island that houses C.C.'s Spa and Resort. while Annabeth is taken on a tour of the resort, Percy is taken to get a makeover by C.C. However, C.C. turns out to be the sorceress Circe.

After turning Percy into a guinea pig, C.C. attempts to make Annabeth stay with her to become a sorceress like herself. However, Annabeth manages to trick Circe and turn Percy back to his regular self with the vitamins Hermes had given to him earlier. After escaping by taking a ship formerly owned by a half-blood Edward Teach known as the Queen Anne's Revenge, they arrive at the Siren's island and Percy makes earplugs out of wax so the Siren's song won't affect him. Annabeth, on the other hand wants to hear their song to become wiser. She requests beforehand that Percy tie her to the mast to prevent her from attempting to kill herself, but still manages to escape the ropes that Percy puts on her command. She then heads for the Siren's island.

Percy goes after her and manages to save her from a gruesome death. They learn afterwards Annabeth's fatal flaw After returning to the ship, they manage to arrive in the island of the Cyclops, Polyphemus, also home of the Golden Fleece. After getting through the meat-eating flock of huge sheep, Percy and Annabeth get through into Polyphemus's lair. They try to trick Polyphemus with the identity of "Nobody", but Annabeth eventually gets caught and is dropped by Polyphemus knocking her out.

After finding Clarisse, who survived the explosion on the other lifeboat alone, and Grover, Percy and the gang attack Polyphemus. While Percy and Clarisse distracted him, Grover gets the motionless Annabeth and they attempt to flee. However, Polyphemus catches up, but an enraged Percy defeats him. Although Percy decides not to kill him, he is smacked away by Polyphemus. Just when Percy is about to die, Polyphemus chocks on a huge rock thrown by Tyson, who had survived the explosion and managed to reach the island courtesy of Rainbow, the hippocampi that Poseidon had sent that he befriended. Polyphemus falls down the chasm and Tyson tells them about he had survived.

They run back to their ships, but Polyphemus, who didn't die, comes back and attacks them. But Percy and Tyson subdue him and runs away following the others to their ship. Polyphemus does a last ditch-effort to kill them by throwing boulders at them. One hits their ship, but they escape thanks to Rainbow and Rainbow's friends. After giving the Golden Fleece to Clarisse since it was her quest, they get caught by Luke. After telling Dionysus that Chiron didn't poison Thalia's tree but that it was Luke via a secret Iris Message, Percy and his friends are saved by Chiron and his relatives.

Once at camp, things return to normal again, with Tantalus fired and Chiron re-recruited. Tyson, however, soon leaves to work at Poseidon's underwater forges to build weaponry. Later on when they use they use the Golden Fleece to heal the tree, Thalia is revived because of the Fleece's amazing power. They soon realise that this had all along been Kronos' plan, to bring yet another child of the Big Three into play. With this cliffhanger, the book concludes.

[edit] Prophecy

This book's prophecy is given to Clarisse, which once recounted by her gives Percy the idea of how to complete the quest.

"You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone,

You shall find what you seek and make it your own,

But despair for your life entombed in stone,

And fail without friends, to fly home alone."

[edit] Characters

[edit] See Also

Camp Halfblood

Core Series:

The Lightning Thief | The Sea of Monsters | The Titan's Curse | The Battle of the Labyrinth | The Last Olympian

Main Characters:

Gods:

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