Percy Jackson and the Olympians (part 2 of 5, The Sea of Monsters)

by The Scholar Reviews

source: Google Images

A year has past, and Percy and Company are back with more demigod shenanigans. The second installment of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Sea of Monsters improves some of the issues that the first book had, and is my personal favourite of the series. Similar to last time I reviewed The Lightning Thief, this will be a spoiler free review of the general plot and the book itself, and briefly touching on the changes in the main character, Percy. If you haven’t read Part 1 of this review series, I suggest you do, as this review will be doing some comparisons. Without further ado, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters.

Like its predecessor, Sea of Monsters is a rather old book, but it is still fairly easy to find. The paperback edition is $8.09 and available both online and in stores. It is available for the same price on Amazon, and the audiobook is available for $30.60 with a running time of about 8 hours.

I still do not suggest that readers of this series purchase or listen to the audiobook, as the narrator did not change from the last book and still does a sub-par performance, although it is not as monotone as the first book. I have read the entire series in paper format and suggest if you enjoy Rick Riordan’s writing, take a similar approach. Sea of Monsters is a solid continuation of The Lightning Thief, one year has passed, and the characters have changed and developed accordingly.

Plot-wise, Sea of Monsters is very similar to that of Jason and the Golden Fleece from greek myth. The Golden Fleece actually plays a rather large part in the story, as the magical defence around Camp Half-Blood (the demigod camp) is fading because the source of it’s power, a tree grown from the body of a daughter of Zeus, is dying. This plot ties into the overarching narrative, but the subplots are what really makes this book my favourite in the series. Firstly, the book is a rescue mission. Percy’s best friend, a satyr named Grover, has been captured by a cyclops in the Sea of Monsters (aka the Bermuda triangle) and Percy, Annabeth, and a new character named Tyson, team up to save him. This involves sneaking out on the quest they weren’t supposed to go on, and messing up pretty much everything in the process.

Percy, as a character, has developed and changed since the last book. He is older, although this does not affect his goofy, wisecracking attitude. He is also more adapted to being a demigod, and is more comfortable with who he is. Other than that, the character hasn’t really changed all that much.

In conclusion, Sea of Monsters is a strong second installment in a strong series. It develops already existing characters and storylines, but also has it’s own identity within the series. It has Riordan’s hilarious punchy writing, and is overall a good read. I rate this book 8/10 for it’s creativity and awesome ending, which I will not spoil for first time readers. If you enjoy Riordan's writing, I suggest his new series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. The series is brand new, and is similar to Percy Jackson in tone, unlike some of his other work. Also, this review series gets a new installment once every three weeks, so stay on the lookout.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E

by The Scholar Reviews

This review is going to be different and short. Just a heads up.

The Movie Poster

An American, a Russian, and a German walk into a party, and proceed to be the worst spies known to mankind. This is basically the plot of The Man from U.N.C.L.E, a summer movie that unfortunately, didn’t get the appreciation it deserved. I love this movie with a fiery passion, and it has quickly become one of my all time favourite films. This review is going to be a little different, covering more about the movie itself then where to find it, because as of yet it hasn’t been released. So flip a table and get on your moped, and let’s get started.

This movie is an adaptation of the tv show of the same name, and as someone who has only seen one episode of the original source material, I can’t really vouch for its faithfulness to the original. What I can vouch for however is that you don’t have to have seen the show to get what’s going on in the movie, as the movie functions as a “pre-sequel”. Directed by Guy Ritchie, director of the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movies (some of my other all time favourite movies) and his style is pretty fantastic. The tone of the movie flips flawlessly from light-hearted comedy, to intense action, to gut-wrenching emotion and back again. The pacing of the movie is also great, I never found it to be slow or boring. Never a dull moment in this movie, that can be assured.

The plot of Man from U.N.C.L.E is rather common in spy flicks, but again they pull it off so well one wouldn’t know the difference. This particular movie uses the “Spies who hate each other are forced together to defeat a common enemy, and eventually form a grudging respect for each other” plot. It can tend to stick to this plot to a T, but it does it in a fresh funny way. That’s all I can say really without entering spoiler territory, so let's move on.

There are three main characters in this movie, Napoleon Solo, Illya Kuryakin, and Gaby Teller. To keep it short I’m going to sum them up in just a few sentences. Napoleon (or Cowboy as Illya calls him) is the stereotypical spy guy. He’s a smart mouth, and it drives his partners crazy. Illya (or Peril as Napoleon calls him) is a Russian with anger issues. Don’t touch his watch if you value your life.  Gaby is the sensible one, and the only one who can get her job done.

I have one thing to tell you about my personal views. Watch it. Just watch it. I don’t care if you don’t like spy movies, watch it. It’s so good and so well done, I’m sad not many people saw it in theatres. So really, go watch it when it comes out.