A couple weeks ago Caramel reviewed the graphic novel version of the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series: The Lightning Thief, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Attila Futaki, Jose Villarrubia, Orpheus Collar, and Chris Dickey. This week he talks about the second book in the series: The Sea of Monsters: The Graphic Novel, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Attila Futaki, Tamas Gaspar, and Chris Dickey. As usual Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.
(Marshmallow has already reviewed the original; see here for her review.)
Sprinkles: So Caramel, let us hear what you have to say about this book.
Caramel: If you already read the graphic novel version of The Lightning Thief, then this is a good book to read next.
S: So readers need to have read the first book of the series, right?
C: Yes.
S: Would it be enough to have read the original book or the graphic novel?
C: I think reading the originals first makes it easier to follow the graphic novels too.
S: But I am guessing that someone who only reads the graphic novel versions will still get a good story, is that correct?
C: Yes, definitely.
S: Then tell us that story a bit.
C: Percy Jackson, and his friend Annabeth (who eventually becomes his girlfriend) go on a quest that they are not even supposed to go on! Percy Jackson never listens to instructions.
S: Wait, so there is a quest and someone else is supposed to go ..
C: Yes, Clarisse La Rue, a daughter of war god Ares, is the one who is chosen but Percy and Annabeth don’t let go.
S: It is interesting how a lot of main characters in books don’t listen to instructions, right?
C: Yes, Harry Potter never listens to Professor Dumbledore, or Hermione, who is almost always right.
S: That’s true. But maybe through their mistakes we the readers learn some things, like listening to those who are older or wiser than us might actually be a good idea.
C: I agree with that! I do get mad at Harry or Percy when they don’t listen!
S: Okay, yes, let us get back to the book. What is this quest about?
C: They need to get the golden fleece. The golden fleece is a mythical object that heals anything.
S: Like that little scab on your knee?
C: Yes, I think if we had the golden fleece, my knee would get better much faster.
S: I think your body is doing really well healing on its own though? I think you will not even see it in a couple weeks.
C: I guess. But the golden fleece heals things much worse than a scarred knee. And it is hidden far far away.
S: And so our heroes have to face many new challenges to get to it, right?
C: Yes, and many new monsters!
S: Which monster was the most interesting one for you in this book?
C: I thought the monsters that wait in the sea of monsters to swallow up ships and heroes are the most interesting ones. Let me see… they are called Scylla and Charybdis. Together they destroy many ships.
S: And that is how in this story world we explain the Bermuda Triangle myth, right? Many people believed that in this region of the North Atlantic ocean, there was some mystery that led to disaster for many ships.
C: Yes. They talk about this in the book too, at least in the original book. And this is the book where Percy meets his half-brother Tyson, who is a cyclops.
S: So half-brother means Tyson is also a son of Poseidon, right?
C: Yep.
S: But aren’t we supposed to dislike and fear cyclops?
C: Some might not be nice, but Tyson is a really good cyclops, and he is a good brother to Percy.
S: I see. Okay, then, maybe we should tie this review up here before we give away more details. What three words would you use to describe this book Caramel?
C: Colorful, Greek mythology, and Percy Jackson.
S: Well, some of those are not descriptive words, but I’ll let it slide this time. What else do you want to say to our readers as we wrap things up?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
BookBunnies 