The Reading Group- Invites ONLY 3 l Pg 5,145l - Page 120

Like the previous book, The Lightning Thief, this novel is of the fantasy genre. Reviewers consider it to be fast paced, humorous, full of action, and a blend of the themes of acceptance and family love.

Plot summary

During school, Percy is stuck playing dodgeball against large seventh graders who turn out to be Laistrygonians. They summon explosive fireballs and attempt to kill Percy, but he is protected by Tyson, a friend, who is unharmed by the monsters' fireballs. Annabeth saves Percy by stabbing the last Laistrygonian from behind and takes Percy and Tyson back to Camp Half-Blood. They find the camp under attack because Thalia's tree, which protects the camp, has been poisoned by an unknown intruder. Chiron, the assistant director, has been fired because he is suspected of poisoning the tree, and is replaced by Tantalus, a spirit from the Fields of Punishment.

Percy finds out that Tyson is a Cyclops and Poseidon claims him as his son. Annabeth and Percy ask Tantalus to send somebody on a quest to find the Golden Fleece, which he does, sending Clarisse. Percy receives help from Poseidon, who gives them three Hippocampi, and together with Annabeth and Tyson, ends up on a passing cruise ship, the Princess Andromeda, which is revealed to be owned by Luke. They are captured and learn that Luke is trying to revive Kronos, a Titan who is the father of Zeus. They manage to escape and are later saved by Clarisse, who has a boat of her own that was given to her by her father Ares. It is destroyed upon entering the Sea of Monsters, known to mortals as the Bermuda Triangle. They reach the island of Polyphemus and save Grover with the help of Tyson and Clarisse, recovering the Fleece in the process. They make their way to Florida, and Percy sends Clarisse, with the fleece, back to camp. Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson are captured by Luke. Percy manages to contact camp with an Iris-message, tricking Luke into admitting he poisoned Thalia's tree. In a duel with Luke, Percy is nearly killed. He is saved by Chiron and his relatives, the Party Ponies. Chiron is rehired after being proven not guilty, and the Fleece cures Thalia's tree of its poison, and Thalia herself is spewed out of the tree.

Major characters

Percy Jackson: The protagonist; a 13-year-old demigod who travels to the island of Polyphemus in the Bermuda Triangle to find Grover and recover the Golden Fleece. He is accompanied by Annabeth and Tyson, his half-brother, on the quest. He is successful in the end; and gives Clarisse the Fleece while he is attacked by Luke on his way to the Camp. However, he and his friends are rescued by Chiron and the Party Ponies. Annabeth Chase: A 13-year-old demigoddess and a friend of Percy. She accompanies him to the island and helps him in his quest by rescuing Percy from Circe's island. Annabeth is injured by Polyphemus and recovers with the help of the Golden Fleece. She accompanies Percy to Camp, after Chiron succeeds in rescuing them from the hands of Luke and the Titan army. Grover Underwood: A satyr who has been captured by Polyphemus during his search for the wild god Pan. Due to his poor eyesight, Polyphemus mistakes Grover for a female Cyclops. He is rescued by his friends Percy and Annabeth. Clarisse La Rue: Daughter of Ares who was given the quest of retrieving the Golden Fleece. With the help of Percy and his friends, she is successful in her quest. Percy gives her the Fleece that she takes to Camp. Polyphemus wishes to wed her after it is revealed to him that Grover is a male satyr. Luke Castellan: The main antagonist; he works for Kronos. He captures Percy and the rest before being thwarted by Chiron and his brethren, the Party Ponies.
• Tyson the Cyclops: Percy's half brother; he is initially portrayed as a homeless child before Annabeth helps Percy realize that he is a Cyclops. He accompanies Percy and Annabeth in their quest and befriends a hippocampus that he names Rainbow. When Clarisse's ship explodes, he is presumed dead until it is learned that he was saved.

Mostly well-received, The Titan's Curse was nominated for numerous awards, winning ones such as the #1 The New York Times children's series best seller and Book Sense Top Ten Summer Pick for 2007. It was released in the United States and the United Kingdom on May 1, 2007. The novel was also released in Audiobook format, read by Jesse Bernstein. It is followed by The Battle of the Labyrinth.

Like the other books in the series, The Titan's Curse is of the fantasy genre, using the concepts of ancient Greek mythology in a modern setting. Its plot is fast-paced and encompasses humor as well as themes such as love and loyalty.

Plot summary

Annabeth Chase and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, go missing. Percy and his friends must look for Artemis before the winter solstice, when her influence on the Olympian Council could change an important vote on the war with the Titans. Thalia, Zo Nightshade, Bianca Di Angelo, and Grover go on this dangerous quest. They also are searching for a rare monster that Artemis was trying to hunt down when she went missing; it is so strong that it can obliterate Olympus. Percy is called by a hippocampus (mythological sea-horse) to rescue a marine cow-like creature called the Ophiotaurus, whom Percy names Bessie, not knowing it is a male.

With help from Apollo, they reach Cloudcroft, a small town in New Mexico. Grover senses the presence of Pan, the Greek god of nature, and a wild gift from him, the giant Erymanthian Boar, comes to carry them further on to San Francisco. It takes them to the junkyard of the gods, and Percy meets Ares and talks to Aphrodite, at which point it is hinted that Annabeth and Percy will most likely have a romantic future. Eventually, the group enters the junkyard, where Bianca tries to steal an action figure for her younger brother. She accidentally awakens a prototype of Talos, a giant man of bronze, and dies after successfully destroying it. While being attacked by skeletal warriors at the Hoover Dam, Percy meets Rachel Elizabeth Dare, a girl who can see through the Mist. She saves Percy by confusing the skeletons, allowing Percy and his friends to escape.

In San Francisco, they learn that Bessie the Ophiotaurus is the monster they seek, because sacrificing it and burning its entrails will give them power to destroy Olympus. They go to seek the help of Annabeth's father; he gives them a car. They travel to the Garden of Hesperides, where Zo meets her sisters and is poisoned by the dragon Ladon. They continue to the Mountain of Despair on California's Mount Tamalpais, where Mt. Othrys, the Titan capital, now resides. From the top of the mountain where Atlas held up the sky, they see Artemis taking on his burden. Annabeth is held captive by Luke. Realizing that the prophecy made by the Oracle involves him, Percy takes the burden—the Titan's curse—from Artemis. In the ensuing fight, Atlas (the General of the Titans) kills his daughter Zo by throwing her against rocks. Artemis tricks Atlas into taking his burden from Percy. During a battle between Thalia and Luke, Luke falls off a cliff and Percy assumes that Luke is dead. Later, Percy is told by Annabeth, and confirmed by Poseidon, that Luke has survived.

Major characters

• Percy Jackson: Percy, a 14 year old demigod and son of Poseidon, is the protagonist as well as the series' narrator. He embarks on a journey to save his friend Annabeth as well as to rescue the Greek goddess Artemis, who have both been kidnapped.
• Thalia Grace: Thalia is a 15 year old demigod and a daughter of Zeus. Though she appears in Percy's dream in the second book, she makes a full appearance at the end of The Sea of Monsters and is given a greater role in the third book. Thalia is described as looking very punk, with black clothes, spiky hair and eyeliner. Her personality is often described as "independent and many times sarcastic." Thalia is a lot like Percy and consequently, they often butt heads. She has feelings for Luke and was heartbroken by his betrayal. She is also afraid of heights.
• Annabeth Chase: Annabeth is a 14 year old demigod and the daughter of Athena. She is friends with Percy, Thalia and Grover. She is kidnapped along with Artemis by the Titans. She has a great passion and interest for architecture and she wishes to be an architect when she is older.
• Grover Underwood: A large-hearted satyr whose favorite foods are aluminum cans and cheese enchiladas. He is 28 years old, yet has the appearance of a teenager due to the satyrs' slower growth rate (half that of humans). He wants to look for Pan, the satyr god of nature and the wild, who fell into a "deep sleep" due to the humans' pollution of the world.
• Bianca di Angelo: Bianca is a 12 year old demigod and the daughter of Hades. She and her ten year-old brother Nico were trapped in the Lotus Hotel, where time is slowed down, but in the beginning of the book, they were released and attended a school. Bianca later joined the Hunters of Artemis, but was killed in the quest in the "Junkyard of the Gods". Her death greatly upsets her brother, Nico, who is quick to blame Percy for it.
• Zo Nightshade: Zo is the daughter of Atlas and a hunter of Artemis. She dies after being bitten by Ladon, who protects the immortality-giving golden apple tree. Artemis turns her spirit into a constellation soon after her death. She and Thalia developed grudges against each other after Thalia did not want to join the hunters, but they get along when they do not think about it.
• Luke Castellan: The demigod son of Hermes, Luke is the main antagonist of the series. His body becomes host to the lord of the Titans, Kronos; Kronos' followers and army gather on a ship called the Princess Andromeda
• Nico di Angelo: The 10 year old demigod son of Hades and younger brother of Bianca di Angelo. He and his sister are rescued from a Manticore by Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover. He is left at camp during the quest, but stays in the Hermes Cabin because his parentage has not been discovered. He leaves camp after hearing Percy broke his promise, letting Bianca die. Before he leaves, he sends an army of skeletal warriors into the underworld.

Plot summary

After being attacked by Empousai cheerleaders at his new school, Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood and learns about "The Labyrinth", part of the palace of King Minos in Crete that, according to Greek mythology, was designed by Daedalus. During a game of capture the flag at the camp, Annabeth and Percy find an entrance into the Labyrinth. Percy soon learns that Luke had used the entrance and will try and lead his army through the Labyrinth straight in to the heart of Camp Half-Blood.

Using the Labyrinth, Percy has to try to find Daedalus so Luke cannot get Ariadne's string, thereby foiling Luke's invasion. Ariadne's string is used to navigate the Labyrinth. Following a hint, Percy travels to Mt. St. Helens, causing it to erupt, and wiping his energy out. After being treated for burns by Calypso, Percy gets the help he needs from a mortal girl named Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who proves herself by hitting Kronos in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush. Kronos finds out that Nico di Angelo is a son of Hades and also could be the child of the big prophecy. Luke reaches Daedalus and gets Ariadne's string. Using the magical instrument, he leads his army and attacks camp. Grover comes to the rescue and causes a panic to scare away the enemy. After the battle, Daedalus sacrifices himself to close the labyrinth, which is tied to his life.

Major characters

• Percy Jackson: 14 years old (15 towards the end), son of Poseidon, God of the Sea. He is the series' narrator and protagonist. He shows some interest in Calypso, but refuses her offer to stay with her (making him immortal) because he feels obligated to help his friends.
• Annabeth Chase: 15 years old, Percy's friend, and daughter of Athena. Assists Percy as he navigates the labyrinth. By the end of the book they are very close friends.
• Rachel Elizabeth Dare: A mortal who can clearly see through the Mist. Her father is a wealthy businessman who buys the undeveloped land of the wild and builds developments upon them. She hates her father for doing so and was embarrassed to meet Pan, God of the Wild. Percy had previously met her at the Hoover Dam in The Titan's Curse, where she helped him get away from the undead warriors.
• Nico di Angelo: Son of Hades. Upset that his sister Bianca died, he is slightly psychotic, and attempts to trade Daedalus' soul for that of Bianca. He has a sword made of Stygian Iron.
• Luke Castellan: Son of Hermes and traitor to the Olympians. His body becomes possessed by the spirit of Kronos. He is the series' main antagonist.
• Grover Underwood: A satyr and Percy's best friend. His life's ambition is to find Pan, the lost God of the Wild. Grover, Tyson, Percy, Annabeth, Nico and Rachel find Pan inside a crystal cavern along with some extinct animals. He gave them words of wisdom, and then died. When he died, his essence entered all of the characters' mouths, meaning a piece of the wild remained in their hearts. He gave Grover the famous battle cry, panic, which Grover used to scare off the intruders in Camp Half-Blood. The word panic is named after Pan because in the Titan war he let out a horrible cry that drove all the monsters back to where they came from.
• Tyson the Cyclops: Percy's cyclops half-brother. He now works for his father in the Palace of Poseidon under the oceans in the Cyclopes' Forge. Tyson enjoys forging, nicknaming mythical creatures they come across and eating peanut butter sandwiches. He joins Percy and his friends in the labyrinth.
• Daedalus/Quintus: The inventor of the Labyrinth and son of Athena, who makes five automatons to cheat death. He becomes the new swordsman at Camp Half-Blood under the name Quintus. He has a murderer's mark on his neck branded by Athena because he killed his nephew, Perdix. He owns a Hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary. After his death, he builds toll-ways and other buildings to control traffic in the Underworld and according to Nico, Daedalus is very happy with this job. Before he dies, he gives Annabeth a laptop containing all of the works he never had time to accomplish as well as many of his ideas and theories.