Quotes from The Sea of Monsters

Rick Riordan ·  279 pages

Rating: (587.6K votes)


“The real story of the Fleece: there were these two children of Zeus, Cadmus and Europa, okay? They were about to get offered up as human sacrifices, when they prayed to Zeus to save them. So Zeus sent this magical flying ram with golden wool, which picked them up in Greece and carried them all the way to Colchis in Asia Minor. Well, actually it carried Cadmus. Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important."
"It was probably important to her.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related for better or for worse...and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“We only came close to dying six or seven times, which I thought was pretty good. Once, I lost my grip and found myself dangling by one hand from a ledge fifty feet above the rocky surf. But I found another handhold and kept climbing. A minute later Annabeth hit a slippery patch of moss and her foot slipped. Fortunately, she found something else to put it against. Unfortunately, that something was my face.
"Sorry," she murrmured.
"S'okay," I grunted, though I'd never really wanted to know what Annabeth's sneaker tasted like.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“[My mom's] funny that way, celebrating special occasions with blue food. I think it's her way of saying anything is possible. Percy can pass seventh grade. Waffles can be blue. Little miracles like that.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Hermes gazed up at the stars. 'My dear young cousin, if there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it. It doesn't matter if they hate you, or embarrass you, or simply don't appreciate your genius for inventing the Internet--”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters



“You weren't able to talk sense into him?"
Well, we kind of tried to kill each other in a duel to the death."
I see. You tried the diplomatic approach.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“I told Tantalus to go chase a doughnut. ”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Before I could figure out how to apologize for being such an idiot, she tackled me with a hug, then pulled away just as quickly. "I'm glad you're not a guinea pig."
"Me, too." I hoped my face wasn't as red as it felt.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“I couldn't believe I'd come this far, lost Tyson, suffered through so much, only to fail - stopped by a big stupid monster in a baby-blue tuxedo kilt. Nobody was going to swat down my friends like that! I mean...nobody, not Nobody. Ah, you know what I mean.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Mythologically speaking, if there's anything I hate worse than trios of old ladies, it's bulls. Last summer, I fought the Minotaur on top of Half-Blood Hill. This time what I saw up there was even worse: two bulls. And not just regular bulls - bronze ones the size of elephants. And even that wasn't bad enough. Naturally they had to breathe fire, too.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters



“It doesn't matter if they hate you, or embarrass you, or simply don't appreciate your genius for inventing the internet-"
"You invented the internet?"
It was my idea, Martha said.
Rats are delicious, George said.
"It was my idea!" Hermes said. "I mean the internet, not the rats. But that's not the point.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Ever come home and found your room messed up? Like some helpful person (hi, Mom) has tried to "clean" it, and suddenly you can't find anything? And even if nothing is missing, you get that creepy feeling like somebody's been looking through your private stuff and dusting everything with lemon furniture polish?”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“I’ve met plenty of embarrassing parents, but Kronos, the evil Titan Lord who wanted to destroy Western Civilization? Not the kind of dad you invited to
school for Career Day.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Powdered donuts," Tyson said earnestly. "I will look for powdered donuts in the wilderness." He headed outside and started calling, "Here, donuts!”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Dude! said a party pony as he unloaded his gear. Did you see that bear guy? He was all like: 'Whoa, I have an arrow in my mouth!”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters



“He'd changed since the last summer. Instead of Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt, he wore a button-down shirt, khaki pants, and leather loafers. His sandy hair, which used to be so unruly, was now clipped short. He look like an evil male model, showing off what the fashionable college-age villain was wearing to Harvard this year.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Annabeth:My fatal flaw. That's what the Sirens showed me. My fatal flaw is hubris.
Percy: the brown stuff they spread on veggie sandwiches?
Annabeth:No, Seaweed Brain. That's HUMMUS. hubris is worse.
Percy: what could be worse than hummus?
Annabeth: Hubris means deadly pride, Percy. Thinking you can do things better than anyone else... Even the gods.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Hermes smiled. "I knew a boy once ... oh, younger than you by far. A mere baby, really."
Here we go again, George said. Always talking about himself.
Quiet! Martha snapped. Do you want to get set on vibrate?
Hermes ignored them. "One night, when this boy's mother wasn't watching, he sneaked out of their cave and stole some cattle that belonged to Apollo."
"Did he get blasted to tiny pieces?" I asked.
"Hmm ... no. Actually, everything turned out quite well. To make up for his theft, the boy gave Apollo an instrument he'd invented-a lyre. Apollo was so enchanted with the music that he forgot all about being angry."
So what's the moral?"
"The moral?" Hermes asked. "Goodness, you act like it's a fable. It's a true story. Does truth have a moral?"
"Um ..."
"How about this: stealing is not always bad?"
"I don't think my mom would like that moral."
Rats are delicious, suggested George.
What does that have to do with the story? Martha demanded.
Nothing, George said. But I'm hungry.
"I've got it," Hermes said. "Young people don't always do what they're told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment. How's that?”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Hercules used noise! Brass bells! He scared them away with the most horrible sound he could-" said Percy
"Percy... Chiron's collection!”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters



“That was so completely unfair that I told Tantalus to go chase a donut, which didn't help his mood.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Thalia had been turned into a pine tree when she was 12. Me... well, i was doing my best not to follow her example. I had nightmares about what Poseidon might turn me into if i were ever in the verge of death—plankton, maybe. Or a floating patch of kelp.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Don't untie me," she said, "no matter what happens or how much I plead. I'll want to go straight over the edge and drown myself."
"Are you trying to tempt me?"
"Ha-ha.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Well, actually it carried Cadmus. Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important.'
It was probably important to her.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Fish gathered to look at us - a school of baracudas, some curious marines. SCRAM! I told them. They swam off, but I could tell they went reluctantly. I swear I understood their intencions. They were about to star rumors flighing around the sea about the son of poseidon and some girl at the bottom of Siren Bay.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters



“We did all the standard camp numbers: "Down By The Aegean," "I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great Grandpa," "This Land is Minos's Land.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Laistry....I can't even say that. What would you call them in English?"
"Canadians.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“Tyson," I said "We're turning around!"
Going the wrong way?" he asked.
Always," I grumbled, but I steered the chariot towards the stands.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


“But how did you know where we were?" Annabeth asked.

Advanced planning, my dear. I figured you would wash up near Miami if you made it out of the Sea of Monsters alive. Almost everything strange washes up near Miami.”
― Rick Riordan, quote from The Sea of Monsters


About the author

Rick Riordan
Born place: in San Antonio, Texas, The United States
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