Rick Riordan
Kane Chronicles #1
From Goodreads: Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.
One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.
Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them —Set— has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe - a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.
The Red Pyramid was a decent book, but I didn't like it nearly as much as I did Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Carter and Sadie, while pretty good characters, weren't nearly as entertaining or likable as Percy and his friends. The frequent interruptions of the narrative for them to argue or mock each other were amusing at first, but quickly grew tiresome. I also didn't quite get a British feel from Sadie's sections, especially towards the end, which made it more difficult to tell who was speaking.
I did like the new arena of Egyptian mythology, which isn't quite as well known as Greek. Parts of it, particularly the possession by gods, reminded me a bit of Stargate: SG-1, but that's probably because at least half of my knowledge of Egyptian mythology comes from that show. I also thought the magic used by the House of Light was very interesting, and the House itself has high potential for future plots. I'm hoping that The Throne of Fire will improve on these issues, because I really did like the books about the Olympians.
Plot: 3 cupcakes
Characters: 3 cupcakes
Style: 3 cupcakes
Overall: 3 cupcakes
I did like the new arena of Egyptian mythology, which isn't quite as well known as Greek. Parts of it, particularly the possession by gods, reminded me a bit of Stargate: SG-1, but that's probably because at least half of my knowledge of Egyptian mythology comes from that show. I also thought the magic used by the House of Light was very interesting, and the House itself has high potential for future plots. I'm hoping that The Throne of Fire will improve on these issues, because I really did like the books about the Olympians.
Plot: 3 cupcakes
Characters: 3 cupcakes
Style: 3 cupcakes
Overall: 3 cupcakes
Egyptology? Yesssss, haha. I'm so excited about all the mythology-based novels that are out right now! I've always been fascinated with that sort of thing.
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