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beammey's review against another edition
5.0
So, I think I liked this series (so far) better than Percy Jackson? I was not expecting that at all, but I'm glad it happened. I like Sadie and Carter well enough and the twists I thought were very well written. The story line was solid and I'm looking forward to the next book. I would recommend this series/book. 5 out of 5 stars.
kaishi01's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. the only book where it makes sense to use “purred” as a description for dialogue (looking at you, sjm)
tigerlilliereads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
anaffpereira's review against another edition
3.0
Fun and interesting reading, but not as solid and compelling as Riordan's other works.
annabeth_chase_chb's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It is very good like all of Rick Riordan books. Here are Egyptian gods and the main characters are Carter and Sadie Kane. The plot twist of the story is also that Zia is a shabti and you discover this at the end of the book and in The throne of fire Carter founds Zia but she isn't into him like he tought that shabti Zia and Zia would be the same.
eesh25's review against another edition
4.0
2022 reread
It was still great. Plus, I really liked the idea of gods being really powerful but still being stuck in the same roles and repeating the past over and over.
********************************
I finally read it! Honestly, I blame the lack of hype for this delay. Everyone, including myself, talks about all of Rick's other series but (relatively) so few talk about this one. It made me think that this series wasn't good. And I'd tried to read it a couple of times but didn't immediately get into it, which reaffirmed my belief.
This time, I pushed through. This book follows brother and sister, Carter and Sadie Kane. Carter and his father are off to London to meet Sadie because, after their mother died, their father was only able to get custody of Carter while Sadie went to live with their mom's parents in England. They only meet twice a year and only for a day.
This time, something goes wrong. Their dad, being an Egyptologist, takes them to a museum. There, he does a spell ...and everything goes wrong. Now Carter and Sadie, ages 14 and 12 respectively, who up until then didn't even know magic existed or that they or their father had the ability to perform it, have to find a way to use their powers and save their father from an evil Egyptian god. Thankfully, they have some help along the way, not that it means they're in any less mortal danger.
In true Rick Riordan style, they find themselves in a lot of trouble, with numerous shocking discoveries, plenty of gods and monsters, some allies, and a wealth of individuals who want them dead; all of it with lots of humour and the occasional emotional punch when Uncle Rick decides that, since we like a character, he has to make them suffer.
The book was interesting and fun and exciting. I'm really happy to finally be reading about Egyptian mythology, and in the most entertaining way too, since that's one thing you can always rely on Uncle Rick to do.
One thing that separates this book from Rick's others is that it's told in the form of audio recordings. Carter and Sadie take turns telling us about their adventures. I wasn't sure, initially, if the format would work, but it was really good. The sibling teasing we got from it was a highlight.
Last thing I wanna mention is about Carter. Not many White authors try to write from the perspective of a non-White character, often due to the fear of not doing it right. But Uncle Rick did it. Carter and Sadie's father is Black and Carter looks like him but Sadie resembles their mother, who was White. This gets them some strange looks from people, not to mention the everyday racism that Carter and his father face. The few occurrences of people treating Carter differently because of his race, they were done really well in my opinion. Uncle Rick did his research.
This is a great book with two great protagonist. I'm very interested in finding out what will happen to them next. It does take a little time to really get into the book—at least, it did for me—but you shouldn't let that stop you because, as soon as you get used to the setting, it's all awesome.
It was still great. Plus, I really liked the idea of gods being really powerful but still being stuck in the same roles and repeating the past over and over.
********************************
I finally read it! Honestly, I blame the lack of hype for this delay. Everyone, including myself, talks about all of Rick's other series but (relatively) so few talk about this one. It made me think that this series wasn't good. And I'd tried to read it a couple of times but didn't immediately get into it, which reaffirmed my belief.
This time, I pushed through. This book follows brother and sister, Carter and Sadie Kane. Carter and his father are off to London to meet Sadie because, after their mother died, their father was only able to get custody of Carter while Sadie went to live with their mom's parents in England. They only meet twice a year and only for a day.
This time, something goes wrong. Their dad, being an Egyptologist, takes them to a museum. There, he does a spell ...and everything goes wrong. Now Carter and Sadie, ages 14 and 12 respectively, who up until then didn't even know magic existed or that they or their father had the ability to perform it, have to find a way to use their powers and save their father from an evil Egyptian god. Thankfully, they have some help along the way, not that it means they're in any less mortal danger.
In true Rick Riordan style, they find themselves in a lot of trouble, with numerous shocking discoveries, plenty of gods and monsters, some allies, and a wealth of individuals who want them dead; all of it with lots of humour and the occasional emotional punch when Uncle Rick decides that, since we like a character, he has to make them suffer.
The book was interesting and fun and exciting. I'm really happy to finally be reading about Egyptian mythology, and in the most entertaining way too, since that's one thing you can always rely on Uncle Rick to do.
One thing that separates this book from Rick's others is that it's told in the form of audio recordings. Carter and Sadie take turns telling us about their adventures. I wasn't sure, initially, if the format would work, but it was really good. The sibling teasing we got from it was a highlight.
Last thing I wanna mention is about Carter. Not many White authors try to write from the perspective of a non-White character, often due to the fear of not doing it right. But Uncle Rick did it. Carter and Sadie's father is Black and Carter looks like him but Sadie resembles their mother, who was White. This gets them some strange looks from people, not to mention the everyday racism that Carter and his father face. The few occurrences of people treating Carter differently because of his race, they were done really well in my opinion. Uncle Rick did his research.
This is a great book with two great protagonist. I'm very interested in finding out what will happen to them next. It does take a little time to really get into the book—at least, it did for me—but you shouldn't let that stop you because, as soon as you get used to the setting, it's all awesome.
kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
First in the Kane Chronicles urban fantasy series for middle-grade readers.
In 2011, The Red Pyramid was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, and in 2010, it won the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Favorite Book, Young Adult Fantasy.
My Take
This was good! Someone had told me that this was simply the Percy Jackson and the Olympians but with Egyptian gods…and they're wrong. For one thing, the Kane Chronicles is less juvenile in its writing approach and, yes, there are parallels. There is interaction with gods, children are the hero and heroines, and there is a bloodline involved. Oh, yes, and they have adventures.
This is not a story of good and evil, but of balance between chaos and order. Get your kids to read it for the adventure and magic, and they'll learn about ancient Egyptian culture and its stories (I learned a lot which made more sense of what I had known), they'll learn geography through monuments (I want to Google "obelisks" and find out where more are as well as what the links are between Egyptian and ancient Mexican cultures), they'll learn about a version of afterlife, and they'll learn that we have the ability to make good choices.
I am so looking forward to reading the next in the lineup! Oh, and did I mention, it's funny.
In 2011, The Red Pyramid was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, and in 2010, it won the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Favorite Book, Young Adult Fantasy.
My Take
This was good! Someone had told me that this was simply the Percy Jackson and the Olympians but with Egyptian gods…and they're wrong. For one thing, the Kane Chronicles is less juvenile in its writing approach and, yes, there are parallels. There is interaction with gods, children are the hero and heroines, and there is a bloodline involved. Oh, yes, and they have adventures.
This is not a story of good and evil, but of balance between chaos and order. Get your kids to read it for the adventure and magic, and they'll learn about ancient Egyptian culture and its stories (I learned a lot which made more sense of what I had known), they'll learn geography through monuments (I want to Google "obelisks" and find out where more are as well as what the links are between Egyptian and ancient Mexican cultures), they'll learn about a version of afterlife, and they'll learn that we have the ability to make good choices.
I am so looking forward to reading the next in the lineup! Oh, and did I mention, it's funny.
bethmtaps's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
hiraeth_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75