Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com

I started to read this book to my fifth graders, but it is long and the end of the year crept up on us and we didn't get to finish it. So I took it home and finished it myself. I loved it.

There are two main characters, Sadie and Carter Kane. They are brother and sister, but they are almost strangers to each other. When Sadie was 6 and Carter 8, their mother died and because of a bitter custody dispute, Sadie went with her mother's parents in London and Carter stayed with his dad. They only see each other two times a year. Carter travels with his father, an Egyptologist, and is home schooled, while Sadie goes to a public school in London. They really don't have much to say when they see each other.

One Christmas Eve, Carter and his father pick up Sadie and go to the British Museum for a research project. While there, Mr. Kane destroys the Rosetta Stone and unleashes five Egyptian gods into the world. He is entombed and leaves Carter and Sadie saddled with a mission to stop the god, Set, from destroying the world.

Many other reviewers have said that they couldn't tell the differences between Carter and Sadie's voices, but I could. Sadie was brash while Carter is more polite. They complimented each other in many ways. I loved getting two different points of view as I read.

Another character that I loved was Bast, the cat goddess, who took the form many times of Muffin, Sadie's cat. She was funny and you could tell she really loved the children. I had a little problem with the Egyptian mythology (I fell in love with Greek myths when I was younger), but enjoyed learning about it. I can't wait to read the next installment of THE KANE CHRONICLES!

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This isn't as good as any of the Percy Jackson books, in my opinion. It just doesn't have quite the same level of humor weaved into the story, which made those books so much fun to read. But, it's still really entertaining, and it's fun to read a story involving a mythology that most are probably far less familiar with. Let's face it, Egyptian Mythology as a whole is not nearly so well known as that of the Greeks. But, in a way, that actually makes this even better than it otherwise would be, since you really do pick up elements of those unfamiliar stories as you read the book. Plus, the book itself has a pretty interesting story of its own. I really enjoyed it. While it won't go alongside the Percy Jackson books as some of my all-time fantasy favorites, I will definitely be reading the future installments.

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My first Rick Riordan book i've read so I have nothing to compare it too but I absoutely LOVED this book! It took some getting used to the writing (the two kids are talking into a tape recorder about what happened to them) but after I got used to that I came to really enjoy all the characters and came to wish I spoke Baboon! I am eagerly awaiting the 2nd in this series!

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Love it! All my favorite Egyptian stories come to life before your very eyes! The action never stopped. Gripping, but it got a little tiring for both me and the characters. Can't wait to get the next one.

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I was poking around the library recently and ran across this book, which I was drawn to due to my love of the first Percy Jackson novel, and I wanted to see what else Riordan had to offer. While I cant say I enjoyed this as much as The Lightning Thief, it was still an entertaining book and Im glad that I read it.

It took me awhile to get adjusted to the format this book was written in, which was essentially the story of what Carter and Sadie went through, transcribed from a tape they recorded for someone else to find. Its a clever concept, but I think Id like it better in actual audio format as opposed to reading it. Some of the chapters are told by Sadie, others by Carter, and it was mildly difficult at times to keep track of which one of them is telling the story at which point. At times, that didnt really matter depending on what was going on, but at other points it was a little more important because of the different skills they each possess.

To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.

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Okay, I've been debating whether to give this book a 4 or 5 star review, and the 5 star won because this was a very well told story, with lots of great background of both Egyptian mythology and Egyptian history. It even drew a couple tears once or twice. Plus it addresses some real world issues without making it a huge part of the story.

Carter and Sadie are from a mixed family and have to deal with the constant shock that his dark skin and her blue eyes cause in people who don't expect a Black boy and a white girl to be brother and sister. Carter even comments a couple of times on how his father had to coach him to always dress his best and look friendly so he wouldn't draw unwanted attention.

I loved how these real world issues were sprinkled into the story in a matter of fact sort of way, making Carter's experience as a Black teenager realistic, without taking away from the action packed, mythology laden narration from both Carter's and Sadie's points of view.

After their father takes them on a visit to the British Museum to visit the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian gods are once again loosed into the world, despite the House of Life's attempt to keep them locked up since the fall of Egyptian civilization centuries before. When their father is taken captive by Set, the god of chaos, Carter and Sadie embark on a journey to save their father, filled with cameos from all kinds of Egyptian gods, while running from the secret organization that trains new magicians to keep the gods locked up tight, which their parents once belonged to.

The only reason I considered giving it 4 stars is because I've read other Rick Riordan series (has *anyone* not read the Percy Jackson series?), and I found a few themes being reused. A preteen discovering they have some kind of tie to an ancient mythology because their only parent goes missing? Having to rebel against the authority group to save gods? Becoming a trio because a very intelligent, female figure from the authority organization sees value in helping the so-called rebels and becomes a romantic interest for the main character?

That being said, despite seeing the parallels between Riordan's series and being able to predict at least one outcome because of it, this story was compelling and unique enough in its own right to deserve 5 stars.

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I loved Riordan's Percy Jackson stories, but my attention waned when it fell towards the Romans. I know it's not his writing that couldn't pull me in, so it had to have been the subject. I think that I'm too into the Greek Gods to really enjoy the other dynasties, whether it's Roman, Egyptian or Ming. I didn't enjoy this one enough to continue the rest of the series. That is, unless at some point the Kane's somehow find themselves taking on Zeus...

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First, this book is a 2.5 star book. Second, I read Heroes of Olympus (HOO) and Percy Jackson....Olympians series before this one. so Sadie and Carter find out their magic, the gods of Egypt are real, and now they need to save the world from Set. They have limited time and are coming across obstacles like giant crocodiles. In the end, who is the REAL enemy??? So anyway, this book wasn't too great. The main thing was the switch from Sadie to Carter. Bad idea. In HOO it was in third person and it worked out great. But now with it in first person, it was just that much more confusing and bad.Second, the dry humor and chapter titles were screaming 'Percy Jackson' at me, they were so the same writing style. I understand it's the same author, so some similarities will occur, but it was just too similar. More exact. Lastly, I just didn't feel 'in-touch' with the characters. I felt like I was reading Percy Jackson, just different kids, techniques, and gods.Still the same 'Oh, 30 seconds until we fail? How can we win now?' and they do.I will be reading the rest of the series, because the good thing is that as usual Rick Riordan keeps his surprises and twists perfectly in check. I do not expect to be impressed.

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This is the first book in the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan. This series is set to be a trilogy; with the next book released in 2011 and the final book released in 2012. I absolutely loved Riordan's series Percy Jackson and the Olympians; so I was excited to read this one. I actually listened to this on audio book so I have a couple of comments about that in the paragraph below (skip this if you have it in paper format). This was a great book and I think fans of Percy Jackson will find a lot to like here.

The audio book was interesting. They had two readers one who read Carter's part and one who read Sadie's part. The person who read Carter's part sounded almost exactly like Percy Jackson. The person who read Sadie's part tended to sound a bit shrill at points in the book. Overall the audio was well done but the shrillness of the girl's voice got to be a bit much at times.

The story involves two of the Kane siblings, Carter and Sadie. They are the children of Julius Kane and have been raised separate for most of their lives because of a legal battle that Julius lost after his wife died (Carter and Sadie's mom). In this book they are drawn into a scheme by their father involving the Rosetta Stone and a number of Egyptian gods. Things go horribly wrong though and when their Uncle Amos comes to rescue them; Carter and Sadie are drawn into a world of Egyptian Gods and Magicians that is more dangerous than anything they have ever encountered. Will they be able to save their father? Will they be able to save the world?

If you liked the Percy Jackson series you will like this book. Riordan does an excellent job of creating believable characters that are easy to relate too. Carter and Sadie are just your every day kids but with a twist. Riordan manages to add history and depth to all of the characters. My favorite part about Riordan's writing is his ability to inject humor into his stories no matter how crazy the adventure and danger gets.

Carter is the more serious character in this story and Sadie is the one that is spunky with a lot of sarcasm. Between Sadie and Sadie's protector (the Goddess of Cats, Bast) you get a lot of laughs throughout this book. The pace was great; the characters are thrust from one adventure to the next and you are constantly on the edge of your seat wondering what will be thrown at them next.

Of course there is a lot of Egyptian mythology in here and Riordan has again done his homework. I don't know as much about Egyptian mythology as Greek mythology; but what I do know coincided with the facts Riordan presents and there was a lot for me to learn too!

My only complaint with this book is that well...it is definitely a Riordan book. It echoes a lot of the same themes and feelings that we saw in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. You have all the dealing with Gods, the kids missing parental figures, and kids dealing with budding power. The writing style is nearly identical and Riordan is absolutely writing for the same audience he was writing for in his Percy Jackson series. Don't get me wrong most of the book is very unique and different; but I couldn't help feeling like some of this ground was covered in Percy Jackson. Comparison to the Percy Jackson series is inevitable, and while I loved that series, I was hoping that Riordan's next series would be something super special. And The Red Pyramid is entertaining and special, just not all that different from what we've read before.

Overall this is a great read. If you liked the Percy Jackson series you will enjoy this one. It took me a bit to get into the story but I imagine as the series develops I will get very attached to these characters, just like I got attached to the ones in the Percy Jackson series. If you are interested in reading more great books about Egyptian mythology check out the Theodosia books by R.L. LaFevers.

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