Helpful Score: 1
This is the first book in the Kane Chronicles, Rick Riordan's latest series to blend mythology with the modern world. In this case, Riordan focuses on Egyptian mythology instead of Greek mythology. the two protagonists are Sadie and Carter Kane, the children of a world renowned Egyptologist. Separated from each other after the death of their mother, Carter has spent the past six years traveling the world with his father, while Sadie has lived with her maternal grandparents in England after they gained custody of her. During a Christmas Eve visit, their father takes them to the British Museum, promising to "make things right." He then summons the Egyptian gods, is kidnapped by one of the gods, and leaves Sadie and Carter to learn about their family's true heritage alone. Sadie and Carter must find a way to save their father from Set- a god consumed with creating chaos, avoid being hunted by the magicians of the House of Life, and learn how to use their new-found magical abilities.
I really enjoyed this book. If the rest of the series lives up the this book, I can easily see myself liking this series better than the Percy Jackson series. I enjoyed how the narrator switched between Sadie and Carter every two chapters, giving the reader a different perspective as to what was happening. I was also intrigued with how Riordan include Sadie and Carter as characters with mixed heritage (white mother and black father) and how Carter's darker skin and Sadie's lighter skin often caused people to not view them as family. I'm sure this will resonate with some younger readers, giving them cool new literary heroes to identify with. However, this was also a sad reminder that racism still exists in our world today, even if it's not very overt. Additionally, I can see how this series could be a bit frustrating for someone who has no knowledge of Egyptian mythology (I was a history major, so I knew the names at least and that helped), but it's also a cool introduction to the stories of Egypt since most people are probably less familiar with this than they were with Greek mythology in the previous series. All-in-all, I can't wait to see what happens next with the Kanes!
I really enjoyed this book. If the rest of the series lives up the this book, I can easily see myself liking this series better than the Percy Jackson series. I enjoyed how the narrator switched between Sadie and Carter every two chapters, giving the reader a different perspective as to what was happening. I was also intrigued with how Riordan include Sadie and Carter as characters with mixed heritage (white mother and black father) and how Carter's darker skin and Sadie's lighter skin often caused people to not view them as family. I'm sure this will resonate with some younger readers, giving them cool new literary heroes to identify with. However, this was also a sad reminder that racism still exists in our world today, even if it's not very overt. Additionally, I can see how this series could be a bit frustrating for someone who has no knowledge of Egyptian mythology (I was a history major, so I knew the names at least and that helped), but it's also a cool introduction to the stories of Egypt since most people are probably less familiar with this than they were with Greek mythology in the previous series. All-in-all, I can't wait to see what happens next with the Kanes!
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