The Throne of Fire

    Rick Riordan has again outdone himself with this addition to the Kane Chronicles, The Throne of Fire. After reading the first book I wasn't sure he would be able to pull off a book as good as the first, but he definitely proved me wrong. This fiction and action-packed book left me wanting more after every chapter. This is a sequel as I mentioned before and you will definitely need to read the first book to understand this one. This book is about a brother and sister named Carter and Sadie Kane who are very powerful Egyptian magicians. They work together to fight the forces of Chaos and have to do a lot of it on their own. It is definitely a very fun and exciting book!

    As I said before, Carter and Sadie are young Egyptian magicians who study their magic at their uncle's home. Being blood of the Pharaohs, Sadie and Carter are very powerful but because of that power they are often in extreme danger. Carter receives a vision that the world will be destroyed in just 4 days because the overall master of Chaos Apophis is rising. If Carter and Sadie can't awaken the long rested king of the gods Ra soon, the entire world will be destroyed by the evil serpent Apophis and his forces of Chaos. 

    Carter and Sadie are challenged with this very dangerous quest and accept it knowing that they could easily die and fail. In order to awaken Ra they must first find the heavily protected sections of the Book of Ra. Without much knowledge on where to find the sections, Carter and Sadie travel with a new friend named Bes. Bes is the god of dwarfs and helps Carter and Sadie on their quest and he helps them search for the sections of the Book of Ra. Throughout the quest the Kanes are tested and pushed to their limits. They battle demons and even gods who side with the forces of chaos. Carter and Sadie face some of their hardest challenges, and it definitely makes this book very intriguing. 

    This book is definitely one of the most interesting books I've read. Learning about the Egyptian mythology and the many different things their culture had is one of my favorite parts about reading this series. I love how Riordan uses real events that have happened on this earth and has given reasons of how magic forces caused them and that what we think is completely wrong. That great imagination is really one of the reasons I think I like this book so much. It is very entertaining and the humor that Riordan adds just makes the book that much better. 

    I seriously enjoyed reading this book and it was very entertaining. The great mythology and crazy magic is such an interesting thing and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun book to read. Just remember to read the first book in the series before you read this one!

    

The Red Pyramid

    The amazing author Rick Riordan has created another wonderful series and he's kicked it off with The Red Pyramid. This fiction adventure book does an amazing job of explaining egyptian mythology and adding a twist to it. This series, The Kane Chronicles is told from the point of view of two siblings who haven't even realized how special they are, and this book takes you on the very beginning of their awesome journey.
    The story starts off from the point of view of Carter Kane, a 14 year old teenage boy who has traveled the world with his dad who's an archeologist. Sadie, Carter's 12 year old sister who has lived with her grandparents because her mother is dead, gets to see Carter and her dad twice every year. On the day that this story starts, it is one of these days where there family gets to spend some time together. What Sadie and Carter think is just another visit to a stupid museum is really where there entire journey begins...
    At the museum Carter and Sadie realize that this trip is not what they thought it was going to be. First of all, their dad tells them to lock up the museum owner, and then when they return to their father he is chanting something and blue heiroglyphs are floating around him, illuminating the room with blue light. After several minutes of this, the artifact which their dad is holding causes an enormous explosion, and when Carter and Sadie wake up, a flaming red creature is speaking to their dad. In the moments that follow, their dad ends up being captured by this creature and Carter and Sadie are knocked unconscious. When they wake up they are in their grandparents home and they are visited by a mysterious man named Amos.
    Amos turns out to be Carter and Sadie's uncle, and he informs them that they are in grave danger.     Amos says he can help protect them, and Sadie and Carter end up going to live with him. At their new home, Sadie and Carter learn that they have magical abilities and that they are related to phaoros of ancient times. They discover that they have very powerful abilities, and that they must use them to defeat the evil god Set, the god that captured their father and that plans to destroy the world. As they train for a very short amount of time, they realize that they're even more powerful than they thought and they are in serious danger. Their journey is quite incredible, and to defeat Set they have to make great sacrifices.
    I found this book to be very intriguing and also very exciting. I very much enjoyed learning about egyptian mythology and the different aspects of it. I found that when reading this book, I just didn't want to put it down, and the hilarious chapter titles make you want to keep going forever. I liked the way the author added the little bits of teasing and joking between Carter and Sadie that regular siblings experience. It really helped me connect to the book better, because I too know what that relationship is like.
    All in all, this book was very good. I didn't ever find myself bored and like I said before, I just didn't want to put it down. I would suggest that even before you read this book, you study a little bit of egyptian mythology and try to gain a better understanding of it. I know that I would've really liked a little background knowledge before I started, but obviously it isn't needed. I would suggest this book to anyone who's looking for a good read, or even wants to learn more about egyptian mythology. I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

The Red Pyramid

    The Red Pyramid is an interesting novel written by Rick Riordan that will keep readers from taking their eyes off of it's pages.  This book starts out introducing the main characters, Carter and Sadie, who are brother and sister.  In the beginning of the book, Carter and Sadie go with their dad to the British Museum for Sadie's birthday.  While at the museum their dad begins to act strangley.  Then suddenly, he makes Sadie and Carter lock the museum employees in an office.  There is a big explosion and a flash of light that causes Sadie and Carter to go unconscious.  This is where the adventure begins.

 
    Sadie and Carter finally wake up after the explosion.  Their dad is missing and they notice two mysterious people with long dark cloaks talking to each other.  They blackout again only to wake up in the demolished museum for the second time.  Now with their dad missing and their mother already dead they end up living with their uncle Amos.  While at Amos' house they find out that they come from great Egyptian ancestors.  They also figure out that they are sorcerers and that their parents unleashed Egyptian gods.  One of those gods named Set plans to destroy North America.  Sadie and Carter are the only ones who can stop him.

  This was a great book that really got my interest.  When I first saw how long this book was I didn't think I could finish it, but with all the entertainment it brings it was not so difficult.  I don't know if the Egyptian gods and myths in this book are true, but they are fascinating.  Rick Riordan is also the writer of the famous Percy Jackson series.  If you like Percy Jackson, you will definitely like this book.  Although, the Percy Jackson books are fascinating as well, they didn't catch my attention like this one did.  I also liked it because he chose to have a brother and a sister working together.  I think this was a well written book that was meant to entertain and inform on Egyptian Mythology.  

  In conclusion, I think this is a great book for many young adults who like mythology and for those who aren't great readers.  This book might seem long, but once you start you'll never put it down and you will fly right through it.

 
 

    

The Red Pyramid By Rick Riordan

First things first, Rick Riordan is the author of the Percy Jackson series BUT this book has nothing to do with that series at all. Instead of ancient greek mythology this is egyptian mythology. Also if you aren't really familiar with egyptian mythology you might want to study up on it or you might get bored or confused with this book. It explains most things but you would be able to understan it sooo much better if you knew your egyptian mythology. It is also kind of cool how the author wrote it. Two people tell the story about themselves and switch off but start from where the other person ended.

Ok so the two main characters in this book are Carter and Sadie Kane (brother and sister). Carter is 14 and lives and travels the world with his dad. His dad is a brilliant egyptologist and his job requires him to travel the world. Their mom died when he was only eight years old and he and so they were separated. Carter went to live with his dad while Sadie, who is 12 unfortunately had to live with their grandparents in London. Sadie and Carter are only allowed to, see each other twice a year. Once in the Summer and once in the Winter. So as the winter day arrives their father takes them both to a museum in London and doesn't let them know why they are going there (usually they do some super cool thing because they only have one day together). Anyway so they arrive at the museum and their dad is acting like somebody is following them. So they get in the museum and their dad goes and takes the Rosetta Stone (a stone that is supposed to be like the stone of languages). Carter and Sadie are very surprised and don't know why their dad just took the Rosetta Stone from the display case. Just imagine if your dad did that. So anyway all of the sudden he starts to summon some egyptian gods which is very forbidden within the people who know egyptian mythology is "true". Then all of a sudden one god appears and puts their dad in a coffin (he isn't dead by the way) and pulls him underneath the ground with himself.

Carter and Sadie don't know what just happened because they tried to stop him but were knocked out. As they wake up they find themselves in the museum office and are eventually taken to Sadie's house. They really think their dad is dead and that is the closest family member they had. They will do anything and I really mean anything to get him back...

I really thought this book was pretty good. It is kind of cool to imagine Egyptian mythology is real. It also would be very weird to have it be real. Also this is one of those books that really follow the Heroes Journey. I noticed that it was the heroes journey right after I read the second page. I still think it was an ok book. It was pretty slow and confusing in the first five to ten chapters. I don't think this is a "must read" but I do think it is a "should" read. Also I wish they changed they beggining because I wish Rick Riordan wouldn't have let the Dad "disappear" in the beggining because the kids didn't know what was going on and they didn't know who their dad really was. It could've been a lot better of a book. B+

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

"The Red Pyramid" is the first book of The Kane Chronicles and a non-fiction book by the famous Rick Riordan. This is a book about a brother and sister, Carter and Sadie, who eventually figure out that they are supposed to save the world. Carter and Sadie aren't like any ordinary brother and sister, they only get to see each other once every six months. Then on one of their visitations their father, Julius Kane, releases all five gods which are: Osiris, god of the living, Isis, goddess of magic, Horus, god of kings and the sky, Nephthys, goddess of lamentation, and Set, god of chaos and destruction. Though saving the world isn't hard enough, the only way is by defeating Set, the god of chaos and destruction.

On their journey they discover that their trapped father and deceased mother were Egyptian magicians. Also that they(Carter and Sadie Kane) have the ability to cast spells to do extraordinary things. Luckily Carter and Sadie also discover that they are descendants of pharaohs Narmer and Ramesses the Great and that they are hosting gods.(Which means that they have been chosen by the god to be their mortal body.) BIG SURPRISE!!!

I enjoyed reading this book and eventually loved it by the end. This book is unique because you have to keep reading for new information based on Egyptian myths and legends. This is a very exiting book that makes you wonder what will happen next. I don't really agree with all of the author's ideas, but you have to give him a little slack because at the beginning of the book it clearly states that the book was written from an audio recording.(Yes, I know, confusing.)

One of the main issues that the book brings up is would you rather save the world or a family member. I knew that the obvious answer would be the world but why. Why is the obvious answer the world? This book really showed me why the world would be the obvious reason by telling me even though you love that family member you have to save those innocent lives along with the one that you especially hate. This showed me that the obvious decision isn't all that easy.

Thoth, the god if knowledge said," Gods cannot live without the world and the world cannot live without the gods. We all have to live in harmony to make the world survive."

When you read this book, I strongly recommend that you pay real close attention to everything you read because it all comes into play.

The Throne of Fire

For the eighth time in a row, Rick Riordan has scored a success! The Throne of Fire is truly an amazing book. Just like the first book in the Kane Chronicles, The Throne of Fire is Egyptian mythology, fiction, adventure and this time around he even threw in a little bit of romance. The theme really shines a great message about friendship. However, if you want to have any connection to the characters, or if you want to understand the plot completely then you need to have read the first book The Red Pyramid.

Sadie and Carter are young mentors trying to teach young magicians how to channel their magic through the Egyptian Gods. The only way for them to defeat the extreme lord of chaos, Apophis,was to bring back the god of the sun, Ra. In order to do that, they need to find three scrolls that would make up The Book of Ra. With that book Sadie could speak the spell to bring Ra back to existence. However, it was not so simple. Both Carter and Sadie had to go through detours and trials, but they had the aid of their friends, Walt, Bes, Bast, Amos, Zia, and all of their trainees along the way.

I LOVE this book, not only because it is adventurous and exciting but because it taught me a very good lesson. Through multiple examples in the book, I determined that good friends are very important because they are always there for you. The first example is from the very beginning of the book when they are trying to steal the first scroll. Even though there is an obvious threat in front of them, Jaz tries to heal Walt, and then Walt and Sadie try to help Jaz. It is because they care so much about each other that the other person's health comes first. Another episode of friendship comes when Sadie is with her mates Emma and Liz. Although they had never heard about any of this Egyptian god stuff they trusted Sadie whole-heartily and were willing to help. Because of this book, it has become very clear to me that we need to have and honor best friends who will help us or support us in all of our doings.

If you liked any of Rick Riordan's other books then you will for sure love this one. As the second book in a series it can be kind of hard to keep the energy in a story moving. However, this book is even better than the last one and is a must read. I read it in less than eight hours and I couldn't put it down. The characters and the plot are all so wonderful! I should be grateful to Rick for putting such a great new joy into my life.

Overall this is one of the best books I have ever read and I would strongly recommend it to anyone. (As long as they have read the first). And now I must hand the mic. to someone else.

The Red Pyramid

Rick Riordan introduces us to many of the mythological gods and goddesses. In the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, we meet the Greek gods. He later starts a sequel series, Heroes of Olympus, introducing us to Roman gods. In the first book of The Kane Chronicles, The Red Pyramid, we meet the Egyptian gods and goddesses. We get to find out what great of a mystery this book is. 

To start you off, Carter and Sadie are siblings, but they were separated six years ago when their mother died. They only get to see each other twice a year.  Carter stayed with his archaeologist dad, traveling all over the world. Meanwhile, Sadie has been living with her grandparents in London, going to school with friends and having a regular life...that is until her dad took her and Carter to the British Museum, exploded a part of the museum and released more than one god.  Now Sadie and Carter have to flee with their long lost uncle Amos where he takes them to Brooklyn, New York. 

As soon as Amos leaves, the house they're staying in is attacked and they're forced to escape with Bast, the goddess of cats (a.k.a. their cat, Muffin). Carter and Sadie soon find out that they are the most powerful magicians born in three-thousand years. Together they must fight to save Set, the god of evil, from destroying the world and to save their father. 

As they travel, they must confront other of the Egyptian gods and uncover their family secrets. There are many hard things they must accept, however, when they trust each other, they can overcome their problems...except when it comes to Carter liking a girl. That's when Carter can't trust Sadie. 


This book reminded me that my family should be really important to me. No, I'm not paranoid my parents will die, it's just always a good reminder that I have siblings to take care of, right? ;) I would agree with Bruce Handy from NY Times when he says "fans young and old will eat this book up". I promise you that this book definitely won't be a waste of your time. I'm really exited to read the next book, The Throne of Fire!
Grade: A ;)

The Throne of Fire

Rick Riordan's The Throne of Fire is a great sequel to the Red Pyramid. The story continues to follow Egyptian mythology and it begins when Carter and Sadie Cane take us back in time. They explain that the world is about to end because Apophis, the god of Chaos, is about to escape from his prison and since they are magicians they must stop him from succeeding. To do this they must awaken Ra, the god of the sun, in five days or he will escape and the world will end. On this quest Sadie and Carter travel to London, Egypt, and New York. The whole way they kick gods' and monsters butts.

Throughout the book an underlying theme is evident. It is never doubt yourself. For example Sadie, while trying to open a hidden door, starts to get discouraged and starts thinking that she won't accomplish anything. Because of this she wasn't able to do anything for about an hour. This of course wasted a huge amount of time and when you only have five days to rescue the world from complete obliteration you can't waste any time.

This book is especially for those that enjoy adventurous books, but I would recommend reading the first book in this series. It was a great book so I would give it an A. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this book.