Title: The Red PyramidAuthor: Rick Riordan
Genre: Young Adult, Juvenile Fiction, Ancient Egypt, Magic and Adventure
Publication: May 4th 2012, Hyperion Books for Children
Pages: 516 pages
Source: My Own
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.* Blurb from Goodreads
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.
I'm a huge fan of Rick Riordan's novels. Percy Jackson was genius, pure genius. That series gets five cupcakes. An action-packed series with interesting, independent characters and terrifying monsters, oh yes...and Greek gods. So when I found about the new series of Kane Chronicles I was super excited. Another thrilling adventure series by one of my favourite authors and this time? It involved the Egyptian gods. Well lets just say, it did not disappoint. Here is exactly why you should read this book!
The storyline was really enjoyable. There were quite a few twists and turns which had me shivering with excitement as to what they would lead to. Whenever I picked up The Red Pyramid to continue reading, I was immediately immersed in the story. The characters were so witty in their sayings and they made the plot a whole lot more delightful.
The Red Pyramid has got a lot of pages, and sometimes I thought it was dragging on a little bit longer than necessary, but the flow of the story kept me interested and amused and I was within in a couple of minutes I was gladly devouring the pages again.
The one aspect of the Red Pyramid that I LOVED...were the characters. To me, one of the most important ingredients to creating a delicious novel is the characters. Rick Riordan did a fantabulistic job of writing about realistic characters. Sadie and Carter were your typical teenage siblings, in the beginning they couldn't stick each other, but as you read the book, they really mature and realise exactly what and who is important in their lives. It was really sweet seeing their sibling bond grow.
What I also loved about Sadie and Carter Kane, is that they really matured throughout the book. They learnt about how to work together, they became wise and realised what was the most correct way to solve a situation they were in. They also learnt more about each other.
First of all, I love a strong, independent female lead and Sadie definitely lived up to that. In the beginning I wasn't too sure about her, I thought she would be a tough person who was self-centred. I was SO wrong, she is a spunky, feisty character, who remains calm in the most dire of situations. She was an excellent sister to Carter. But from the beginning she would be sarcastic and tease him, and even though they bonded excellently, she still teased him here and there, which I enjoyed as they weren't a soppy brother and sister, they were still the same old Sadie and Carter.
I also really liked Carter, at first I thought of him as a bit of a goody-two-shoes, weak character, but throughout the novel he really surprised me. He was actually brave and strong and he would give up his life for those he loved. The sweet, innocent, young romance between him and Zia was also heart-warming and I hope that in the next two books their romance will commence.Carter and Sadie were two dauntless characters, that I really enjoyed reading about.
The Red Pyramid is a definite must. It is not only an interesting read for those who are fascinated by Egyptian mythology, but would also appeal to any child/teenager that enjoys an action-packed adventure and who has enjoyed the Percy Jackson series. It was a really entertaining novel that had hidden depths to it. A story of family bonding, decision making and a bit of loss. The ending was beautiful and it was an immensely good read.
I give it: 5/5 CUPCAKES!
