The Red Pyramid: The Kane Chronicles, Book 1

****This review contains some spoilers****This trilogy begins with The Red Pyramid. The main characters, Carter and Sadie Kane are brother and sister, but have not been raised in the traditional sense. Since the death of their mother, Sadie has been living with her grandparents, her mother’s parents, in London, attending traditional schools and living a normal life. Carter has been home-schooled and traveling the world with their father, Dr. Julius Kane, a famed Egyptologist. Twice a year, Dr. Kane is allowed to visit with Sadie in London. This is where our story begins. The Kane family is bi-racial. Dr. Kane is African-American, while his deceased wife was British Caucasian. According to the descriptions given in the book, Sadie resembles their mother, while Carter resembles their father. This causes people to have a hard time believing they are brother and sister, especially since they only spend 2 days a year together. It likely doesn’t help that Sadie, being raised in London, speaks with a British accent and uses British slang quite frequently.Dr. Kane tells the children that he has a special visit planned to the British Museum, a research experiment that will set things right for their family. He blames himself for the death of their mother, and the children wonder if this “experiment” has something to do with this. Things go horribly wrong, however, and instead of fixing things, Dr. Kane ends up unleashing the Egyptian god Set, who immediately banishes him into oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives. Not long after, Sadie and Carter learn that the Egyptian gods are awakening, and the most evil of them, Set, has his sights on the Kanes. In order to stop him, the children must embark on a journey unlike they’ve ever experienced. They learn that their family’s history is not what it seems, and that their family has a link to a secret society tied closely to the pharaoh’s of Egypt.This novel is action packed, full of historical references, and is told alternately by Sadie and Carter themselves. Mr. Riordan writes it as if he has been sent a cassette tape by Sadie and Carter, and is just transcribing their words. He even goes so far as to write an afterword, in his own voice, explaining that he has done some research on his own, and that based on what he’s found, it appears that the children are telling the truth. It’s an interesting way to present the events in the book and I personally found it to be endearing. I can imagine that it would draw in younger readers, who the books are marketed to, even further. I read the Kindle edition, but just for information purposes, the paperback version is 192 pages. I have always been intrigued by Egyptian mythology, which is what initially drew me to this series. I had already completed the Percy Jackson series, also by Mr. Riordan, which I loved, but was a bit hesitant to read this one due to the lower reading age, simply because I feared it would not hold my interest. I am glad that I decided to go forward with it anyway. I could not have been more wrong in my thinking. Mr. Riordan’s writing will captivate readers of all ages. He gives a voice to each character that any reader will find something in that makes you want to keep reading. For me especially, it was Sadie. She’s only 12 years old, but she tries so hard to be much older, snarky, and in charge. I was very similar at her age, so I found myself connecting with her character almost immediately. With Carter, it’s his innocence. He has been a world traveler his entire life, yet, he has also been sheltered. As a parent, I just wanted to keep him safe. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about mythology, action, and adventure. If you’ve read the Percy Jackson series or Heroes of Olympus series, I think you would enjoy this book and the subsequent two as well.

I love reading Rick Riordan books about mythology so I decided to try Egyptology and found the story interesting! I hope you enjoy it too.

Love the book

Rick Riodan (RR) is one of the few M.G. authors I read, I mean I’m in my 30s so usually a M.G. book isn’t going to hold my attention but RR is one of the few authors who can pull it off and does it well at that. What makes him special???? Well there are a few things that I really like about his writing.① - He writes teens like teens. They aren’t 12-16 year olds who act like they are in their 30s they are kids, behaving like kids. Carter and Sadie argue like real siblings would and I totally enjoyed their interactions and teasing of each other.② - Action….Action….Action. Seriously there is always something happening. The stories move along quickly with chases, fights and discovery scenes everywhere. There are lots of clues along the way and some of them can be misleading until you get to the big picture of it all.③ - The mythology used is fantastic and so well thought out. I love RR’s interpretation of the Egyptian gods, magic and lore. There is a new interesting interpretation of them and how they interact with the world. It is new and exciting and I really loved how it was all shown and explained.④ - The magic and world building. I get so upset when reading a book and not understanding how powers work. I don’t care if it takes a little while to roll it out but I NEED to understand it. I want to feel like if I lived in this world I too could do magic. I’m still convinced I would have done as well as Hermione at Hogwarts if I got an invitation. So I appreciate it when authors incorporate learning how to use the magic in their story. After this book I was sure I could do the magic of this world if I was in it.⑤ - Interesting cohesive story and plotting that lend to a bang up conclusion. RR totally has a good voice and knows where his story is going. I never feel at the end that he has just thrown something in at last minute to fix everything. It is a fantastic trait to have in a story teller.There are a ton of reviews on this so I’ll just say Sadie and Carter were separated and raised apart after the death of their mother six years ago. But now through a series of events they are thrown together and must find a way to work with one another to save their father. With the help of a few unusual friends they must find ways to unlock the Power of the Gods (Egyptian ones) within themselves and try to save the world. Easy peasy….if they can quit squabbling long enough.If you add a few Gods, an albino crocodile, a cat named muffin, some spunky clay creations, a secret magical society and an orangutan with some special dietary needs together and shake you come up with one hell of a good time.I liked the Percy Jackson stories just a tad better but if you like mythology then this could be a great time for you too.

Very good and reliable.

If you want to read an English book and English is not your native language, I strongly believe this is the right book to be read! In addition, if you want improve more and more your English, buy also the CD with the audio tracks of each chapter.Mystery, suspense and curiosity merge together to involve you to read all pages of this book.

quality!

Liked it because of the twists and turns the start could be alittle clearer though but over all good book

Enjoyed all the way to last book