As Carter and Sadie discover, not only do they have royal blood in their veins but, after Julius's misstep, they have been possessed by the gods Horus and Isis, respectively. The three stop off at the British Museum where Julius has an appointment to view the original Rosetta Stone (a fake one, we learn, is sometimes on display) and things go horribly wrong. When The Red Pyramid begins, Julius and Carter are headed for their annual day with Sadie, now twelve, who has lived with her maternal grandparents in England for the last six years. In doing so, he also added a layer to the character of Carter, who dresses like a little professor, always cautious of his appearance and the impressions he makes as a young black teen. I mention this because I think Riordan has taken a great step here, creating main characters who are of mixed race. The narration begins with fourteen year old Carter Kane, the son of Julius Kane, a preeminent Egyptologist who is black, and Ruby Faust, an anthropologist specializing in ancient DNA, who is white. The Red Pyramid is presented as a transcript of an audio recording made by the siblings, each taking turns narrating the chapters. However, there is no denying that Riordan is a talented, masterful, if formulaic, writer who has given a gift to young readers by awakening their interests in mythology and folklore with his fast paced, richly detailed stories. The myths, gods and goddesses themselves, which are succinctly detailed in The Kane Chronicles Survival Guide, a heavily, nicely illustrated little book that has the look and feel of a special, semi-secret academic work crossed with one of Candlewick Press's Ology books (and on Riordan's website), are packed densely into The Red Pyramid and difficult at times to keep straight, making them feel more vital to the scenery of the story rather than the plot itself. Also, I found Riordan's use of Egyptian mythology, while mostly on point (I researched it on my own, curious about the actual myths and Riordan's manipulation of them) almost too much at times. While I was fascinated by the mythology and interested in the main characters, siblings separated some six years earlier after the death of their mother, I found the same frustrations arising midway through the book and the non-stop odyssey to save the world before it was destined to end - in five days.
#Kane chronicles books by rick riordan series
However, I wanted to give Riordan's books a second chance and it was with excitement and an open mind, I began The Red Pyramid, the first book in the Kane Chronicles, a series built around Egyptian mythology. I was just whelmed (is that actually a word?) with The Lightning Thief, excited by the use of Greek mythology in the plot, but put off by the non-stop action and short-hand character development in the story. Interestingly, and based on a completely unscientific survey, I have found that many kids who love Riordan's books do not embrace Rolwing's, although I have not found the sentiment to work in the opposite direction - except with me. The books of Rick Riordan do not need my, or anybody's, publicity as, like Harry Potter, they are already incredibly popular and entrenched in lives of almost all young (and many older) fervent readers of fantasy. This review of The Red Pyramid is really an academic practice on my part.
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