The Kane Chronicles, Book One: The Red Pyramid

****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 This novel is action packed, full of historical references, and is told alternately by Sadie and Carter themselves.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.

They came great and fast

Because I so thoroughly enjoyed Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (first book: The Lightning Thief ), I was happy to see a new series from him coming so soon after The Last Olympian . Riordan is smart enough not to mess too much with success - The Kane Chronicles also deals with ancient gods - this time Egyptian - and kids with newly discovered special powers. Luckily, he is also talented enough to keep this, the first of a planned trilogy, from seeming like a carbon copy of the characters and adventures found in the Percy Jackson series. Sadie and Carter Kane are siblings who were separated quite young in life after the death of their mother. (Aside: I loved that their father is African American and their mother Caucasian - I'm all for increasing cultural diversity in children's and YA books.) Carter traveled the world with his archeologist father while Sadie, his junior by two years, lived a more "normal" life in England with their grandparents. They only spend two days a year together with their father and it is on one of these occasions that we are dropped into their story. The action begins immediately with explosive displays of magic and the disappearance of their father. The siblings - whose powers are enhanced when they are together (which turns out to be one reason why they were raised separately) - begin making one startling discovery after another about themselves and their family and are set on course to rescue their father and (of course) to save the world from the evil forces their father unwittingly released from the Rosetta Stone. A variety of ancient Egyptian forces - both good and evil - appear to help or hinder them on their quest. Riordan has a gift for making his characters come to life and for making us care about them, a skill I enjoyed in the Percy Jackson books and again here. The Red Pyramid is told from both Sadie and Carter's POV, with each chapter narrated by one of the two. Their voices are somewhat similar, but distinctive enough to make this work and I enjoyed getting to know these two bright, brave and adaptable kids better through this device. The action is virtually non-stop and the 500+ pages seem to fly by. IMHO, the many characters and creatures will probably be enjoyed more by readers 10 years old and over than by those under 10, but, of course, parents should judge that for themselves. I found this a fast, fun read and am happy to recommend it. I hope that it will inspire kids to want to know more about ancient Egypt, one of the most fascinating civilizations our world has known and I would encourage parents to rent some kid-friendly documentaries about ancient Egypt once their children have finished The Red Pyramid. Readers who fall in love with this story and are intrigued by the Egyptian aspects of it may enjoy these other stories while waiting for the Kanes to return in book two: The Theodosia Throckmorton series consisting of Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos , Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris and Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus ; The Children of the Lamp series, which begins with The Akhenaten Adventure and The Pharaoh's Secret .

Delivery was very fast and efficient. My son needed this book to complete a series. He loves reading Riordans books. Book was intact, regular quality. Perfect for our needs.

If you loved Percy Jackson, I'm sure you will like this. Set in seemingly the same world as Percy is (there is a reference to different gods living on the other side of the river) this is the story of Sadie and Carter - brother and sister - who come to realise they are not just ordinary children, but are part of the ancient civilisation of Egypt - gods, magicians and all! Once again, there are thrills and spills, plot twists and lots of "he's the bad guy, no wait, HE'S the bad guy!". I had just come from reading one of my favourite sci-fi novels Dune and was thinking that a "kids" book would be a bit of a come down. Whilst not having the character depth and philosophy, it is nonetheless and great read for all ages. It has a touch of the Indiana Jones about it, whilst maintaining an originality that is rather rare in books nowadays. Don't make the mistake of thinking it's a book for kids, and don't be put off by the film of Percy Jackson. If you read this, you are in for a real treat!

quality!

Bei den "Kane Chronicles" geht es um die Familie Kane. Das sind 1Vater (Julius), der mit seinem Sohn (Carter) tag aus und tag ein auf Ausgrabungstour ist und weltweit nach ägyptischen Relikten sucht. Daneben gibt es noch die Tochter (Sadie) die nach dem Tod der Mutter bei Ihren Großeltern in England wohnt. Eines Tages ist es soweit, Julius zerstört bei einem "Familientreffen" ein altes ägyptisches Relikt, den Rosetta Stone, und die 5 stärksten ägyptischen Götter werden frei gelassen und suchen sich geeignete Körper, in denen sie als zweite Seele existieren ... das Abenteuer startet ab hier und führt den Leser durch eine sehr spannende Geschichte. 1 Gott baut sich eine rote Pyramide, die der Mittelpunkt seiner Weltmacht werden soll ... die anderen 4 versuchen ihn aufzuhalten. Sadie und Carter sind die Hauptdarsteller ergänzen sich super und werden von vielen interessanten Charakteren auf ihrem Abenteuer begleitet. Eine sehr altes Haus das "House of Life" ist gegen die Vereinigung von Mensch und Gott, viele weitere Götter tauchen in der Geschichte auf , es gibt viel Misstrauen, Hoffnung, Mut und die Stärke des Zusammenhalts. Klingt irgenwie seltsam, aber ich weiss es nicht anders zu beschreiben ;-) Der Schreibstil ist sehr angenehm, Sadie und Carter wechseln sich ab und erzählen die Geschichte aus Ihrer Sicht - in ihrem eigenen Stil und aus eigenen Gesichtspunkten. Es macht viel Spass dem Geschehen zu folgen! Das Buch ist nach den griechischen Göttern (in Percy Jackson) eine richtig tolle neue Buchserie von Rick Riordan. Daumen hoch dafür, es ist nicht einfach mit einer weiteren Serie den Leser wieder so zu begeistern - aber der Autor hat es geschafft :-) 5 Sterne von mir, sehr empfehlenswert ab 12 Jahre, das Englisch ist nicht ganz so einfach, Grundkenntnisse sind mindestens erforderlich.

Good