The first of a planned series called “The Kane Chronicles,” Rick Riordan’s latest novel The Red Pyramid puts a spotlight on ancient Egypt in much the same way he wove Greek mythology into the “Percy Jackson” series.
Also similar is his formula including children suddenly discovering god-like powers, a missing parent who needs to be saved, a battle against evil forces that want to end the world, and a mission that must be completed by a specific deadline.
Riordan tells his story through two narrators — mixed-race siblings Carter and Sadie Kane. The two alternate detailing what happened after their father, Julius Kane, blew up the Rosetta Stone and unleashed five Egyptian gods before disappearing himself.
As the story begins, 14-year-old Carter and 12-year-old Sadie hardly know each other. Since their mother’s unexplained death several years ago, Sadie’s been living with grandparents in England while Carter has traveled the world with his father, an archaeologist.
The text is presented as the transcript of an audio recording done by both children, alternating every two chapters between character perspectives. Early on, Sadie uses her British accent heavily, but as the book progressed it almost completely was lost and it became difficult to differentiate between the two voices.
As the story unfolds, Carter and Sadie discover the secrets of their family heritage and their ability to work magic as they realize that their task will be to save humanity from Set, who is building a destructive red pyramid at Camelback Mountain in Phoenix.
Sadie, it turns out, is a godling for Isis; the goddess of fertility, who is on a quest to locate the god of the lower world, Osiris. Carter is Horus, the son of Osiris, who has to defeat Set, the god who is imprisoning his dad.
Riordan does a masterful job concocting an explanation of why Pharaoh’s in history would have considered themselves actual gods and legitimizing the historical context with scenes readers may be familiar with like Moses showdown in Egypt.
Riordan again does a great job of pulling ancient mythology into the modern world. He really grounds his story and makes it believable. By the end of the book the characters are realistic and engaging and the reader is eagerly anticipating the next adventure.
Riordan is proposing the Kane Chronicles will be at least a trilogy and he’s also working on a second five-book series, this one featuring a mainstay of the Percy series, Camp Half-Blood. The first book will be published in October.
GENRE: Fantasy
Link here to read the first chapter of The Red Pyramid
