The Throne of Fire

 The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan is the second book in The Kane Chronicles.

"Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven't given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians.

"And now their most threatening enemy yet - the chaos snake Apophis - is rising. If they don't prevent him from breaking free in a few days' time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it's a typical week for the Kane family.

"To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished.

"First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly?"

General Thoughts: Much of the Kane Chronicles seems to mesh in my head. Aside from a few characters, it's hard to remember what happens in which book. While they are good and interesting books, there are times when I simply forgot what happened. The big shining moment in this book is Bes. He was a fun God to have around to help the Kane's out. 

<<Spoilers Ahead>>

Plot: As said above, it is kind of hard to remember what happens between this book and the next book in the series. They both seem like they are trying to do the same thing. (It was a year ago when I read this one, so forgive me.) They are supposed to find Ra in order to save the day along with their new initiates that have appeared at the Brooklyn House. Romance is "not" happening all around; "It's Complicated" seems to be on everyone's boards. But they are all trying, with much difficulty, to keep the world together. 

Setting: The most memorable setting here was the River of Death, don't quote me on the name. We spent a good portion of the time traversing it to get to Ra at his Senior Living Center in the land of the dead. But they had to fight through monsters, make deals (which were really sad), visit family and potential boyfriends, find Ra, and get back to the land of the living all without really dying. The rising action on the River was really cool. It set us in the mood for what was going on and was well done. 

Characters: Sadie and Carter are not my favorite. Even many of the side characters at the Brooklyn House were "okay" but not favorites. Had potential for coolness, but none of them had the best amount of screen time. For some, it felt as if Rick Riordan maybe was trying too hard and they didn't quite sit right with me. Bes is the favorite here. He's got a great back story and we really feel for him and all he's giving up, even his romance with a hippo was really sweet in a "ah, he doesn't know what to do" kind of way. I also like Anubis and his abilities to morph between the land of the living and the land of the dead is pretty cool. 

Spicy: 2/5 Spicy Chilis. I think there might be a kiss, at least on Sadie's side. Hard flirting, but most of the time it goes poorly, which makes it funny. How I don't miss being a teenager. 

Writing Style: This series isn't as humorous as other series Rick Riordan has written, but it was well enough done. I do wish I card for Sadie and Carter more. I don't know why I didn't as much, but I just didn't care. Bes was sweet and my son and I both enjoyed him as a character. The technical writing was bad, but I don't remember anything exceptional about it either. 

Overall: This series is one that it'll take me a minute to get back to reread. There are some good things, like Bes obviously and Anubis is a fun character, but there isn't anything particularly spectacular about these books in particular. Which makes me kind of sad. 

The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan is the first in his Red Pyramid series based on Egyptian Mythology. 

"Since his mother's death six years ago, Carter Kane has been living out of a suitcase, traveling the globe with his father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. But while Carter's been homeschooled, his younger sister, Sadie, has been living with their grandparents in London. Sadie has just what Carter wants—school friends and a chance at a "normal" life. But Carter has just what Sadie longs for—time with their father. After six years of living apart, the siblings have almost nothing in common. Until now.

"On Christmas Eve, Sadie and Carter are reunited when their father brings them to the British Museum, with a promise that he's going to "make things right." But all does not go according to plan: Carter and Sadie watch as Julius summons a mysterious figure, who quickly banishes their father and causes a fiery explosion.

"Soon Carter and Sadie discover that the gods of Ancient Egypt are waking, and the worst of them—Set—has a frightening scheme. To save their father, they must embark on a dangerous journey—a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and its links to the House of Life, a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs."

General Thoughts: I thought I knew a bit about Egyptian Mythology, but apparently not as much as I could. Some of it got to be a little jarring at times, but Rick Riordan is pretty good at walking us through and giving the reader hints of things if we forgot them. I appreciate him for that. It's a decent book, but not high favorite. I'd probably read it again, though it would be farther in the future. I did really like Bast though, she's pretty cool. 

<<Spoilers Ahead>>

Plot: I feel like there is a lot going on. Sadie and Carter end up jumping all over the world trying to find safe places from the BBEG and things that will help the out on their journey to stop said BBEG. I like the idea that they both get powers from Horus or Isis and that they can do amazing things with them, but they Mary-Sue-d their way through some of the important moments. 

Setting: They are all over the place, in many different cities, but I did enjoy it when they were in Giza (I think) in the secret base. The Hall with the timeline in it was really interesting and a really cool idea. He does tend to have great visuals. 

Characters: I really liked Bast. She was fun and really helped the kids out. Sadie and Carter were alight, but neither of them really resonated with me, which is sad because they are the main characters. The few others that I remember were alright but not as noteworthy as they could have been, at least from reading it a year ago. 

Spice: 1/5 Spicy Chilis. There was a little one sided flirting going on, but I don't recall it lasting very long. 

Writing Style: Rick Riodan has a pretty humorous writing style. I enjoy the puns and the way he tells a story. Carter is more serious than Percy is, but that's alright. In order to smoothly transition between Sadie and Carter's experience, Riordan set up the book like it was an audio recording, calling out all the other magicians that feel the Egyptian urge to go rampaging. It was kind of different, but not bad. 

Overall: There were some good moments that I remember, but a lot of it is a blur after a year. I maybe remember four scenes. It isn't a book that I'd want to read over and over again, but maybe somewhere in the future I'll return to it, and I think that's the case because I didn't care for our MC's as much as I could have. 

The Storm Runner

 Rick Riordan wanted more cultures to be represented in Percy Jackson like ways and got many other authors from different cultures to write about mythologies. This book, written by J.C. Cervantes, is a dive into Mayan Mythology. 

Zane is a kid who constantly got picked on because one of his legs was shorter than the other meaning he had a very dominate limp and was forced to walk with a cane. With his back yard in New Mexico being home to a volcano and walking around and on top of it all the time with his dog, he became pretty good at keeping his balance on uneven terrain. It was just about time to start at another school when things start to go loco. A girl that can shapeshift into a hawk appears and demons flying airplanes fly into the volcano. He finds out that practically all the people around him are keeping secrets from him and that they aren't who they appear. He isn't even who he thinks he is.  Zane discovers more about himself as he dives deeper into the mythology of his ancestors. Dealing with the God of Death and Darkness is no picnic either. 

This book felt very much like Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Full of snarky humor of a teenage boy, it was fun to get into Zane's head and discover more about Mayan culture as we understand it presently. There is so much that I didn't know about and it was fun to learn. The book was written well enough that it wasn't confusing for me an "unknowledgeable" person when it comes to this sphere. 

I enjoyed the characters. Zane's uncle was funny and wasn't "useless" like some characters have been in this type of series. Brooks was alright though not my favorite. There was so much "mystery" about her and it took her forever to explain so many things--she was needed to inform us as the reader and Zane as to what is up with the Mayan world. His Seer neighbor almost seemed unneeded, though I can potentially see her being potentially bad guy worthy later but probably not. I also found it nice that Zane's mom didn't just sit back and do nothing while Zane was off adventuring. She tried to help in as many ways as she limitedly could. 

It was good, though I think the concept of "not knowing who you can trust" when you find out that you can trust most everyone was kind of obnoxious. Unless it's foreshadowing for more books, I found it kind of unnecessary. I did like the fact that The Twins  that Zane has to ask for help from turned out the way they did--trying hard for no spoilers here. I also liked the lady who took over Shibalb; she has the potential to become a very fun character and I hope we get more of her as the series goes on.

Over all I enjoyed it. For those who get upset about "the dog dies" books, take a breath and keep reading. Much of the book aside from facing the God of Death is Zane trying to get his dog back. And as you can see from the next cover, he does. So it's okay, it just take a while for him to accomplish it. It's okay, don't stop reading. 

The Last Olympian

The final book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series made me cry. 

Percy is less than a week away from turning sixteen, when the Prophecy is supposed to take place and he has the fate of the work resting on a decision. What decision, he doesn't know. What he does know is that there is going to be a major battle for Olympus and the Gods aren't here because they are trying to defeat Typhon, another titan, who is marching his way across the United States. 

The ultimate Hero's Journey and it's a, in the words of my best friends, "constant fight scene." For those who like action and battles, this one is jam packed full of it. Percy must save New York City and the known world from Kronoss. What could be more "final battle" than that? Though it is well balanced between fighting and plot and character development.  We now get the final "fleshing out" of characters whom, I felt, needed a little love. 

It very much did make me cry. Half-bloods die--though I do wish we had gotten to know more of them throughout the series then these final stands with characters whose names we knew and characteristics we remembered would have been even more heart wrenching. 

I also like when Percy does get to New York and we get to meet Hestia. Our Last Olympian. Goddess of Hearth and Home. We're reminded that Home is where you make it. I loved that theme throughout the book. 

I also enjoyed the ending. Not only "boss fight" but the conclusion to it, and their attempts to make it so then circumstances don't happen again that could give Kronoss power of Half-bloods again and that everyone will be claimed so we don't have a packed Hermes cabin. 

It was a good story. My son cried so much when it was over and asked me if we could re-read the series right then and there. He very much enjoyed it too. 

The Battle of the Labyrinth

Book number four in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. 

The Titan Lord Kronoss' armies are gathering and doing so quickly. Camp Half-Blood knows that the enemy needs to take the camp before they can take over Olympus, and that they are one of the only defenses left. Their numbers are dwindling, however, and the Titan's army is coming for them. One of the Labyrinth entrances are found inside the camps boarders. If Luke and the army were to find their way through, the boundaries that protect the camp wouldn't keep them safe. With Annabeth leading the way on her first quest, Percy and his friends dive into the labyrinth to find Daedalus and ask for his help in stopping the Titan's army from  passing through it. They also must make it through themselves without dying from he many traps and monsters and gods that call the labyrinth home. 

Out of all of the other books so far, this one seems the most dark. There seems so much more at stake along with the fact that most of it takes place underground which gives it that foreboding atmosphere. I would have appreciated more lighthearted moments to break the ice, especially for the younger audiences who would be reading this book. It reminds me of Harry Potter in a sense, because as Percy gets older and there are more troubling things the aura of the book gets darker and it almost makes me hesitate to read on with my son as he has actually shed tears in this book for certain characters. 

I do like the characters. I've always liked the characters. I do wish that there was a bit more character development, other then we are now deeply troubled. Nico matures. Grove isn't the scared satyr that he was in the first book, he is now able to stand taller than he did. Percy and Annabeth, though, seem just as confused as they had in the last book. There didn't seem to be large enough steps forward for them as I would like. It is the fourth book and they will make major steps, hopefully, in the last one, but this one seemed to be missing that still. 

I liked the idea of the labyrinth and the flashbacks for Daedalus and King Minos. I liked Daedalus as a character and that he even grew over the course of time. The complication between King Minos, Nico, Daedalus, and the others was engaging and gave us a feel for what was really going on. I also liked that the labyrinth gave us a new realm to be in instead of the struggle of "How do we cross the entire country again?" We were able to cross it and get all over the place without us struggling so horribly with that question again--it can get old. 

I do think that the ending of the battle at the end was kind of a let down, though. Simple, I guess, but "the thing" happened then suddenly they ran for it. I wanted more. "The thing" seemed to come out of no where without any type of foreshadowing or letting us as the readers know that it was even a possibility. It felt as though it were coming out of nowhere and then it worked. 

The rest of it though, without the darker atmosphere, was good. Between ranches, sphinx's, arenas, Calypso, King Minos, and many other fun adventures, it was a good book that kept us engaged though it did seem a tad long. But set up for the final battle always takes a little bit of extra effort. 

Read on! 

The Titan's Curse

 The Titan's Curse is book three in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. 

Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia have been given orders to go help Grover as he was sent to a school to scout out for more new half-bloods. But trouble is around the corner when a chimera, disguised as a teacher, tries to kill the two new half-bloods and ends up disappearing and capturing Annabeth. Returning back to camp without Annabeth and with a whole group of Artemis's Hunters instead, Zoe (Artemis's head Hunter) is given the quest to follow the Goddess and stop the next step in Kronoss' plans to take over Olympus where they must travel to San Francisco, the most dangerous place for half-bloods to go. And Percy isn't invited to join them, how is he going to save Annabeth? 

Book three felt similar to the first book, you can only go so different it seems on quests in this series. They have to travel from New York to San Francisco (like New York to LA). They have to travel fast and there is a time limit. They get help from the Gods and there is major trouble from other's of the Gods, too. 

The difference here is that Percy is "joined" by Zoe instead of Annabeth and Zoe is much different than Annabeth is. Zoe has her own background from ages past with a lot of baggage that comes along with it. I really like Zoe's character.  Many of the other characters grow too which is nice because I feel like they didn't grow much in the last two books. Here there was some real character development for pretty much everyone. 

I also really liked Apollo. He's always been a fun one to talk about and I think Rick Riordan did a good job making him fun and likeable. 

The Sea of Monsters

 The Sea of Monsters is book two in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series. 

Percy was waiting for something to go wrong. He had been able to spend the whole school year without getting in trouble, so it was about time he did. He just wasn't anticipating Cannibal Cyclopes coming to his school as being what got him expelled. Then when he's finally able to get back to camp, Thalia's Tree the protects the camp has been poisoned and more monsters are able to get into the camp and has harmed many a camper. His friend Tyson is also somehow related to him which is like a punch in the gut. Charon is fired and the new camp counselor does not like Percy at all. Grover is also sending dream messages of help because a cyclopes has him captured in a wedding dress. The quest to save Grover and get the Golden Fleece has arrive, only it's not Percy's quest. How is he going to save his friend and the camp and watch out for Luke and the big sarcophagus that he's floating around with?  

It's a pretty good book. More monster mayhem erupts that Percy and Annabeth have to fight off. It's fairly similar to the first book in that it isn't until 'almost too late' that they remember who the bad guys are in this Sea of Monsters before they save themselves and there are constant monster fights. Differently though is that Percy grows with pretty much each encounter. He internalizes them and recalls them and the feelings he had through those experiences. He feels the lose of losing a friend, though I think it probably could have been a tad more heavy or emotional because lose of family members are real. Percy was sad, but he didn't grieve, which I think is important especially for young audiences--a grieving process would have been beneficial here, whereas Annabeth (I think) didn't even mention it as a condolence later.

I enjoyed Percy's character development. I do wish there was more development and character arcs for more than just him, though. Everyone else is kind of stagnant and stays as "the smart one," "the bully," "the kid," and so on. Luke, I guess gets some, but minimal. I want more from the other characters. 

My son enjoyed it, as I was reading it aloud to him, and actually cried a few time because he like the characters so much. 

We're reading onward! 

The Lightning Thief

 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a great series that I read aloud to my son.

Percy is a boy who always seems to get into trouble. He's gotten kicked out of so many schools for things he just can't explain. Now suddenly he slays his math teacher and she turns into a puff of smoke and no one seems to remember her at all? What is going on? Percy goes home for the summer and while on his way to vacation with his mom, they get attacked by a Minotaur. Suddenly he finds out he's a "Half-Blood" and is supposed to believe that the Greek Gods are a real thing and that he's the son of some Olympian. Finally, some things start making sense, but then things go wrong again and he's sent on a quest to find Zeus' Master Bolt that They all think he stole. He need to prove his innocence and catch the thief. 

I love this series. It's one that I've held on to since I was in junior high. It is perfect for young adult kids, especially those seem to be having a hard time--which is most every junior high kid. Percy has a wit and sarcasm that makes everyone smile. The metaphors and similes are hysterical and you can see that by simply looking at the chapter titles. 

This is also a good book to get the basic of the Greek pantheon. From what I know about it, Rick Riordan has done an excellent job at keeping the Greek mythologies accurate while still giving us that modern twist. Having Mt. Olympus in New York City and the Underworld in L.A. is fitting and comical. Minotaur, Furies, chimera, and hell hounds are only a few things that Percy has to face and, again, they are done well. 

It is a very simple read, great for young adult audiences, and one that gives the reader a good sense for the world they are in. If the reader doesn't know anything about the Greek pantheon, then they are given explanations for them, even pronunciations a time or two. We get to know who all of these characters are and how think (or thought in mythology) and have such personalities giving us something new to constantly visit or revisit. 

I think the thing that I love most of this is that Percy is a troubled kid. He struggles in the "real world" with creatures constantly attacking him (though that was unknown to him in the beginning), struggling in school, ADHD, and dyslexia (which I also have). They are real life problems yet are given reasons as to why he has them. ADHD so he can take more in and fight better when the badies come around and dyslexia because his mind is "set" for ancient Greek not American English. It helps the reader think more about what they might consider "disabilities" or "flaws" and gives us a little hope that there is a real reason behind it beyond "Oh, it's just in your DNA," but that they can be used to for our benefit. I also really love the fact that he has a horrible stepdad. There are many kids who have similar struggles and, in the end, those get resolved--and the fact that his mom pulls out something big and has major character growth (that made me very happy). 

It's a great story that I believe should be reread on occasion. It's not just a book that you can read once and never want to pick up again, but one that has more to it and funny humor.