In Review: Kane Chronicles

I said I would be doing book reviews on here, so I figured I'd start with the books I read most recently, which are "The Red Pyramid" and "Throne of Fire", books 1 and 2 of the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan.

Now, if I had to pick a favorite mythology, I'd definitely pick Greek, because I grew up reading those stories and am very familiar with them. So, that was how I had got into Mr. Riordan's first series, The Percy Jackson books. I have to say that I loved those books and how closely they stayed to the original myths while still making themselves original by placing those myths into modern day times.

The Kane Chronicles manage to do that exact same thing, while not coming off as a complete copy of Percy Jackson. It is true that in both series, the main character (or characters as is the case with Sadie and Carter Kane) were completely unaware of their godly heritage, were catapulted into the supposedly mythological world at a time when everything was starting to come undone, and had to embark on a quest to right things while trying to figure out their powers. However, this is a formula that most fantasy novels follow, so I can push this fact aside, especially since Percy's and the Kane siblings' journeys happen in drastically different ways.

For starters, we experience the Kanes' journey as a story in the sense that they've gone through the adventure and are relaying them to use via audio recordings. Mr. Riordan does an amazing job changing the tone of the chapters whenever Carter or Sadie is transcribing their adventures. I could definitely tell a difference between the two narrators, and that makes the story more vivid and exciting.

To be frank, compared to what I knew about Greek mythology, I knew very little about Egyptian mythology. Sure, I knew that they based their gods on the images of animals and that they believed their pharaohs were either descended from the gods or heavenly themselves and I knew the names of a few of their gods. In The Kane Chronicles, the gods and goddesses manage to keep their antiquity and otherworldly dignity while adapting to modern day times (For Example: The cat goddess Bastet wearing a track suit.) This provides both entertainment and an insight into Egyptian mythology that will have the more curious seek out what the myths were truly like.

And last, but not least, the dialogue. The characters often end up bantering back and forth with dialogue that is sure to have you let out a few chuckles. I would recommend the Kane Chronicles for those who are at least in middle school, although there isn't a particular age limit. You can find copies of the books at your local bookstore or online.