Published Information
| Author: | Rick Riordan |
| Series: | The Kane Chronicles #1 |
| Published: | May 2010 |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Pages: | 516 |
Plot Summary
Carter and Sadie are brother and sister, but they only get to see each other twice a year. And they don't look forward to it. But this year, when they meet up, the witness their dad destroy an Egyptian relic and unleash a powerful magic, including an evil being that magically puts their dad in a coffin, and "sinks" him into the earth.
Turns out that Carter and Sadie are from a long, royal line of Egyptians that have magically powers to communicate, fight, and in some cases, work with long thought dead or imagined gods. (Note: in this book, gods are simply very powerful beings that have been around for a long time, not all knowing, all powerful entities that created all existence, etc) Their dad seemingly released several gods in an attempt to save their mother, his wife, from the dead. But his plans seem to have backfired and the gods are taking their revenge on him and his children.
To make matters worse, there is also an organization, the House of Light, that has existed for centeries that have made it their business to make sure humans do not work with gods in any way. They thing Carter and Sadie have entered into a pact to work with the gods and help them escape their prison confines, to which they were bond by the House of Light, centuries ago. That being said, they are trying to kill the children before they can do any real damage.
So, in fact, Carter and Sadie do turn to some of the gods for teaching and training to figure how they can come into their powers, avoid capture by the evil gods and the house of light, and save their parents, both of whom have been thought to be dead.
They will find life was much simplier when they didn't know anything about these Egyptian gods.
Comments
This was a great book. I loved reading it and finished it much sooner than I should have. The story was fun and full of action for the characters, as well as very humorous. I found myself laughing out loud a few times in the book. The plot was well devised, though predictable at times. Of course, Mr Riordan was targeting pre-teen through teen for an audience. They will love it.
I only had two major complaints. First, Sadie says the Lord's name in vain frequently. Enough so that it bothered me. It wasn't needed and didn't add anything to the story. Second, there were several spots in the book where the characters would just about die, or get seriously hurt when all of the sudden, someone would appear, as if by magic, and save them. Or, worse, they would come into more super human magical ability that would save the day. I don't mind when a book is saved at the last minute by something that should be expected to save the character, but when a character that was thought to be dead shows up and kills all the baddies, that is a little too much.
All that being said, it was a great book, more so, for the message portrayed. In particular the idea that power is not evil when we don't allow it to control us, but rather use if for the benefit of others. Also, the idea that we do have power within us that is beyond what we can believe, if we just give it a chance.
My children will love this book, and I am sure it will be just as popular as the Percy Jackson set, if not more.
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