The Red Pyramid
2010
- serie:the_kane_chronicles
- fiction
- egyptian mythology
- nyt:paperback-books=2011-09-04
- juvenile fiction
- egyptologists
- fantasy fiction
- juvenile
- children's stories
- children's fantasy fiction
The story
Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a “research experiment” at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives. Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them—Set—has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe—a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.
What it’s like
Brisk, bright, and wry, with the sun-scorched glare of Egypt and the damp grey streets of London sitting side by side on the page. Riordan's prose is conversational and chatty, the narration often breaking into direct address and jokes, so the sensory world arrives in quick, vivid snapshots: smoky museum galleries, crowded Cairo markets, a gleaming Cairo-to-Brooklyn sprawl of ancient temples and modern cityscapes. Action comes in short, punchy scenes with frequent cliffhanger chapter breaks, and there is plenty of banter between the bickering siblings as they move from one mishap to the next. The emotional register is warm and playful with an undercurrent of grief over their mother and a father who has vanished, and the arc follows two estranged siblings slowly learning to trust and rely on each other. Fantasy violence is present but stylized and mostly bloodless: monsters, magical duels, and peril that feel more adventurous than frightening, with no sexual content. It suits a long-haul flight, a lazy weekend read, or a family reading aloud, and it is made for younger readers and adults who want a lively, mythology-flavored adventure with a light touch.
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