Hello! My name is Chie. I am likely to be the girl you'll see whose eyes would bulge out of their sockets at the sight of a book store and be seized by waves of epileptic shock whenever there is a book bargain. I'll probably be the one pushing you out of my way to get through the book bargain bins and tediously combing through the pile. (I forget my manners when it comes to books). I am tone deaf and have two left feet. But I would endure the embarrassment of a performance in exchange for books (terms and conditions apply). I have created this blog in order to find kindred souls. Those who would gladly share the same passion for books and reading because although reading is solitary task most of the time, it's no fun having no one to ramble to after..
Synopsis: Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. Whilst 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.
Review: As you can see, I only gave it a four because I did not enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed The Percy Jackson series and The Heroes of Olympus series. But still, the plot was good, interesting, and it actually started a desire in me to start reading up on Egypt mythology. Although the term "mythology" seems to be a misnomer because the book presented the Egyptian gods and goddesses to be very believable. The story revolves around the Kane Siblings, Carter and Sadie, who apparently are descendants of two families of pharaohs in ancient Egypt. They are the first to be born with two pharaoh bloodlines and it makes them very powerful and highly capable of hosting Egyptian gods or goddesses.
However, they remain unaware of this until they see their father make a spell that turns bad, this making the Rosetta Stone explode (yes, the one with hieroglyphics) and the siblings are suddenly whirled into a new world of chaos. Apparently, at the same time that the Rosetta Stone cracked, their father mistakenly released all the five children of Nut (the goddess of the sky in Egypt lore). Set, a very powerful and power-hungry child, started building a "red pyramid" to gain tremendous power and wipe out the earth, The two children set out to destroy Set and when the time for his destruction arrives, Sadie realises that he is not their enemy.
So who is?
Well go buy or borrow a book because I won't tell you.
Sounds all very exciting right? Actually, the plot is okay and intriguing. I like the fact that it's about Egyptian gods this time and frankly, I haven't read much about them so I am now very intrigued. That's one of the things I love about reading good books - they open your eyes to new ideas, they get you intrigued with new books, and they add to your knowledge bank. Whilst the Red Pyramid was quite instructive about the gods and goddesses, I found myself not accepting them as true and felt the desire to know the truth build up inside me. It's not that I don't trust Riordan's knowledge or research, it's more about the fact that the book is fiction.
I only gave four for this book because of the way the book was written. It was written through two viewpoints: Carter and Sadie's. I am not a huge fan of reading chapter titles, I just go straight to reading the story so there were alot of times when I'd suddenly get confused as to who's telling the story.
Furthermore, there were alot of inserts/comments by the other character that I felt was unnecessary and distracted me from the main story. For example, if Carter was narrating the story, there would be comments by Sadie inserted in the story line which annoyed me after some time. I mean, I just wanted to know what's going to happen next! But the inserts, they keep getting in the way.
However, I suppose that is Riordan's style of reinstating his slightly humorous approach to story-telling. Telling a story about ward and slightly-heavy story drama do need to be light, especially for young readers. He just remained true to his style but this reader just did not find the format to her taste. Others may have enjoyed it but I did not.
Another thing I didn't like about the book was because I found myself a little bored, almost to the point of just giving up on the book right from the start. However, I persisted and found that after a couple of chapters, the story becomes more interesting. I can't say that I was hooked but I did finish the book was too long and the story was getting kind of lagging but in the end, the story turned out to be quite satisfying.
Do I recommend this? I am on the brink of saying no but at the same time, the story might be completely captivating for others. Furthermore, the ancient Egyptian gods suddenly started to become more interesting for me and I like that the book was written well enough to inspire that. I suggest you borrow the book instead or read up on more reviews before you make up your mind.
Synopsis: Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. Whilst 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.
Review: As you can see, I only gave it a four because I did not enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed The Percy Jackson series and The Heroes of Olympus series. But still, the plot was good, interesting, and it actually started a desire in me to start reading up on Egypt mythology. Although the term "mythology" seems to be a misnomer because the book presented the Egyptian gods and goddesses to be very believable. The story revolves around the Kane Siblings, Carter and Sadie, who apparently are descendants of two families of pharaohs in ancient Egypt. They are the first to be born with two pharaoh bloodlines and it makes them very powerful and highly capable of hosting Egyptian gods or goddesses.
However, they remain unaware of this until they see their father make a spell that turns bad, this making the Rosetta Stone explode (yes, the one with hieroglyphics) and the siblings are suddenly whirled into a new world of chaos. Apparently, at the same time that the Rosetta Stone cracked, their father mistakenly released all the five children of Nut (the goddess of the sky in Egypt lore). Set, a very powerful and power-hungry child, started building a "red pyramid" to gain tremendous power and wipe out the earth, The two children set out to destroy Set and when the time for his destruction arrives, Sadie realises that he is not their enemy.
So who is?
Well go buy or borrow a book because I won't tell you.
Sounds all very exciting right? Actually, the plot is okay and intriguing. I like the fact that it's about Egyptian gods this time and frankly, I haven't read much about them so I am now very intrigued. That's one of the things I love about reading good books - they open your eyes to new ideas, they get you intrigued with new books, and they add to your knowledge bank. Whilst the Red Pyramid was quite instructive about the gods and goddesses, I found myself not accepting them as true and felt the desire to know the truth build up inside me. It's not that I don't trust Riordan's knowledge or research, it's more about the fact that the book is fiction.
I only gave four for this book because of the way the book was written. It was written through two viewpoints: Carter and Sadie's. I am not a huge fan of reading chapter titles, I just go straight to reading the story so there were alot of times when I'd suddenly get confused as to who's telling the story.
Furthermore, there were alot of inserts/comments by the other character that I felt was unnecessary and distracted me from the main story. For example, if Carter was narrating the story, there would be comments by Sadie inserted in the story line which annoyed me after some time. I mean, I just wanted to know what's going to happen next! But the inserts, they keep getting in the way.
However, I suppose that is Riordan's style of reinstating his slightly humorous approach to story-telling. Telling a story about ward and slightly-heavy story drama do need to be light, especially for young readers. He just remained true to his style but this reader just did not find the format to her taste. Others may have enjoyed it but I did not.
Another thing I didn't like about the book was because I found myself a little bored, almost to the point of just giving up on the book right from the start. However, I persisted and found that after a couple of chapters, the story becomes more interesting. I can't say that I was hooked but I did finish the book was too long and the story was getting kind of lagging but in the end, the story turned out to be quite satisfying.
Do I recommend this? I am on the brink of saying no but at the same time, the story might be completely captivating for others. Furthermore, the ancient Egyptian gods suddenly started to become more interesting for me and I like that the book was written well enough to inspire that. I suggest you borrow the book instead or read up on more reviews before you make up your mind.
