Review: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (Kane Chronicles)

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.

Audiobook: Narrated by Jane Collingwood & Joesph May

Duration: 13hrs 44min

Rick Riordan can do no wrong in my eyes. The guy is a book writing ninja! His stories are well thought out, entertaining, full of humour, diverse and completely magical.
The Kane Chronicles were a perfect example of his book writing awesomeness.

Unlike his Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus books, the Kane Chronicles features not demigods but magicians and not Greek/Roman gods but Egyptian!
The differences between how the Egyptian gods work compared to the Greek gods took a little bit of getting used to as did the fact that the tone of this book was very conversational... As in, Carter and Sadie alternate as the narrator and they tell the story as though you're sitting in a room talking to them. It was weird but it didn't take long for me to adapt.

The Egyptian Gods were interesting... I must admit that I knew/know relatively little about them compared to the Greeks and Romans so the myths and stories shared throughout this book were fascinating!

The story was fast-paced and there was a lot of world building.
Carter is a fourteen year old boy who was separated from his twelve-year-old sister Sadie when their mum died - they were only six and eight when separated.
Carter stayed with his father and Sadie was raised by their mother's parents.
Carter travelled the world with his dad and never really had anywhere to call home or a normal life and Sadie had a 'normal' life living in London.
They only saw each other a couple of times a year so aren't all that close in the beginning and neither of them knows anything about magicians and gods so you learn as they do and you get to know them over the course of the book as you watch them get to know and bond with each other.

There were action and danger, humour and poignant moments, battles and acts of lunatic bravery and I loved it! Carter and Sadie are good kids and the supporting cast of random characters from the baboon to the Egyptian cat goddess, Bast, had me smiling from ear to ear.

As per all of Riordan's books, the book had its own self-contained plot as well as the beginnings of a series plot. I can't wait to continue the series and find out what fate has in store of Carter and Sadie next as they progress in their magical journey.

I highly recommend this series for kids and adults alike!

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“Well, if you need me, I'll be outside, playing with sharp objects.”

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“Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need.”

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“My dear, I'm a cat. Everything I see is mine.”