Reader reviews

• kr_patterson

  (3/5)

  This was interesting for a funnish sort of history lesson, but it is a bit long. I can't imagine kids maintaining interest, to tell the truth, because I had a hard time. Really, it was the length that was its downfall. I didn't like it as much as Percy Jackson. But it was cute.
• jbarringer-2

  (4/5)

  I was not thrilled with the shifting first person POV, which I found quite disorienting at times, enough to keep me from settling comfortably into the story for more than a few chapters at a time. The world and magic in this story was fun, though, and for the most part the Egyptian trivia was introduced smoothly enough to not feel too much like a history lesson disguised as a kids' novel.
• robbiebutler

  (4/5)

  This made a great trip audiobook with a 12 year old boy!
  
• mpmleonard

  (4/5)

  Great modern twist on Egyptian mythology.
• piersanti-1

  (5/5)

  The author has definitely improved since writing the Percy Jackson series. This one is somehow more believable (even though it's about impossible things).
• barbiekait

  (5/5)

  I love Carter so much. He's kind of like Percy Jackson, but he isn't. He doesn't seem to have a lot of confidence in himself. He also doesn't really get along with his sister Sadie. They fight quite a bit in this book (well, in every book actually). But I still really really love Carter, I totally ship Carter and Zia! Sadie is also really awesome. She's very independent, and always speaks her mind (they often mention that she talks a lot over the series). Sadie is kind of different from a lot of fictional girls that I've read about so far. I like Amos even though we don't see a whole lot of him in this book. And I love Brooklyn House, and Khufu the baboon, and Philip of Macedonia the crocodile. I also really love that Rick Riordan made Anubis, the Egyptian god of death, look like a hot teenage boy. I also love Bast. I thought she was a fun character. I really like the part when she got scared, but her face didn't show it, but since she's the cat goddess her hair stood up on end with static but she don't know it. I love this book so much! I'm sorry this review it's short and it's, like, all about the characters but when I read a book the first thing that I notice the most is the characters, and I just want to fangirl and gush about them.
• kaiah.g1

  (3/5)

  Red Pyramid is about 2 children Carter and Sadie who go on an adventure in search for their dad,who disappeared at a museum.On their adventure they meet many different thing. They meet their uncle,they never knew about, an albino crocodile, and a baboon who loves basketball. There are egyptian gods who can become different people. There is an evil god who tries to stop them from finding their dad, which he captured.Their dad was a god and the evil god, Set wanted to turn the world into a land world by him. The kids capture Set and find out what actually happened to their mom.I think Red Pyramid was a 3 star. To me it got kind of confusing because randomly the chapters would start with new people,first it would be Carter talking then next thing you know it's Sadie telling the story. The author did a good job describing everything though, you could picture a lot of the things happening in the book.One thing that I kind of didn't like about this book was that had so many different things going on. Carter would say one thing, then a couple chapters later Sadie would be telling you. There was a lot of talking back in forth between chapters as well. So over all I think it deserved a 3.
• josu14-1

  (4/5)

  The Red Pyramid was an excellent book, but the story was not for me. I personally liked the Lightning Thief series better than i did this book, Although from the parts that I read it wasn't that bad. I didn't really like the story line in the book so i didn't finish. This book is farley easy to read and great for anyone who likes mythology.
• kebets_1

  (2/5)

  The Kane Chronicles are Riordan's newest journey into the ancient world of gods and their children. These are the tales of the Egyptian gods - those who fill mortals with the spirits and fly through sand filled portals at any Egyptian relic site. Riordan's main characters are two siblings - Sadie and Carter Kane. Two teenagers as different as their parents were - Sadie raised rather prim and proper by her English grandparents and Carter raised by his Africa American Egyptian archeologist father roaming from one dig site to another. In each of these books the Kanes must work together to attempt to save the world from the ever approaching god of Chaos. Each book connects known well known places with Egyptian gods and their cohorts. Each also reminds the reader of the importance of Egypt in the past and the present. The Kanes slowly become more of a family as they accept the difficulties of trying to train future godlings and keep the world from succumbing to chaos. As I read these I was reminded again and again of the other Riordan books and have become quite curious about his ease in describing gods in many different lands and ways. It makes life quite interesting.
• tarakennedy

  (5/5)

  This is a great high interest text about a brother and sister and their ties to the Egyptian gods. As with Riordan's other mythologically based series, I would use this as a tie in with a unit on world history or world religions. It is also a theme within Riordan's books the connections between family members and what makes a family. They are also filled with magic and interesting creatures and adventure eto engage reluctant readers. They are high interest with lower reading levels.
• joha14-1

  (4/5)

  I liked the book The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5. I liked this book because it was fiction and that's all I really like to read. Also I liked that it is mystery, action and magical type of book. This book has very vivid detail. Another reason why I like this book is because it gave me a chance to feel what the characters were doing and how they felt. I reccomend this book to people that like fiction or gods and goddesses with magic.
• booklibertylove

  (4/5)

  I really enjoyed the 2 person point of view and thought that Rick Riordan did it quite well. This is my first book series the incorporates Egyptian mythology and I liked it a lot. I liked the snarky comments between the two main characters (Sadie and Carter) when one was telling part of the story. Carter was my favorite of the two characters because he seemed more focused on the mission at hand while Sadie went a bit boy crazy at times which was really inappropriate for the situation (yes, I realize she is like 13 but seriously be serious when it calls for it). Carter also seemed to me to be a bit nerdy. Which I liked since I myself am a nerd. The book was fast paced and well written and I plan on reading the rest of the series, I already have the next two books ready and waiting for me to start.
  
  Final rating: 4 1/2 stars
• csweder

  (3/5)

  When it comes to Rick Riordan novels, I have come to expect a high quality novel. I can't say that this book met those standards. This could be for many reasons--I am far more familiar with the Greek gods and myths than the Egyptian ones, so perhaps my intrinsic interest is less. Then there was the two narrators, which I also didn't enjoy much.
  
  There are more in the series that I may read at some point, but I'm not dying to do it soon.
• aliterarylion

  (5/5)

  Egyptian mythology with a twist that's different from his other two series. Does Rick Riordan have Chinese mythology series up his sleeve?
• sammii507

  (4/5)

  This was a really good book! It took a little bit to get into it, but about halfway through, it got really interesting and really exciting. I'm a big fan of mythology - all sorts of mythology - and I love the Percy Jackson books, so I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of this series!
• mirandalg14

  (4/5)

  I don't know as much about Egyptian gods as Greek ones, so it took me a bit to figure out all the names and who was who. I liked the premise of the story, but some parts were a bit hard to follow. All in all, 3.75 stars.
• kellswitch_1

  (4/5)

  The first book I the Kane chronicles series introduces the Kane family and the version of Egyptian mythology that will be used in this world.I had no interest in the Percy Jackson series so I didn't really have much expectations for this book so I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun this was, even if his approach to Egyptian mythology...and the annoyingly fake way he had the two teen characters talk at times, made me cringe more than once. The action was fast paced if more than a bit over the top, the story was interesting, the characters were fun, I especially liked Bast. I appreciated that the book ended in such a way that if this were the only one in the series you read, you won't feel cheated but it still sets up sequels and encourages you to read on. Overall I enjoyed this one enough that I will probably give the second book a chance as well.
• rosa.mill

  (4/5)

  What a great read. Sadie and Carter are siblings who have lived separately since their mother passed away. Carter lives with his father and Sadie lives with her maternal grandparents, with two yearly visits. All of that changes on Christmas Eve when Sadie, Carter and their father go to the British museum late at night.
  
  This book was so much better then I thought it would be. I was afraid it would be a retelling of the Percy Jackson stories but with Egyptian Gods instead. It's entirely different. These are not the children of gods but children who will become gods. Riordan goes out of his way to make sure that all Egyptian mythology is explained along the way, which is good because Egyptian mythology is not as well known as Greek and honestly a lot more confusing. The way Sadie and Carter's lives are being affected by the gods makes sense when the reader begins to learn and understand how Egyptian mythology works. The gods make for some great characters
  
  There were a lot of great themes explored in this book,including a couple that may play a greater part in later stories; from race relations (Sadie looks white like their mother did and Carter looks black like their father did) and the idea of keeping the world balanced; and the need to change and evolve and not grow stagnant. The last appears to be the most important theme especially when applied to the House of Life. It is quite apparent that if they don't make changes to their organization, they will die but rulers are afraid to make changes because of what happened before. However when people are alive for hundreds of years it becomes even more difficult to change or admit to being wrong. The idea of history repeating itself and the gods making the same mistakes over and over is also used to illustrate a point about learning from your mistakes (or even your predecessors mistakes).
  
  
• condorena

  (3/5)

  This book was so action packed I found it exhausting. The Egyptian history was very interesting though and the rest is fantastical and requiring youth and imagination.
• engpunk77

  (3/5)

  We couldn't wait for this book to come out, and we began reading it eagerly. Shortly after we started (1/3 in), my son wanted to move faster than the 1-2 chapter a night pace and finished it on his own. Then it took me FOREVER to finish it. The middle third of the book BORED me--I dreaded reading it, but I don't understand why. I can't really identify what I didn't like about it, and wonder if it's just that I've read too much Riordan lately. I don't know. I did enjoy the last third, and I'm happy to say it's over and I don't mind if Riordan takes a really long time to write the next in the series.
• catnips13

  (4/5)

  Well, as I've already gone through the Percy Jackson series for at least a thousand times, I think Rick Riordan could do with a little more creativity. I mean, the ancient Egyptians is a really good topic, but as he already wrote a series on Greek gods, I think I read the Kane Chronicles with a little less enthusiasm.
  
  But nonetheless, I appreciate that Mr. Riordan wrote this book using the 1st person's point of view, and that he kept in his original sense of humor, with a sarcastic remark by the narrators here and there. The plot is fast and excited, and I read through it in one go (though I completely missed out the first few periods at school).
  
  So, I strongly recommend this book to people who hasn't read the Percy Jackson series yet, but if you've already read the Olympians, this book is also for you.
• benuathanasia

  (4/5)

  A really interesting series. Not subject matter that is explored all that often( Egyptian history, myths, etc. It it's Egyptian, it's usually mummies or Cleopatra). The characters were likeable, though far from original.
• silverlily26

  (4/5)

  Excellent as always from this author. I really enjoyed the Egyptian theme to this book, and im starting the next one straightaway
• tlhelen

  (3/5)

  A very interesting book that captures the reader's attention that is all about Eygptian myths. This book explains step by step about the myths so it won't leave any readers confused. It is an excellent book to read for any lovers of Eygptian myths.
• fyrefly98

  (4/5)

  Summary: Siblings Carter and Sadie Kane haven't seen much of each other since their mother died when they were young; Sadie lives with her grandparents in London, while Carter travels around the world with their father, a famous Egyptologist. On a Christmas visit, their father drags Carter and Sadie to the British Museum after hours, where he attempts to use the Rosetta Stone to perform magic. But something goes wrong, and the Egyptian god Set, the god of chaos, imprisons Dr. Kane in a glass coffin that then melts into the floor. Carter and Sadie don't know where to turn or what to do, until they're taken in by their Uncle Amos, who is a member of a secret group of Egyptian magicians, the House of Life. Carter and Sadie begin to have visions of Set and his plans to destroy the world, and when they're attacked by ancient monsters, they realize that it is up to them to stop the god's plans. They're not alone - they will have help from some of the other gods - but not only do they only have a few days to stop a god, they're also being pursued by members of the House of Life, who consider mortals working with gods to be dangerous and therefore forbidden.Review: This book was definitely an enjoyable read. I was in the mood for something light, funny, and above all, engaging, and this book certainly did the trick. Riordan brings Carter and Sadie to life, and they're personable and smart and funny and capable yet fallible, everything you could want in a protagonist. The story ticks along at a good pace, keeping things moving (both geographically as well as action-wise, as is Riordan's wont) while sneaking in plenty of world building and character development around the edges. I was also impressed, once again, how he manages to work mythology into modern life, in a way that was clever and felt cohesive, and explained clearly without pandering to his younger readers.But, while I absolutely did enjoy this book, I didn't enjoy it *quite* as much as any of the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus books. And I don't think that it's got anything to do with the quality of the book itself; rather, Greek mythology is much, much more familiar to me than Egyptian mythology. That means that in Riordan's Greek books, I didn't have to start from scratch with my understanding of the worldbuilding, and was also better able to spot and appreciate the subtle and clever touches he added in. In the case of the Kane Chronicles, I found it harder to get my bearings in terms of how magic worked, and how the gods related to each other, and to keep the details in my mind. (Heck, even the names and pronunciations were more unfamiliar and thus more mental work.) That all kept it from flowing quite as easily as I'd come to expect from Riordan's other books.But, hey, mythology plus fiction is almost always a win in my book. It can't be Greek all the time. 4 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: Recommended for Riordan fans, or anyone interested in ancient Egypt and looking for something fun and fast-paced.
• alig123_1

  (4/5)

  "We only have a few hours so listen carefully. If you are reading this story you're already in danger. Sadie and I might be your only chance." This book is one written in a peculiar fashion, and one might call it unorthodox, or different. "The Red Pyramid" by Rick Riordan is a fantasy novel written in a style that the story is being spoken, and the book is a recording of Carter and Sadie Kane's encounters with God. The book is set in London England in the beginning, but then changes to USA, when the conflict of the story is clear. Cater Kane are the two main characters in this story, and they show a huge amount of growth throughout the story. Carter Kane is a tall semi built dark skinned adolescent, who has the god Horus, the god of war, dwelling inside him. As for Sadie kane she is on a whole different parallel. She is light skinned, with blonde hair, and pink highlights. She wears combat boots, and torn up jeans, and is a rebellious figure, completely different from her brother who is submissive, and thoughtful. These two people, although they have their differences have to work together to save the world for they are the only hope to stop the evil God of chaos Set. The story starts off with their father Julius Kane using magic on the Rosetta stone to unleash two good gods, and the antagonist of the story the Egyptian God of chaos Set. After this happens their Uncle Amos takes them to his mansion in Manhattan, and instructs them to stay there until he finds Set. They then realize that Set is plotting to plummet the world into utter chaos via the Red Pyramid. The rest of the book is Carter and Sadie Kane train in the use of magic, but will they be able to stop him? Will they be able to get there in time? Will they be able to save Julius from Set? In many ways The Red Pyramid is very similar to Percy Jackson series also written by Rick Riordan. Both books set characters who don't look like they could do a simple task accomplish huge feats with the help of Gods in this case. In both books magic is also plays a huge factor in how the story's plot unfolds. The red Pyramid is the first of a mindboggling trilogy, that keeps your heart racing, and is a book that you don't want to tear your eyes from. Although the idea of incorporating Gods into books is quite new the reason it is being so well perceived is because of the surreal felling that the author triggers from when using dialogue. All in all this is a fantastic fantasy novel that kept me on the edge of my seat till the very end, and I would recommend it to kids between the ages of 14 to 17
• hopingforchange

  (2/5)

  This is Percy Jackson except with Egyptian magic and a focus on relationships instead of battles and action. Neither of these changes improve the final product. I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson series, but I feel that Riordan has just repackaged the original product, added race and gender issues, and made a lot more money than he had before. This story isn't pure. I don't feel a connection to Carter like I felt one to Percy, and I think that might be because Riordan doesn't either.
  
• drimeth

  (5/5)

  Re-read before reading the sequel The Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles, #2), and it was just as good the 2nd time around! Rick Riordan's characters are always so relateable, I always get so sucked into his stories!
• akmargie

  (3/5)

  Another solid Riordan adventure this time in Egypt! But I have to say I was a little disappointed. Where Riordan really nailed the Greek gods in Percy Jackson and was able to modernize and slightly mock their exaggerated personas, here the gods were too god-like. Not really fun or funny. Maybe it's partly because the Egyptian stories aren't as well known so kudos for introducing them fresh to kids.
  
  Sidenote about the audio: The guy was good but the girl was Jacky Faber. Yes I know it's an actress and a very good one but when one person does an incredible job on another series it takes a bit more to imagine her as a different character.
• krizia_lazaro_3

  (4/5)

  If you have read Percy Jackson, well this is basically the same. Godlings, dreams that really are happening, powers they didn't know they have, great power without proper training. I was quite bored at the start because I felt that I've read this before because it so much similar with Percy Jackson. I gave it 4 stars because 1) The ending redeemed the book, the last 3 chapters were really exciting and heart warming and 2) Rick RIordan always interests me with Greek and Egyptian mythology. Reading "Red Pyramid" would really interest you with Egyptian mythology.