An Egyptian-Greek Mash-Up

When Carter and Percy came together to fight a monster, we thought it was a fluke. A fabulous fluke, mind you, but a fluke nonetheless. Now that Sadie and Annabeth have had to come together to fight a monster, the writing on the wall is clear. Something is going on to bring the Greek and the Egyptian worlds together, and it is scary. IN The Staff of Serapis by Rick Riordan, two beloved series connect once again in magic-wielding, monster fighting goodness. 

Annabeth can't catch a break. Just when she thinks things will be normal for a moment, a monster shows up. But something is wrong with this monster. Not that it has two very different heads and seems to be struggling to work together despite being connected. Nope. It is running away from her! Monsters don't run away from demigods! When she decides to follow it, she is surprised by something even stranger- a girl who can see the monster too! 

OK. I am really hoping all these short stories are leading up to a final Egyptian, Greek Cross-over series by Riordan. Seriously, dude. Don't hold out on us. We need the Kane's and the demigods together in one magnificent series, and we need it now! I don't even need to review this fabulous little short, because we all knew it was going to be awesome. But still, Rick, bro. Please? Give us what we want! Kanes meet demigods! And we want it NOW!

Chaos Isn't In the Stars

Life as a teen is hard enough, but when you are the daughter of Egyptian Gods, your life comes with a special set of issue. But for Isadora, life as a normal teen is like a fantasy more fantastical than actual mythology. In The Chaos of the Stars, Kiersten White combines modern day teens with ancient mythology for a fun and mystical story.

Isadora lives an easy enough life, if you don't count her goddess mother, dead, but undead, father, awkward brother and strange half-brother. As the mortal daughter of immortal God parents, she knows her time with them is limited. But time amongst the immortal is tricky. They live years as moments and she is tired of being ignored because her life is fleeting. When her mother chooses to get pregnant again, a necessary part of keeping herself alive is to produce heirs who will worship her, Isadora is almost happy when it means she is being sent to America to live with her brother. When her mother is pregnant, she is most vulnerable, so it would be safest for Isadora to be squirreled away someplace. 

Her brother Sirus is welcoming, but she was shocked to find him with a wife- a pregnant wife. To make matters worse, her mother's arms reach far from Egypt and get Isadora a job in a museum curating an exhibit of none other than Isis herself. Isadora wishes she had more distance from Egypt and everything in it, but at the museum she meets some great people- including a mysterious boy who writes epic poetry. While Isadora makes herself quite clear that she has no interest in romance, she can't help but think about Ry (Orion). Isadora starts to think she might just be able to have a normal life away from Eygpt... until Egypt finds her in San Diego.

Kiersten White has a way of writing stories in a very middle reader/YA hybrid kind of way. I don't think they follow into either category, but somewhere in between. For instance, they sound kind of young and feel kind of young, but I can picture young adult readers still enjoying their stories (in a much different way than they enjoy the books of Rick Riordan, for instance). It makes them both versatile and hard to place in an equally strange way! Some YA readers find them childish and some middle readers aren't ready yet. But they do have fairly good cross-over appeal, and make for fantastic reads for older, low-skilled readers or younger, high-skilled readers. 

I like White's stories, but in the Paranormalcy series, she lost me after the first book, which was really, really good. I am looking forward to the next project White works on, and would have loved to see where Isadora's story went, but at the same time, I am happy White plans to leave it as a stand-alone. I think it will do the story justice to not drag it out unnecessarily. For me the big reveal was not terribly surprising, but it was satisfying, nonetheless. This was a fun, interesting tweak on Egyptian mythology!

Carter Kane Meets Percy Jackson

Carter Kane has battled and won against Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. Percy Jackson has done the same with Greek Gods and Goddesses. If the Greek and Roman mythological figures and beasts can come together in The Heroes of Olympus, why can't Greek and Egyptian mythology come together? Well, speculate no further! In The Son of Sobek, Carter and Percy have to do the hardest thing two heroes can do- work together.

Carter is confident (somewhat) that he can handle the giant bedazzled crocodile that is terrorizing Long Island. That is, before it eats him. being squished inside the gullet of a giant crocodile isn't exactly his idea of a good time, but at least the croc was big enough to eat him in one gulp instead of biting him in half. While Carter is still trying to figure out what to do next, the croc spits him up, right in front of some strange kid. When it is clear the kid can see the croc, not some watered down version mortals would see, he realizes this is no normal boy. Together, Carter Kane and Percy Jackson must get rid of a crocodile that likes to munch on cars and can flatten a house. But there is something more disturbing going on. Something that would send an Egyptian monster right into the heart of Camp Half-Blood, thus bringing together Carter and Percy.

OK, I hate to speculate, but this felt like Riordan was setting up a massive new series that brought together Eyptian, Roman, and Greek mythology. *insert loony squeal here* I hope this really is the case and this wasn't just one lone short story, because nothing would be better than seeing everyone come together for a final series (because honestly, a world where there are no more Kane and Jackson novels to come out is just a world not worth living in!). This was a fabulous little story that gives you just enough of a tease to keep you sated until House of Hades comes out! So fingers crossed. Mr. Riordan, we want a series where they all come together and throw the world for a loop! Puh LEASE?!

Persephone Packs a Punch

Everyone knows the story of Hades and Persephone. A girl tricked by the God of the Underworld to spend half the year in his domain, and half the year she can escape. But Brodi Ashton takes the story further in Everneath by exploring the daughters of Persephone and the hell they live... literally.

Nikki disappeared six months ago, but for her it was like 100 years. She barely escaped the underworld and Cole, the Everliving who wants to join with her and take over the Underworld. But the escape wasn't the end of it. Returning to her life isn't as easy as one would think. Everyone moved on from her disappearance... everyone except Jack, Nikki's boyfriend before she left who has never stopped searching for her. Incidentally, Jack is the one wisp of a memory she didn't lose in the Underworld and what allowed her connection to earth to help her return.

While Nikki just wants to stay, she knows there is an end to her time on earth. She can either return with Cole and rule, but that requires her to become an Everliving who feeds off souls to remain immortal, or she can give herself to the Tunnels, where her very essence is drained away. After spending more time with Jack, Nikki isn't sure which choice is best, but she does know one thing- the last thing she wants to do is to hurt Jack again.

This was a truly unique spin off the Hades and Persephone myth that didn't deal with them directly, but rather their "offspring" embodied. It was a little difficult to follow in the very beginning, in particular in regards to Jack and Cole. At first, I though Cole might be a guy that, while being a soul sucking rocker, might actually be OK for Nikki since he loved her so much. And at first, Jack was painted as a cheating turd who caused her to seek Cole in the first place. But then more and more of the story was revealed and I wanted to beat Cole with his own guitar and write a cheesy love song for the adorable Jack! It was a great transformation that kept me intrigued throughout the entire book. This might seem like a love triangle, but there isn't much competition both before when you think Cole might be OK and hate Jack and after when you love Jack. I think a love triangle has to have two possible love interests, but there really is only one good guy and one turd each time. 

This is a good story for any kid interested in mythology. despite being based on Greek Gods, there is some Egyptian mythology inserted with the idea of the five pieces of a person. It was a really interesting spin off classic mythology, and I think it would hold the attention of many students. The beginning is a little "wispy" and confusing, but eventually you get enough of the story to understand as the pieces are slowly revealed. I look forward to seeing where the series goes, because the end of this book definitely leaves you wanting more!

Perfect Egyptian Conclusion

I have always been interested in "things Egypt" so I don't know how I have so little knowledge about Egyptian mythology. And when you want a heavy dose of mythology on a hilarious platter, who do you come to? Why Rick Riordan, of course! The master of repurposed mythological tales has done it again as he wrapped up the Kane Chronicles with The Serpent's Shadow. 


Sadie and Carter know they must stop Apophis, the God of Chaos, from destroying the world. But how could two teenagers stop the apocalypse? When, when you are a Kane, you always have friends in strange places. With Bast, a cat goddess, to watch over their initiates in the house, they embark on a journey to find the way to stop Apophs, but each day he grows stronger. Add to that the fact that the senile sun god, Ra, who was supposed to help them dances around and has to be babysat, that their best friend Walt is slowly dying from a generations-old curse, and Carter was crushing on a magical clay figurine he thought was a girl. Once the figurine was destroyed and they rescued the real Zia, she had no memory of Carter's time with her shabti. And Bas, the dwarf god, has sacrificed his soul to save them and is now sitting like a shell of himself in the retirement home for the Gods. 


So how are they going to stop this unstoppable God of Chaos now that they have freed him and allowed him to gain more power than any one god or goddess can control, you ask? Well, it might involve a spell that is so powerful, it will destroy the Kanes for good, but when you have the weight and fate of the world resting on your shoulders, you really don't have much of a choice. Sadie and Carter will do anything to save the world, even if it means tough choices and big sacrifices. And with the Kanes against them, even giant serpent gods who thrive on chaos can stop them!


It is no secret that I think Rick Riordan is a god. God of literary brilliance! His Percy Jackson series and the spinoff series are brilliant uses of Greek and Roman Gods, and this series is just as phenomenal. His ability to repurpose mythology brings it into the mainstream and gets our kids involved in stories that might have been too old, too, boring, and too distant for them before. And let's face it, mythology is interesting, but those stories are intricate and dense and those names get seriously confusing. Let's not even mention how ridiculous those tangled webs of relationships can be! But Riordan makes mythology accessible AND more important, absolutely HILARIOUS! The things that come out of these gods and godesses' mouths will leave you in a fit of giggles. And for my students who have read these stories, those gods and goddesses are interesting and the source of future research and reading. I find kids who read these books want to go on and read more about their favorite gods and goddesses, and since Egyptian mythology isn't as well known as Greek mythology, this series is a great way to strike a balance between the two!


The conclusion of the series was whole-heartedly satisfying. I promise you won't think it is going to be until the very end, but it really is. I have to say, I thought this was another 5 book series, so at the very end, when things started winding down, I had to rush to do some research as to whether or not this was the final book in the series. Sadly, because I love this series and wanted it to continue, this is indeed the final book, but it ends beautifully. If there was a perfect way to end everything, The Serpent's Shadow was it. So, I know Riordan is working on the Percy Jackson spin-off, but I really hope he has another series up his sleeve! 

Baby, Your Throne is on FIRE

"I named my camel Katrina. She was a natural disaster. She slobbered everywhere and seemed to think the purple streak in my hair was some kind of exotic fruit. She was obsessed with trying to eat my head. I named Walt's camel Hindenburg. He was almost as large as a zeppelin and definitely full of gas." When I read Kane Chronicles: The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan, I found myself giggle with each page. The spunky and sassy Kane kids, Sadie and Carter, bring more fun adventure with this second installment to the Egyptian mythology-laced story.

Carter and Sadie barely made it through the last scuffle where the Red Pyramid was almost constructed. Instead, they bartered with evil God Set, their dad agreed to host the god of the underworld, Osiris, and they put a call out to all magical children. The Brooklyn house became a training ground for young magicians and godlings, but they had barely recovered from their last heroic adventure. They certainly weren't ready for the next one to start so quickly. Carter was still obsessing about Zia, the girl he fell in love with until he realized she was a shabti of the real Zia- a clay figurine transformed to look and act like a real person (most aren't as lifelike as Zia's was). Sadie was still crushing on Anubis, the dog headed god of the dead who looked a lot hotter in person (and much less dog headed).

When the Kane's learn the world is going to end (again), they only have five days to awake an elderly god, Ra, who has been asleep for thousands of years. Hopefully he can restore Ma'at (peace) and keep Chaos from overtaking the world, particularly in the form of a serpentine god named Apophis, who has been imprisoned since Ra retired. To do this, they must find all three scrolls of the Book of Ra, travel to the Duat (limbo/underworld), find Ra, and convince him to take his throne again. All this combined with cackling vulture Gods and angry, dumb ape gods taking over their grandparents, a leader of the House of Life who wants to take the Kanes down, a crazy Russian consorting with Set, a loony Dwarf God who squeezes into a speedo and a Hawaiian shirt, and no adults to help them makes for a very crazy few days for Sadie and Carter Kane. But will rising Ra be the answer? Can they save the world?

One thing that I realized about this series was how Riordan writes Sadie's character. She is a 13 year old girl, and a sassy and spunky young woman. You wouldn't want to cross Sadie Kane! I remember reading James Patterson's Witch and Wizard and being thoroughly annoyed how he portrayed Whisty, his young female character. I thought it was a clear example of how a middle aged man shouldn't try to write as though he was a 13 year old female narrator, but that isn't the case with Riordan. He writes Sadie like many of the 13 year old girls I know. Perhaps Mr. Patterson should contact Mr. Riordan for a little help in understanding his characters!

This was such a fun follow-up to to the first book in Riordan's Egyptian series. I am not as familiar with Egyptian mythology as I am Greek or Roman mythology, so I was exciting to have this series to learn a little more. Some of the names and terms can be difficult to pronounce or understand, but there is a glossary at the end of the book of terms and hieroglyphs. It is really helpful if you have trouble with these strange names (I know I did!). Other than the Egyptian terms, this is a very clean, wholesome story. There is plenty of adventure, but the content is appropriate for any age group. I would give this to any high skilled elementary student to a high school student. It has enough excitement and adventure to keep anyone intrigued.

An Egyptian High Adventure

It wasn't enough, Rick Riordan, to tackle the Greek and Roman Myths with such skill? You still had to go Egyptian, too? Well, at least we know the myths are in good hands with you. In all their glory, crankiness, megalomania, and super-holy lunacy, the Gods and Goddesses of Egypt are here and ready to battle... the Kane kids? The Kane Chronicles, Book One: Red Pyramid takes the unlikely heroes of Sadie and Carter Kane and makes them save the world!

Since their mother died, Carter Kane has been on the road with his Egyptologist/archaeologist father, Julius Kane, while Sadie Kane has been in London living with her grandparents and enduring a rather normal life. Both kids see each other only twice a year, but both resent the other. Carter wants Sadie's stable life, and Sadie wants Carter's life with their dad. When the two kids go to The British Museum with Julius, they expect another day of work disguised as a family visit. What they get is nothing they could have expected.

Instead of normal exhibit viewing, Julius tells his kids to chain the curator in his office and stay out of the room, which they don't do, of course. When they come in the room, they witness their father summoning someone or something and releasing a scary fire man from the Rosetta Stone. Their father is thrown into a giant sarcophagus and sucked into the floor. Once the police take them back to their grandparents house, Sadie and Carter find out they are being deported and have to leave with their Uncle Amos immediately- a man neither of them know anything about.

They are whisked away to NYC and taken to their uncle's magical mansion (atop an abandoned warehouse and magically cloaked). Here they begin to learn their true lineage- that they are the descendants of two lines of magical lines from the Gods- one on their mother's side and one from their father's family. This makes them the perfect vessels for Gods, one where they could hold the Gods without losing themselves like so many have throughout history (Cleopatra). The problem? Sadie and Carter aren't too keen on sharing their bodies with Isis and Horus. Unfortunately, with Osiris stuck in their father's body and evil Set out to destroy the world, they have no choice but to work together with their Gods to save the world, and their dad. Now they must do so with an uncle they don't quite trust, Set creating a Red Pyramid that will make him all powerful, a group of murderous cranky Egyptian legends on their trail, and not much by way of friends except Bast, the cat Goddess, and a crazy baboon who likes to each things that end in "o" (Dorito, Cheeto, flamingo...).

After reading The Lost Hero, I was worried I might have a hard time breaking away from my favorite Greek Gods for this new series, especially since I don't know as much about Egyptian Gods as I do Greek Gods. Boy, was I wrong! This is a great story told from both Sadie's and Carter's perspectives. All the characters, from the two main characters down to the ridiculous baboon who is always getting into trouble, are hilarious, flawed, and endearing. The story is exciting and enthralling, one that will certainly keep any child or adult addicted. If you have a kid who loved Percy Jackson but needs something different, this is what will keep them reading.

The reading level is relatively simple, and luckily the Egyptian Gods names are not as tongue-twisty as the Greek Gods (Dionysus vs. Set). The book is rather long, though, and might be daunting to unsure readers. This book would be a great companion for any class learning about Egypt. It shows the Gods and myths in whole new lights that let you really know the stories while still feeling connected to the people and creatures in them. Riordan is amazing, and I hope he eventually decides to tap into the Norse Gods too- I need to buff up on my Norse Mythology now that Greek, Roman, and Egyptian are covered!