THE RED PYRAMID is the first book in The Kane Chronicles, a great new series for anyone who liked Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, here is a new one to keep you going on epic quests. Just like Percy, Sadie and Carter Kane are on a journey of self-discovery and learning about a world they didn’t know existed hidden behind their own regular world, but this time it is the Egyptian gods and goddesses. As they didn’t spend much time together growing up, they are building their brother/sister relationship throughout the book. They somewhat remind me of Dan and Amy from The 39 Clues series – a great brother/sister team who look out for each other.
Although The Red Pyramid book is longer, and takes a little longer to read due to being mostly unfamiliar with Egyptian mythology (unlike the Greek gods and goddesses who were familiar in Percy Jackson), it is still well worth your time to read. It is written at a level that is appropriate for middle school students, and has enough excitement and action to keep one interested, although you have to pay attention to the explanations of the mythology to follow along with what’s happening in the story.
The story starts off when Carter and his dad, who have been traveling around the world for his dad’s work as an expert, come back to London for one of their visits to Sadie, who lives with their grandparents after their mom died. Dad takes Carter and Sadie with him to the history museum, and when they witness him unleashing gods from the Rosetta Stone, and he disappears, they don’t know what to think. Luckily, the next day their Uncle Amos shows up to take them to the U.S. where they learn that they are actually descended from a line of pharaohs which makes them magicians. Along with this knowledge, and the dream visions they start having, they learn that some other magicians aren’t too happy with them and that’s when the attacks start. Ultimately, they need to face Set, who is trying to unleash chaos, so they can bring the gods and magicians together to keep chaos from changing the whole world.
One thing that is important to note when reading this book is that it is told through the voices/points of view of both Carter and Sadie. Make sure to look at the chapter headings and the tops of each page to keep track of which character is the “I” in each chapter. Although, it is one of the things I like best about this book because you do get good insights into the whole story because you know things from both main characters, it can be confusing if you’re not paying attention.
4 Stars for THE RED PYRAMID
