Recently I had an interview for a great school in the area to be a part-time high school English teacher. During that interview I met with the principal and he had asked me what book I was currently reading, in which my response was "The Red Pyramid" (the first book in the Kane Chronicles series by Rick Riordan). He then proceeded to ask me if I was someone who approved of adults reading adolescent literature, or if i belonged to the group that believes that reading books meant for adolescents was just "slumming it"? This is a concept that I have heard before, the "sophisticates" degrading people for enjoying a book that is below their age level. However, my view is that if I am going to read for pleasure, than I am going to read something that is of interest to me, hence the word "pleasure".
The Throne of Fire is the second book in The Kane Chronicles following The Red Pyramid. This is the third series by best-selling author Rick Riordan, the first series being Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and the second being The Heroes of Olympus. These first two series are really great because they deal with a lot of Greek and Roman history and mythology, which I have always loved. This third series, however, is different, and after two books (the third one completing the series), I still am not sure whether I like it.
The Kane Chronicles follows brother and sister Carter and Sadie Kane, through their adventures as they learn that their family blood line is the strongest connection to the Egyptian Pharaohs for hundreds of years. During this discovery they find themselves learning magic and running into problems with the house of life (the regulators between the gods and the magicians). In typical Riordan fashion, the kids have only a few days (in each book) to save civilization as we know it. So far so good. I enjoy the concept, even though the stories are predictable and the plot sequence follow the same pattern as the other two series, it's still an enjoyable read. The big thing that irritates me is how the story is being presented.
In The Heroes of Olympus series Riordan started writing in a style that I loved and found really interesting. The story follows three main characters in their typical journey, but he presented all three points of view. To accomplish this he would follow one characters thoughts, opinions, adventures, and back-stories for two chapters and switch to another character. It was like reading a Quentin Tarantino movie: jumping around, different personalities, secrets, etc. This was awesome, because the reader is constantly on their toes, not because of the plot development like the Percy Jackson series, but more for the character development. It was a great way to really grab the reader and make them hold on until the end.
In The Kane Chronicles it is a similar way of writing between the brother and sister. However SO much different. First of all Riordan is presenting the book as a manuscript from tapes that he"found" from the brother and sister, he just types it up to spread the word. Interesting concept. During the writing the brother and sister mention symbols from hieroglyphics and what they look like, in which Riordan will put in the symbol (and even include a glossary in the back). Relatively helpful. The part that ruins the books for me...the interaction between Carter and Sadie. At different points in the book [broken off in brackets] Riordan will stop the story and write what is being "said" between the brother and sister in side conversations during their "recording". This is the biggest problem I have with the books.
Okay molehill, it's time to become a mountain.
This interaction between the two is very stiff and almost stereotypical brother and sister bickering. I feel that it breaks up the story too much, to an irritating degree. The only reason I finished the first book is because I was already half-way through it and and invested so much time into it, I wanted to see how it played out. The only reason that I read the second book was that I finished the first one. And guess what? I will read the third to complete the series. Stupid OCD. In the second book Riordan gets away from this concept a little and I really started to get into the story (as much as I could, having already predicted the ending in the first 100 pages). Then it hit me, my Kryptonite; in the last 70 pages, this interaction comes back full force. I don't want to say that it ruined it for me, but it really didn't help anything. Aside from the side conversations, every two chapters the "microphone" goes to the other one and they have to spend the first paragraph or two about why they are going to tell this part, or how the other left something out, or anything that essentially pisses me off because it has nothing to do with the story.
All in all, I think that Egyptian mythology is just as interesting as Greek and Roman, if not more so because I haven't had as much time reading it. The stories, even though predictable, are still entertaining because of Riordan's voice coming through. It's just so hard to get past the writing style and family interaction. Read them for yourself and let me know, because I am still not sure how I feel about them as a whole.
