Review: The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid

By Rick Riordan

Publication date: May 4, 2010

Synopsis:

Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives. Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set--has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

My review:

The Red Pyramid is a fantastic adventure filled with interesting characters, magic, and snarky humor. The story is told in alternating chapters by Carter and Sadie and each has their own unique voice. My favorite character was Sadie because I just loved her sarcastic wit. She was quite wise for a twelve year old. I am not very familiar with Egyptian mythology although I have heard of some of the major names: Osiris, Isis, Horus, Thoth, Set, and Bast. I enjoyed reading about the various myths and mythological creatures. My favorite mythological character was Bast. She was just a lot of fun!

In between all the action and suspense the book looks at some serious themes like racial prejudice and the meaning of family. Carter looks like their father who is African-American and Sadie looks like their mother who is White. People give them strange looks when they say they are siblings and Carter has noticed as he grows older that some people are starting to regard him with suspicion. Carter's dad has always made him wear "preppy" clothes so that prejudiced people would be more likely to respect him. I am glad that Rick Riordan chose to tackle the topic of racial prejudice and I think he handles it really well. The theme of family is echoed in Carter and Sadie's relationship to each other and their parents and in the stories about the gods. Even though Carter and Sadie don't know each other very well at the beginning they grow closer throughout the book and look out for each other.

While I still prefer the Percy Jackson series, I thought The Red Pyramid was a delightful book and I look forward to reading more about Carter and Sadie's adventures as the series continues. You can read the first chapter here.

Series Readalikes: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott, The 39 Clues series, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series