The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

I have always been fascinated with Egyptian mythology but I am not as knowledgeable in it as I am in Greek myth.  So when a friend recommended that I read this series, he had me at "it's like Percy Jackson but only Egyptian myth".  I love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, by the way, so naturally I would read this one by the same author.

What first struck me is the warning part at the start of the book.  I loved it!  It says that the book was just a transcription of a digital recording and that sometimes there was poor audio quality so the author could only guess what the narrators were saying.  I find it unique, this is the first time I read a novel that was just transcribed.

Since the book is a transcription, it is written in first person.  Carter and Sadie Kane take turns giving the account of their adventures and misadventures.  I am not a fan of first person narration since the reader only has the perspective of the narrator with respect to the story.  It is only his or her thoughts and feelings that the readers will experience.  In this book, since there are two persons who are narrating, sometimes I find it confusing as to who is the one telling the story although at the start of each chapter the name Carter or Sadie is written to indicate whose account it is being told.

The two main characters are the Kane siblings, Carter and Sadie.  When their mother died, Carter lived with their dad, an archaeologist whose specialty is Egypt, and Sadie with their grandparents in London.  Living with their dad, Julius, Carter got to travel around.  He gets to accompany him at archaeological digs and excavations which I think is cool if you're into that sort of stuff (like me).  Carter does not go to a regular school, since they are always travelling, so their dad is his teacher.  Their dad taught him whatever he thought is important.  Since he accompanies his dad to places where he doesn't know anybody, Carter spends a lot of time reading anything that he can get his hands on.  That's why I think he's a bit of a geek.

Sadie, on the other hand, is quite the opposite of her brother.  Carter usually wears button-down shirts, slacks and dress shoes (as an old man as Sadie would say).  When Sadie met up with him and their dad she was dressed in jeans, leather jacket and combat boots (she even has red steaks on her hair).  She's a bit stubborn and strong-willed because if you tell her not to do something, she's going to do the exact opposite.  She is spontaneous in the sense that she would act on something without analyzing the situation or without even thinking at all!

I enjoyed reading this book because not only is the story an exciting read but I also got to learn about Egyptian myths like the reason why Egyptian gods are depicted as having the heads of animals as Amos explains, "The gods could appear in many forms - usually fully human or fully animal, but occasionally as a hybrid form x x x.  They are primal forces, you understand, a sort of bridge between humanity and nature.  They are depicted with animal heads to show that they exist in two different worlds at once."  Or what Iskandar explained to Carter on the concept of good and evil, "Evil and good may not be the best way to think of it, Carter.  As a magician, you must think about chaos and order.  Those are the two forces that control the universe."

However, I am still partial to Percy Jackson maybe because I know more about Greek myth than Egyptian.  Don't get me wrong, I like the book.  There's adventure (lots of it), humor (I found myself chuckling some times while reading the book), suspense and touching moments.  It is about Carter and Sadie's account when they discovered that the gods of Egypt are being woken, including Set (who is considered the worst of them all) and their role in stopping his malevolent plans.  As they traveled around the globe on a quest to halt Set's schemes, they got to know each other better and discovered something about their family.

Reading about myths (Greek, Roman and Egyptian), I realized that gods can be taxing.  They would fight amongst themselves and we would suffer.  They would toy with humans, deceive us, turn us to animals or something.  You would get a worse fate if you offend them, moreso if you say that you are better than them!  Compared to Greek gods I think Egyptian gods are more badass.  With the bodies of humans and heads of animals, their appearance alone would scare the hell out of you.  And so far, I haven't read anything that they involved themselves in petty squabble like Greek gods do.  They always mean business.

Mr. Riordan has presented to his readers the idea that "what if gods exist among us" as early as his Percy Jackson series.  He posits the same in this series.  Makes me wonder what if they really are among us albeit unnoticed?

Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same.  Fairness means everyone gets what they need.  And the only way to get what you need is to make it happen yourself. - Julius Kane

Rating: 4 of 5 STARS