rushthatspeaks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rushthatspeaks) wrote2011-06-26 01:37 am
rushthatspeaks) wrote2011-06-26 01:37 am
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Throne of Fire, Rick Riordan (365 Books, Day 299)
Yesterday's review.
The second of Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles continues to be a pleasant and erudite ramble through Egyptian mythology in the same way the Percy Jackson series is for the Greek. I think the Kane books are aimed one notch up in age of audience; they certainly have more factions and more complex motivations for the primary villains.
However, in basic outline, this is of course Egyptian mythology's Greatest Hits. Last book we had the Horus/Osiris/Isis story; this time we get the journey of Ra through the underworld in the boat of the sun-- well, not precisely the journey of Ra, but the journey of Sadie Kane and her brother Carter to try to get Ra back into the cosmic driver's seat so that there's a chance of defeating the evil chaos snake Apophis. Sadie and Carter have on occasion been possessed by Isis and Horus, which means that the human magicians who ought to be their greatest allies against Apophis don't trust them, because it is not reasonable to trust gods as far as you can throw them. (Very sensible.) This is a world in which it's plausible for everyone to be against the protagonists, even the factions which are actually on the side of good, and I appreciate the complexity of the various sides' motivations, which are thoroughly tangled but also expressed clearly and without confusion.
I think Riordan is generally improving as he goes; the Percy Jackson books got better as the series progressed, with the first book of series two being definitely his best so far, and the writing of the Kane books is at about that level. The major issue I have here is that the Egyptian stuff is sticking to the Greatest Hits, that I could predict the exact plot of the endgame of this book at fifty paces and the general outlines by reading the title. He did a lot better at making the Greeks surprising-- there are some references in those that are genuinely obscure. I get the feeling Egypt is not his primary field.
But this continues Riordan's wise-cracking voice, fast-paced action scenes, and ability to deliver good execution of the scenes you can see coming ten miles away, so it's completely readable and I'm sure I'll pick up the next. It just... well, if you'll forgive me, Throne of Fire never quite ignites.
The second of Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles continues to be a pleasant and erudite ramble through Egyptian mythology in the same way the Percy Jackson series is for the Greek. I think the Kane books are aimed one notch up in age of audience; they certainly have more factions and more complex motivations for the primary villains.
However, in basic outline, this is of course Egyptian mythology's Greatest Hits. Last book we had the Horus/Osiris/Isis story; this time we get the journey of Ra through the underworld in the boat of the sun-- well, not precisely the journey of Ra, but the journey of Sadie Kane and her brother Carter to try to get Ra back into the cosmic driver's seat so that there's a chance of defeating the evil chaos snake Apophis. Sadie and Carter have on occasion been possessed by Isis and Horus, which means that the human magicians who ought to be their greatest allies against Apophis don't trust them, because it is not reasonable to trust gods as far as you can throw them. (Very sensible.) This is a world in which it's plausible for everyone to be against the protagonists, even the factions which are actually on the side of good, and I appreciate the complexity of the various sides' motivations, which are thoroughly tangled but also expressed clearly and without confusion.
I think Riordan is generally improving as he goes; the Percy Jackson books got better as the series progressed, with the first book of series two being definitely his best so far, and the writing of the Kane books is at about that level. The major issue I have here is that the Egyptian stuff is sticking to the Greatest Hits, that I could predict the exact plot of the endgame of this book at fifty paces and the general outlines by reading the title. He did a lot better at making the Greeks surprising-- there are some references in those that are genuinely obscure. I get the feeling Egypt is not his primary field.
But this continues Riordan's wise-cracking voice, fast-paced action scenes, and ability to deliver good execution of the scenes you can see coming ten miles away, so it's completely readable and I'm sure I'll pick up the next. It just... well, if you'll forgive me, Throne of Fire never quite ignites.