Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: May 1st, 2012
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In reading the third (and hopefully final) installment of the Kane Chronicles, I'm reminded as to why I loathed the other two books. They started out great. Then the awesome-factor started going steeply downhill until the very end where it sputters to a stop. To put it simply; it's like a bottle of coke that slowly loses its fizz. But The Serpent's Shadow did somewhat make up for the shortcomings of the second book.
Before I proceed with the rest of my review, I have to ask this question: Why are these beings even called Gods? They're some of the weakest fantasy creatures I've ever read about. Hell, even a mortal magician can overwhelm a so called God in one to one combat. Bes, the dwarf god of speedos' best weapon is screaming out...*drum roll* "BOO!" Apparently it works most of the time...on mortals. If it it doesn't then well...he has no other special powers. He's basically useless. In fact, when I was first introduced to his power in the second book, The Throne of Fire, I nearly died on of embarrassment (on behalf of Rick Riordan). This was the best he could come up with? It was almost lame enough to make me drop the book entirely.
That's another aspect I'm going to go over in my review. His sense of humor (or lack of). If you're like me, then you've read his previous series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I was a die-hard fan from the first book on because it was hilarious. In fact, just reading the chapter titles alone had me laughing out loud (earning me quite a few frowns and raised eyebrows from passersby). But eventually something happened to change all that. Either I gradually became immune to Riordan's brand of humor or *gasp* it just wasn't funny anymore. Every time I came upon a joke or tongue-in-cheek humor, I recognized it for it was: an attempt to be funny. But at best my response was: "Meh." Maybe the pressure and the past precedence of being funny is getting to him. Maybe he's just trying too hard to continue what he started, and that is causing the quality of his jokes to drop drastically. Or maybe it's just me.
Despite the lameness of the jokes, the plot progression and background are quite impressive. Riordan is very good at researching background on Egyptian mythology and combining it to fit in with a modern interpretation. While I couldn't visualize it as well as the Greek mythology he used in his previous series due to lack of personal exposure to the former, I could picture enough of it in my head to make it enjoyable to read about. The ending of the book is very interesting since it hints at a possible spin-off involving the two different series he's created. Will I be reading it if it comes out? Hell yes.
Scores:
Cover: 8
Characters: 7
Story: 7
Overall: 7/10
2 comments:
I really enjoyed this final installment of the Kane Chronicles. It was definitely better than The Throne of Fire (the 2nd book), but it's been a while since I read The Red Pyramid, so I can't honestly say if this was the best of the three, though I think it may have been. While I had trouble with the narration switches (back and forth between Sadie and Carter) in the first book, I found that it was not an issue in this book. It gives Mr. Riordan the ability to allow the reader to view two concurrent events without losing the 1st person perspective that gives this series so much of its character.
I not only enjoyed the return of those characters we love from the previous novels, I also enjoyed the addition of many of the new. The addition of Setne added a layer of tension and suspense. The "ankle-biters" added humor and lightness to a rather dark novel.
It was the best of the three, I agree with you on that. But the whole series as a whole was getting tiring to read. Maybe it's just the Egyptian mythology disagreeing with me. I found the so called Gods to be pansies rather than Badasses like the Greek Gods of Percy Jackson.
Setne was fun to read about. His character put a fresh perspective on things. I just love that guy despite his tendency to do evil things.
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