Magnificent Middle Grade Week: The Throne of Fire (The Kane Chronicles #2)

Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Hyperion Books (May 2011)

Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven't given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians.

And now their most threatening enemy yet - the chaos snake Apophis - is rising. If they don't prevent him from breaking free in a few days' time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it's a typical week for the Kane family.

To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished.

First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly?

The Throne of Fire is the second in the Kane Chronicles. I also enjoyed the first one, The Red Pyramid, but I liked this one better. I felt like I was getting less of a history lesson and more adventure. That was my biggest complaint about The Red Pyramid. This time around, Sadie and her Brother Carter Kane must find the god Ra and prevent Anubis from entering the mortal world.

I felt like the kids grew into their own in this one. Their relationship with each other became stronger. I loved Sadie. She is like a breath of fresh air. She says it like it is and her thoughts often caused laugh out loud moments for me. Carter isn't as full of personality, but he is slowly growing on me. Along with many of the same characters from the first book, we are introduced to a few new faces. I thought they brought a freshness to the story. Walt was just too sweet for words and Bes was a great god. I would love to see a drawing of him in his Hawaiian shirt and speedo.

The Throne of Fire is more serious than The Red Pyramid. The siblings face more loss in this one. While sad, the loss is necessary to give them strength for the battle ahead. It is also filled with many battles as in the first one. The end of the book does give some resolution, but there is also a cliffhanger of sorts. I hope the next book comes out soon to see if Sadie and Carter can save the world and put the selfish gods in their places.
I feel this series is very similar to the Percy Jackson series, which I loved. There are battles, selfish gods, and children who must battle evil to save the world. Despite that, I am enjoying it. I wouldn't call this a stand alone novel. There is a lot of back story in the first one that I think is necessary for this one, so I recommend reading them in order.

I think any Middle Grade reader who is a fan of Percy Jackson will enjoy this series as well!

--Kari