Review: The Throne of Fire

Title: The Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles - Book #2)
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Middle Grade, Action Adventure, Magic
Rating: G
Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books for Children
Publication Date: May 3, 2011
Pages: 452 pages
Source: Purchased Finished Copy
[Goodreads | Amazon]

Synopsis

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?

Narrated in two different wisecracking voices, featuring a large cast of new and unforgettable characters, and with adventures spanning the globe, this second installment in the Kane Chronicles is nothing short of a thrill ride.


Quotes

"The sign was spray-painted in Arabic and English, probably from some attempt by the farmer to sell his wares in the market. The English read: Dates-best price. Cold Bebsi.
"Bebsi?" I asked.
"Pepsi," Walt said. "I read about it on the Internet. There's no 'p' in Arabic. Everyone here calls the soda Bebsi."
"So you have to have Bebsi with your bizza?"
"Brobably."

"Felix believed that the answer to every problem involved penguins; but it wasn't fair to birds, and I was getting tired of teleporting them back home. Somewhere in Antarctica, a whole flock of Magellanic penguins were undergoing psychotherapy."

"Now, you'll have to answer my questions."
"Oh, very well," Set said. "I like Brazil for the World Cup. I'd advise investing in platinum and small-cap funds. And your lucky numbers this week are 2, 13--"
"Not those questions!" Menshikov snapped."

"Our camels plodded along. Katrina tried to kiss, or possibly spit on Hindenburg, and Hindenburg farted in response. I found this a depressing commentary on boy-girl relationships."

My Thoughts

I really like this series of books.  Much better than the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (they are both written by the same author).  This is book number two in the Kane Chronicles series.  The series is scheduled to conclude in Spring 2012 with the publication of the third as yet unnamed book in the trilogy.

The book follows siblings Sadie and Carter Kane as they try to revive the missing sun go Ra in hopes of doing so preventing Apophis from escaping his prision.  Rather than being completely on their own this time around as they try to save the world in 4 days, they have the help of some of the new magicians they have been training as well as the dwarf god BES.

I must say that this book was laugh out loud funny in some instances and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Sadie and Carter are 12 and 14 in this book respectively, but in terms of the way they are written, it is not really obvious.  They find themselves in mortal danger again and again and manage to come through with little to no adult supervision.  If only my life had been this interesting when I was 12!