Rick Riordan, dubbed "storyteller of the gods" by Publishers Weekly, is the author of five #1 New York Times best-selling middle grade series with millions of copies sold throughout the world: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and the Trials of Apollo, based on Greek and Roman mythology; the Kane Chronicles, based on Ancient Egyptian mythology; and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, based on Norse mythology. Rick collaborated with illustrator John Rocco on two #1 New York Times best-selling collections of Greek myths for the whole family: Percy Jackson's Greek Gods and Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes. Rick is also the publisher of an imprint at Disney-Hyperion, Rick Riordan Presents, dedicated to finding other authors of highly entertaining fiction based on world cultures and mythologies. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @RickRiordan.
Riordan takes the elements that made the "Percy Jackson" (Hyperion)
books so popular and ratchets them up a notch. Carter, 14, and
Sadie, 12, have grown up apart. He has traveled all over the world
with his Egyptologist father, Dr. Julius Kane, while Sadie has
lived in London with her grandparents. Their mother passed away
under mysterious circumstances, so when their father arrives in
London and wants to take them both on a private tour of the British
Museum, all is not necessarily what it seems. The evening ends with
the apparent destruction of the Rosetta Stone, the disappearance of
Dr. Kane, and the kidnapping of Carter and Sadie. More insidiously,
it leads to the release of five Egyptian gods, including Set, who
is their mortal enemy. Carter and Sadie discover the secrets of
their family heritage and their ability to work magic as they
realize that their task will be to save humanity from Set, who is
building a destructive red pyramid inside Camelback Mountain in
Phoenix. The text is presented as the transcript of an audio
recording done by both children. Riordan creates two distinct and
realistic voices for the siblings. He has a winning formula, but
this book goes beyond the formulaic to present a truly original
take on Egyptian mythology. His trademark humor is here in
abundance, and there are numerous passages that will cause readers
to double over with laughter. The humor never takes away from the
story or from the overall tone. A must-have book, and in multiple
copies. SLJ"
Siblings Carter and Sadie Kane are plunged into a world of Egyptian
gods and monsters when their father, secretly a powerful magician
and descendant of the pharaohs, disappears after a failed spell
blows up the Rosetta Stone and summons five gods into the mortal
world. Fleeing assassination orders from the underground House of
Life, the brother and sister begin to discover their new powers-to
read hieroglyphics, to work spells using Divine Words, to create
ghostly avatars to help them in combat-and soon learn that Carter
is host to Horus, god of war, while Isis, goddess of wisdom, has
manifested in Sadie. Under attack from magicians, monsters, and
crocodile gods alike, and hoping to rescue their father from Set,
god of chaos, the Kanes must find a way to banish the chaos god
before he destroys all of North America. Similar in concept to the
author's best-selling Percy Jackson books, the new series relies
lightly on formula, here invoking Egyptian (rather than Greek)
mythology and culture in a story driven by wisecracking adolescents
in the modern world. Refreshingly for fantasy, Carter and Sadie are
biracial; nicely individuated with honest, compelling voices, they
share the duties of narration, while the action hits its stride in
the second chapter and never lets up. Fans of the Riordan
magic-equal parts danger, myth, and irreverence-will embrace this
new series with open arms. Horn Book"
Since their mother's death, six years ago, 12-year-old Sadie Kane
has lived in London with her maternal grandparents while her older
brother, 14-year-old Carter, has traveled the world with their
father, a renowned African American Egyptologist. In London on
Christmas Eve for a rare evening together, Carter and Sadie
accompany their dad to the British Museum, where he blows up the
Rosetta Stone in summoning an Egyptian god. Unleashed, the vengeful
god overpowers and entombs him, but Sadie and Carter escape.
Initially determined to rescue their father, their mission expands
to include understanding their hidden magical powers as the
descendants of the pharaohs and taking on the ancient forces bent
on destroying mankind. The first-person narrative shifts between
Carter and Sadie, giving the novel an intriguing dual perspective
made more complex by their biracial heritage and the tension
between the siblings, who barely know each other at the story's
beginning. The first volume in the Kane Chronicles, this fantasy
adventure delivers what fans loved about the Percy Jackson and the
Olympians series: young protagonists with previously unsuspected
magical powers, a riveting story marked by headlong adventure, a
complex background rooted in ancient mythology, and wry, witty
twenty-first-century narration. The last pages contain a clever
twist that will leave readers secretly longing to open their
lockers at the start of school. Booklist"
This fun, if formulaic, start to the Kane Chronicles series opens
with a signature Riordan move: an explosion. Siblings Carter and
Sadie have been living apart since their mother's mysterious death.
On Christmas Eve, archeologist Julius Kane and son Carter, 14, show
up in England for one of their two days a year with Sadie. Julius
ushers his children to the British Museum, where he blows up the
Rosetta Stone, unleashing five Egyptian gods and causing his own
disappearance. The kids' Uncle Amos whisks them to a Brooklyn
mansion, where he reveals that the Kanes descend from powerful
Egyptian magicians. Swap Egyptian mythology for Percy Jackson's
Greek gods and you've got the best part of this-an ancient history
lesson seamlessly unfurled in a rip-roaring adventure. Told in
alternating chapters by Carter and Sadie, the novel begins with a
warning that the book is a "transcript of a digital recording," a
distracting gimmick, and the attempts to make Sadie sound English
by dropping in British slang are intermittent. Despite those flaws,
Riordan delivers another funny yarn with kids in the lead and
animal sidekicks that nearly steal the show. PW"
Riordan takes the elements that made the "Percy Jackson" (Hyperion)
books so popular and ratchets them up a notch. Carter, 14, and
Sadie, 12, have grown up apart. He has traveled all over the world
with his Egyptologist father, Dr. Julius Kane, while Sadie has
lived in London with her grandparents. Their mother passed away
under mysterious circumstances, so when their father arrives in
London and wants to take them both on a private tour of the British
Museum, all is not necessarily what it seems. The evening ends with
the apparent destruction of the Rosetta Stone, the disappearance of
Dr. Kane, and the kidnapping of Carter and Sadie. More insidiously,
it leads to the release of five Egyptian gods, including Set, who
is their mortal enemy. Carter and Sadie discover the secrets of
their family heritage and their ability to work magic as they
realize that their task will be to save humanity from Set, who is
building a destructive red pyramid inside Camelback Mountain in
Phoenix. The text is presented as the transcript of an audio
recording done by both children. Riordan creates two distinct and
realistic voices for the siblings. He has a winning formula, but
this book goes beyond the formulaic to present a truly original
take on Egyptian mythology. His trademark humor is here in
abundance, and there are numerous passages that will cause readers
to double over with laughter. The humor never takes away from the
story or from the overall tone. A must-have book, and in multiple
copies. SLJ"
Siblings Carter and Sadie Kane are plunged into a world of Egyptian
gods and monsters when their father, secretly a powerful magician
and descendant of the pharaohs, disappears after a failed spell
blows up the Rosetta Stone and summons five gods into the mortal
world. Fleeing assassination orders from the underground House of
Life, the brother and sister begin to discover their new powers-to
read hieroglyphics, to work spells using Divine Words, to create
ghostly avatars to help them in combat-and soon learn that Carter
is host to Horus, god of war, while Isis, goddess of wisdom, has
manifested in Sadie. Under attack from magicians, monsters, and
crocodile gods alike, and hoping to rescue their father from Set,
god of chaos, the Kanes must find a way to banish the chaos god
before he destroys all of North America. Similar in concept to the
author's best-selling Percy Jackson books, the new series relies
lightly on formula, here invoking Egyptian (rather than Greek)
mythology and culture in a story driven by wisecracking adolescents
in the modern world. Refreshingly for fantasy, Carter and Sadie are
biracial; nicely individuated with honest, compelling voices, they
share the duties of narration, while the action hits its stride in
the second chapter and never lets up. Fans of the Riordan
magic-equal parts danger, myth, and irreverence-will embrace this
new series with open arms. Horn Book"
Since their mother's death, six years ago, 12-year-old Sadie Kane
has lived in London with her maternal grandparents while her older
brother, 14-year-old Carter, has traveled the world with their
father, a renowned African American Egyptologist. In London on
Christmas Eve for a rare evening together, Carter and Sadie
accompany their dad to the British Museum, where he blows up the
Rosetta Stone in summoning an Egyptian god. Unleashed, the vengeful
god overpowers and entombs him, but Sadie and Carter escape.
Initially determined to rescue their father, their mission expands
to include understanding their hidden magical powers as the
descendants of the pharaohs and taking on the ancient forces bent
on destroying mankind. The first-person narrative shifts between
Carter and Sadie, giving the novel an intriguing dual perspective
made more complex by their biracial heritage and the tension
between the siblings, who barely know each other at the story's
beginning. The first volume in the Kane Chronicles, this fantasy
adventure delivers what fans loved about the Percy Jackson and the
Olympians series: young protagonists with previously unsuspected
magical powers, a riveting story marked by headlong adventure, a
complex background rooted in ancient mythology, and wry, witty
twenty-first-century narration. The last pages contain a clever
twist that will leave readers secretly longing to open their
lockers at the start of school. Booklist"
This fun, if formulaic, start to the Kane Chronicles series opens
with a signature Riordan move: an explosion. Siblings Carter and
Sadie have been living apart since their mother's mysterious death.
On Christmas Eve, archeologist Julius Kane and son Carter, 14, show
up in England for one of their two days a year with Sadie. Julius
ushers his children to the British Museum, where he blows up the
Rosetta Stone, unleashing five Egyptian gods and causing his own
disappearance. The kids' Uncle Amos whisks them to a Brooklyn
mansion, where he reveals that the Kanes descend from powerful
Egyptian magicians. Swap Egyptian mythology for Percy Jackson's
Greek gods and you've got the best part of this-an ancient history
lesson seamlessly unfurled in a rip-roaring adventure. Told in
alternating chapters by Carter and Sadie, the novel begins with a
warning that the book is a "transcript of a digital recording," a
distracting gimmick, and the attempts to make Sadie sound English
by dropping in British slang are intermittent. Despite those flaws,
Riordan delivers another funny yarn with kids in the lead and
animal sidekicks that nearly steal the show. PW"
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