The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

Target Audience: Kids/Teens/Young Adults
Genre: Historical fiction/Fantasy/Adventure

Those who have read my other Rick Riordan reviews will know I'm a huge fan of his books and I'm now loving this series as much as his Percy Jackson books (though Percy will always own that little piece of my heart).  With the Kane Chronicles, Mr Riordan has brought the ancient Egyptian gods to life in a way no History teacher I've ever known has ever done.  If you'd like to learn a little more here's a synopsis for you:

Following there victory against Set, Sadie and Carter Kane are now recruiting and training other young magicians in the world. But things aren't as peaceful as they might be and now the great serpent Apophis is breaking free of his prison; if he succeeds then he will swallow the sun and plunge the world into darkness. There only chance is to awaken the sun god Ra, but in order to do that they need the Book of Ra and unfortunately the Book of Ra is scattered. With only a few days until Apophis breaks free, will Sadie and Carter be able to save the world?


This book is pretty much a roller-coaster ride of adventure, humour, peril and really amusing Egyptian gods. I have to admit I thought I'd read most things, that is until the legend that is the Dwarf God; Bes. whom I will rave about in a little bit..
I found the adventure and plot in this book to be more involved and exciting then the first in the series, maybe because all the intro stuff was out of the way in the first book. Whatever the reason, the action kicks off from page one during a museum break-in and swiftly progresses with little pause (I was glad about this, I've read way too many books with far too much babble)

What I did notice was the sheer peril in some areas which even I found to be a little scary. For example, there's a part where one of the characters gets a glimpse to Apophis' cage and coupled with the detailed description I felt honestly terrified of that snake escaping, and I'm not even scared of snakes! Coupled with the race to get the pages of the Book of Ra and what you have is an incredibly scary, funny (inappropriate at times, but who cares?) and totally amazing egyptian adventure.

Once again, the story is split between Sadie and Carter and as usual this lends to some differing and interesting story telling. Sadie has many qualities she shares with Carter but is also very different. Carter seems to think a lot more whereas Sadie is a bit more impulsive but both are stubborn at times.  Either way, I loved them both!
Bes, the Dwarf God, was another favourite character of mine. He was funny, helpful, unforgettable and ultimately the most selfless character I've come across in a long time. I really really hope we hear more from Bes in the future (fingers crossed!) despite how the book ended. Actually, just give the guy a series of his own, he is that awesome!

In short, I can't really find any fault. This is as near perfect as an historical fantasy fiction book gets and if your having a particularly bad day; lock yourself in a room and have a good giggle, because it will make you laugh. The plot will suck you in, the characters are unforgettable and the ending is epic.