The Serpent's Shadow

Despite their best efforts, Carter and Sadie Kane still haven't put a final stop to Apophis and his quest to bring darkness to the world. On top of that, the leadership of the House of Life has turned against them and see them and everyone else in Brooklyn House as the enemy. It would definitely be an understatement to say they must prepare to face their biggest challenges yet. To overcome it, they plan to seek out an ancient spell that will allow them to defeat Apophis, but tracking it down won't be easy. There's a reason the magic has been lost to the ages and Apophis isn't going to let them dig it back up with any sort of ease. Their Brooklyn House allies are behind them, but with multiple forces moving against them, the question of show more what they might be able to achieve is certainly an open-ended one...

Rick Riordan's skill for creating these worlds that are so neatly spun together with mythology never ceases to impress and amaze me. He tells original stories in vibrant worlds, drawing just the right amount of inspiration and information from the stories of the past without relying on them to the point that we just get a retelling of the mythical legends of old. Carter and Sadie have such strong character voices--particularly important when you tell something from a first person perspective.

Honestly, I was really only disappointed that this ended. I would have loved to have spent more time with these characters if there was room to do so. show less

Summary: Carter and Sadie Kane may have temporarily stopped the emergence of Apophis, the ancient Egyptian god of chaos, but they know that he's not gone for good. He's attempting to destroy all records of a spell that they could use to destroy him. They've got a last-ditch plan to stop him from devouring the world when he breaks free again, but it will most likely cost them their lives. But then they learn a secret - gods, like mortals, have shadows, and that shadow contains a piece of their essence that can be used to make spells against them even more powerful. So now the Kane siblings must locate the shadow of Apophis, with only the help of the ghost of an evil and wily magician, and with time running short, before everyone they show more love - and all of the rest of the world - crumbles into the churning sea of chaos.

Review: This series has been reliably enjoyable, if not necessarily knock-my-socks-off brilliant, and this third book was no exception. All of the various plot threads that have been introduced throughout the series - the god Set's true allegiances, the infirmity of Ra, the various factions within the House of Life, the Sadie/Walt/Anubis triangle and Walt's mysterious illness, Carter and Zia's relationship, the fate of the dwarf god Bes, the god/mortal working relationships, etc. - all get neatly wrapped up in this book. Riordan did leave his options open for future books, it's true, and I rolled my eyes a little at how blatantly that was done, but on the whole, this book is a good conclusion for what's come before. All of the things that I've enjoyed about this series, and about Riordan's books in general - the quick-paced action, the relatable narrators, the snarky and somewhat absurdist sense of humor, the interweaving of lots of mythology - were true in this case as well, and in general, it was a solidly fun read.

So, while I had fun listening to it, I didn't totally love it. Carter and Sadie are fine narrators, and I really enjoy their sibling dynamic, but I'm not really attached to them in the way that I was to Percy Jackson, so their physical and emotional peril didn't have quite the same effect. This book also spent a lot of time on their romantic entanglements, and while they worked out about as I'd expected them to, my heartstrings remained firmly un-tugged. (Perhaps that's because I still find thirteen-year-old Sadie's relationships with sixteen-pushing-seventeen-year-old Walt - not to mention several-thousand-year-old Anubis - kind of creepy.) There's also an element of "the world is ending tomorrow and you're concerned about this now??", but at least the characters call each other out on that front. But despite that, I stayed interested, stayed engaged, kept listening, and had fun with it. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Definitely don't start here, but the series as a whole is good fun for fans of fast-paced and funny YA fantasy adventure, particularly if they also like ancient Egypt. show less

Satisfying conclusion to a very good trilogy. This one has plenty of action, but also develops further some of the underlying concepts of Egyptian mythology, in ways that are understandable to modern readers but still seem true to the original stories. (This is in stark contrast to other books I've read, where the authors just appropriate the gods' names but take nothing else.) The characters also continue to be strong, quirky, and funny, particularly Sadie (who reminds me of some of the Empress-of-the-World types I've run into at preschool, just older). I hope there are more Kane family tales in the pipeline -- and I plan to check out Riordan's Sadie/Annabeth/Carter/Percy crossovers as soon as they're at the library.

Riordan, R. (2012). The Serpent's Shadow. New York: Disney.

401 pages.

Bleeps (Blog-peeps, as my friend Holly asserts), I'm going to be honest here. This book is the reason I haven't been posting much over the last two or three weeks. I got stuck in the middle of this book and had to struggle to keep reading.

Appetizer: Siblings Sadie and Carter Kane are back with their third and final transcript of their adventures to protect the world from some dangerous Ancient Egyptian magic that could descend the world into chaos. This time, they're here to tell the story behind all of those earthquakes, tsunamis and the near end of the world.

Apophis, "the primordial force of Chaos" has been unleashed and Carter and Sadie must devise a way to stop it, show more preferably a way that won't kill them in the process. A desperate plan will send them around the world, seeking information and preparing to achieve something no other magicians have ever managed to do. But before they do that, the siblings will have to attend their first school dance.

I was surprised by the extent of romance in The Serpent's Shadow. There was a downright paranormal romance vibe during the school dance mentioned above. (Sadie finds herself with a dance partner who levitates them. I kid you not. I won't tell you the name of the boy causing the floating, because of course, Sadie's also the center of a love triangle, that has an arguably very strange resolution.)

OMG!
Paranormal Romance
has infected
the Kanes!!!!!!!!

Although a satisfying end to this trilogy, Riordan leaves the door open for further adventures with the Kane siblings and all of their friends. (I'd bet a very small amount of money that these characters are going to make an appearance in the new Norse mythology series that Riordan is working on. This is very exciting for my research, because instead of just hinting at the gods of different cultures co-existing in the same world, Riordan will directly address the issue. But that could just be wishful thinking on my part. Of course, it would also mean that a lot of my dissertation will become dated. Sigh.)

Having now completed The Serpent's Shadow, I'm officially declaring that the Kane Chronicles is my least favorite of Riordan's several myth-based series. It's not just that I'm least familiar with Egyptian mythology, but I also had trouble keeping track of a lot of the characters. Many of the descriptions of the actions feel rushed (I've complained about this before with his writing. Honestly, I think it's because of the crazy writing and researching schedule Riordan must be on to complete all of the tomes for his many series. If I were in his position, I would have burned out long ago.). I also wouldn't have minded a little more exposition and a few more reminders of the events from the previous books. More than that, for me, the logic of this series is the hardest to keep track of and follow.

I also got annoyed with the way the narration kept denying the reader knowledge. At least three or four times, the Kane siblings were given vague warnings or were about to find out something important when suddenly the informant had to leave or was distracted. I could deal with this technique once or twice, but it got a little ridiculous that Riordan relied on it so often in an effort to try and maintain the sense of mystery.

But that's just me. What are your thoughts?

Dinner Conversation:

"Sadie Kane here.
If you're listening to this, congratulations! You survived Doomsday.
I'd like to apologize straightaway for any inconvenience the end of the world may have caused you. The earthquakes, rebellions, riots, tornadoes, floods, tsunamis, and of course the giant snake who swallowed the sun--I'm afraid most of that was our fault. Carter and I decided we should at least explain how it happened." (p. 1)

"True, full-out Armageddon hadn't come yet. It had been six months since the Chaos snake Apophis had escaped from his Underworld prison, but he still hadn't launched a large-scale invasion of the mortal world as we'd expected. For some reason, the serpent was biding his time, settling for smaller attacks on nomes that seemed secure and happy.
Like this one, I thought." (p. 3).

"Its eyes turned the color of blood. Its carved mouth twisted into a smile. "Your magic is weak, Sadie Kane. Human civilization has grown as old and rotten. I will swallow the sun god and plunge your world into darkness. The Sea of Chaos will consume you all." (p. 20)

"Honestly, he drones on and on about his plans for the Apocalypse, but he makes no plans at all for the school dance. My brother's priorities are severely skewed.
I don't think I was being selfish wanting to go to the dance. Of course we had serious business to deal with. That's exactly why I insisted on partying first. Our initiates needed a morale boost. They needed a chance to be normal kids, to have friends and lives outside Brooklyn House--something worth fighting for. Even armies in the field fight better when they take breaks for entertainment. I'm sure some general somewhere has said that." (p. 77)

Tasty Rating: !! show less

Despite Rick Riordans continued assualt on museums (why do they keep getting destroyed in all his books?) I really liked everything that happened in this story. I felt like the level of suspense and danger was appropriate for the final book in the series, but it was also really funny and emotional. I loved seeing all the young magicians figuring out their powers but I wish there was more of some of the minor characters.

Rick Riordan’s exciting Kane Chronicles comes to an epic conclusion in The Serpent’s Shadow.

When we pick up the story, Carter and Sadie have been visiting other Nomes of magicians desperately searching for a spell to defeat Chaos itself – Apophis. Unfortunately Apophis has been attacking the Nomes, destroying everything in his path and leaving no one alive. The Kanes’ last chance is a scroll left behind by one of the world’s most psychotic magicians – Setne – which just may hold the answer they seek. Before they can retrieve the scroll, however, Apophis strikes again and leaves them with nothing but an empty gold box of shadows. Now Carter and Sadie must find the magician who holds the fate of the world in his hands – show more too bad he is a ghost and scheduled for execution in two days!

Riordan has so much story to tell he doesn’t have time to recap what has happened before, so if your memories of The Red Pyramid and The Throne of Fire are fuzzy I highly recommend you haul them out for a refresher. If I kept track of everything correctly (and I’m not sure if I did), The Serpent’s Shadow takes place within a 3-day span that is packed with action. From Brooklyn to Cairo, the River of Night to the Sea of Chaos, Carter and Sadie are everywhere – sometimes together, sometimes apart. With Zia and Walt at their sides, the Kanes attempt the impossible – to prevent the rise of Apophis and the end of the world.

Even though they are very young teenagers, romance is never far from their minds. Carter and Zia’s relationship is the most uneven; they became very close in the first book, but once Carter discovered the Zia he knew wasn’t real their relationship has been pretty much at a standstill. The Serpent’s Shadow is the first time since The Red Pyramid that they have spent any amount of significant time together, and even now Zia is distracted by her unusual connection with the ancient sun god Ra. The love triangle of Sadie, Walt and Anubis has been much more successful; the only trouble is one boy is on the brink of death and the other has just been forbidden by the gods to see her ever again. I have to say I could kind of see how this triangle would play out, but that didn’t lessen my enjoyment of its resolution.

I was very happy to see our old friend Bes the Dwarf God again, but I missed having cat goddess Bast around. Her “kittens” have grown up and don’t need her as much, but it still left a little hole in the story not having her accompany Carter and Sadie on their adventures. However, a very intriguing character is added to the Kane Chronicles roster with the introduction of psychotic murderous ghost Setne. Nicknamed by Sadie as “Uncle Vinnie” and looking like “the Ancient Egyptian Mafia” Setne adds a great deal of color to the tale. Accompanying Carter and Zia on their trip to the Sea of Chaos in their quest to find Apophis’ shadow, Setne has plenty of opportunity to show off his smooth-talking con-artist skills. I couldn’t help but picture a used car salesman every time he opened his mouth! Every double-cross he pulls off is accompanied by a smile, and only the timely arrival of Sadie disrupts his schemes. In Sadie, Setne has met his match.

This story moves at the speed of light, racing to an explosive conclusion that takes place on Doomsday itself. In a final battle that pits gods against gods, and magicians against magicians, Carter and Sadie will need their young initiates – kindergartener Shelby with her crayons of doom, Felix and his penguins, and scholar Cleo (to name a few) – to help halt Apophis’ plan and rescue the world from certain destruction.

Full of action, adventure, romance and humor, The Serpent’s Shadow brings the Kane Chronicles to a spectacular conclusion. I doubt, however, that this is truly the last we’ll see of Carter, Sadie, and their friends. Riordan has left a huge window of opportunity open for future Kane Chronicles books, with mentions of other mythological pantheons that may just want to take advantage of the peace left at the end of this series of adventures. And with Olympus across the river from the Brooklyn House, a collaboration between Riordan’s other famous character, Percy Jackson, and the Kanes is not outside the realm of possibility. All of this leaves me anxious to see just where Rick Riordan plans to go next…it should be one heck of a ride. show less

Rick Riordan has done it again. He has created an excellent ending to the Kane Chronicles that makes you wonder if you will see Carter and Sadie (or Walt and Zia) in one of his other series. I really enjoyed learning more about the Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses. I hope that the Kanes and their friends make an appearance in one of Riordan's other series. Great Trilogy!