Rick Riordan sparked my interest in various mythologies, but the best of the many he's made, at least in my eyes, is the Kane Chronicles. The whole series was strong from start to finish.
The Egyptian Gods are my favorite pantheon in the Riordanverse, because they ACTUALLY DO THINGS IN THE STORY! .
Not to knock on the other books, but the Greek and Norse gods all felt very samey. There are three kinds: "The I WISH I could help, but the rules, yada yada" or "How dare you human, don't even breathe the same air as me" or "Now that you've solved the problem that I caused, here's a DRIPLET of help so we can progress the plot, now leave me alone". There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, the gods were all the same, callous arrogant people, which is the point, but I wish they had a bit more depth than that. They exist more as obstacles than help, and the relationship between gods and mortals never felt very deep, only a shallow, grudging one.
In contrast, the Egyptian gods are so varied! As opposed to the almost bystander presence of gods in the other books, the villains and main supporting characters consist of gods, and all of them are very fun and interesting in their own way. The nature of the gods in this world means they aren't worshipped, they do not birth demigods, and must pull their own weight. They also feel like timeless gods and their appearances and personalities felt like a perfect balance of modern sensibilities and ancient wisdom.
The good gods here are actually actively helpful towards fighting the forces of Chaos instead of being distracted somewhere else. There's a dynamic here that wasn't present with the oh-so-high-and-mighty Greek gods. They have personalities outside of their sphere of influence, their own troubles, and we actually feel for them when they fight because it's established they CAN be killed by non-gods, albeit with great effort.
In addition, magic. The magic in the world of Egypt is so interesting! The concepts are simple, but the applications and rules are nuanced enough that there's a lot of clever ways for them to apply it in a fight. Much more interesting to me than the natural inclinations of the demigods such Percy's thing being water and horses. The Duat is a fantastic and imaginative representation of the afterlife, and pretty different from the usual interpretations.
Lastly, most of the characters are developed really naturally. Magnus Chase and the Heroes of Olympus storylines had problems with being too on-the-nose about being inclusive or being too snarky, to the point certain characters became nothing but their stereotype. The Kane Chronicles balances this the best out of all of the books Riordan has made. Carter and Sadie being African-American-British, with very different skintones and backgrounds, means they got odd looks, but it never defined them, nor did they feel the need to remind you of that fact every other chapter (cough Alex and Sam in Magnus Chase cough). They also progressed in their power and personalities believably, because despite all they go through, I can still point at their character and say "this is the same character deep down" and not just another character entirely.
While I still hold a lot of love for the PJ books for introducing me to Riordan, it was the Kane Chronicles that really filled me with that wonder at learning something new,and I hope more people pick it up and read it, because Egyptian mythology is so cool.
by CarnivorousL
34 Comments
They are really good
I haven’t read them yet but they’re on my tbr list, you’ve just made me want to read them more.
I did enjoy the Kane Chronicles, but I still think The Heroes of Olympus was better. Just my preference!
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Despite hearing of this series, I was always more compelled to read the PJ books. I personally liked the idea of demi-god children cleaning up their parents (constant) messes and whatnot, but now I think I’ll give the Kane Chronicles a try. I really like Egyptian culture but was unsure of reading it.
I mean, Riordan did well with Greek Gods, but when he started doing so many other interpretations and things (like the Norse Gods and making Apollo a whiny teenage boy), I wasn’t sure about reading his other books. I’ll gladly put the Kane Chronicles on my “To Read” list now
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Hey, give some credit to Apollo, he’s working his ass off right now!
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
As a disclaimer I will say I have not read anything after the final Heroes of Olympus book.
The lightning thief being the first book I ever really read for enjoyment, it will always hold a special place in my heart. The sea of monsters was pretty bad compared to the first one. The Titans Curse was excellent, I can still recall a lot of scenes even though I last read it more than 10 years ago. The battle of the Labyrinth was fine but not great. The last Olympian was ok but a bit of a let down in regards as to how the prophecy was fullfilled.
The lost hero was ok, I didn’t really like Jason and Piper but Leo was fine. The Son of Neptune is his best work so far imo, great storyline and very memorable. The curse of Athena was hot garbage as were the final two books.
The Kane Chronicles had an ok start with the red pyramid, the second book was fine and the third a bit underwhelming. I kinda liked Sadie and Anubis
I don’t see how the Kane Chronicles is his best work, the quality might be more consistent than the other series but no book was truly great. It had the best finale of all the series but that doesn’t really say much as Riordan doesn’t write good finales. Percy Jackson is better but it being my very first book series I cannot be objective. I think we can all agree Heroes of Olympus sucked after the excellent Son of Neptune. The Titans Curse is probably his best work matched with Son of Neptune.
I think PJ is the best. The Heroes of Olympus is too serious and the final battle is too fast. Magnus is quite good but it’s too short. The Kane Chronicles is about the Egypt’s god and i don’t think they’re actually gods so they don’t make me feel interested
I agree that the Kane Chronicles are the best series that Riordan has published. Firstly, the progressive aspect is not as big of a focus as future books like Magnus Chase, where it was frankly off putting. In addition, the final battle scene is probably the best one we had, not the embarrassment that Magnus Chase had.
I don’t know if I have a favorite series because I love them all, but I really liked how the Egyptian gods ‘worked.’ It would have been so easy to just write them like the Greek/Roman gods and it felt different and refreshing, while also feeling familiar and comforting. Rick Riordan books are my go to whenever I get into a reading slump!
If you like books where gods interact with mortals, I would recommend The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. It starts off with the old Irish gods, but it adds more pantheons as the books progress, as all gods with worshippers existed.
I’d recommend reading the Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan if anyone is looking for a good read
I was never a massive PJ fan (though I couldn’t really avoid it as it was MASSIVE when I was in middle school), but I actually liked The Kane Chronicles far more than I thought I would. I definitely thought that the concept, the setting, and the gods made a LOT more sense to me than the PJ concepts, and while the characters felt a bit stereotyped, they were still a lot of fun.
Didn’t even know he still made books. Thanks OP, I’ll check em out!
You right
I don’t know… it felt quite unbalanced. Carter’s chapter almost seemed like they were written just by obligation and to make us wait more for Sadie’s chapters, while Sadie had the story and the power and all.
Like Carter was supposed to be the one good in research and knowledge and at some point I felt like all the knowledge came from Sadie, who also had the powers, etc.
I still enjoyed the books but I can’t say I think it’s the best series
I’ve only ever read the Percy Jackson series, and I need another series right now. I’m gonna look into this, thanks!
I actually read The Red Pyramid first and that was the book that got me into Riordan and PJO. I really liked the first one but the second and third aren’t as memorable for me as the PJO series. I still liked them so maybe it’s time to give them another look.
I have yet to read this one or Magnus Chase. I think the main thing that has slowed me thus far is that Percy Jackson leads into Heroes of Olympus, which leads into Trials of Apollo. The people I got invested in so long ago (grade 5) are the same people I got invested into in early high school when I powered through the first three Heroes books, and this past summer when I finished The House of Hades and Blood of Olympus in two weeks. I’m purposefully delaying reading books two and three of Trials of Apollo while I read other books so I can keep the series alive in my heart as long as I can. Having to restart with a new set of characters would be so hard for me – even Magnus Chase has somewhat of a link to these guys with Annabeth and Magnus. The Kane Chronicles, as far as I know, outside of the crossover books has no connections to the other series. That’s what’s holding me back personally.
I used to like his books, but I found his humor grating and obnoxious as I got older
I read the Percy Jackson series years ago and I loved every second of it, I devoured the whole the original 5 books in a month. Those were good times and I loved everything about those adventures. I read the Kane Chronicles afterwards and I loved that series as well, but not as much as Percy Jackson.
The Kane Chronicles was more unique in that Egyptian mythology they don’t have demigods everywhere, so it made the main characters being ancestors and having powers all that more special. The whole story in conclusive and wholly taking place within three books and it all fells complete when it’s done. It wasn’t as popular as Percy Jackson but the story didn’t hold anything back during the three books.
There was a scene in one of the books that happens during the Battle in New York in the Kane Chronicles.
I haven’t read his newer books, but I know that Riordan is writing a series about Norse mythology and he has a “presents” series where other author write about different mythologies and he gives his approval as an anthology. The series and world that he has created has become really expansive and I would hope that the rest of the series gets as much love as Percy Jackson does. I’m still hoping for a TV series for any of the books.
I think my disappointment when I started the Kane Chronicle’s was that I wanted the sarcasm that Percy always brings. And I like how Percy has matured through the various series. Probably why I like Magnus Chase as well. I have meant to go back and try again on the Kane books, though, if only for the crossovers
I so strongly agree
We started listening to the first one. I can remember why we stopped (the kids and I pick audio books for our drives). I think we may have started Wayside School. We need to get back to the Kane Chronicles. My 8 year old absolutely loves Percy Jackson. He is crazy into Greek Mythology now (he knows way more about it than me at this point). I was reading them aloud to my 10 year old son (he has dyslexia and isn’t at a high enough reading level yet for those books). I have to take breaks between books because they start getting monotonous. Although I always want to find out what happens!
kane chronicles arent terrible but (this is completely my opinion) the characters never gripped me. so much so i cannot even remember the two main characters names lol. they were well written but i never found them as compelling as the PJ series.
Anyone read he earlier/older books? Not YA, but Big Red Tequila was great.
I agree, don’t get be wrong I loved the PJ series, but I felt so robbed that he cut the series short.
While I do agree that the gods are the best written of any of his series, I must disagree on your points when it comes to character development. I feel that all of Carter and Sadie’s development came from their romantic relationships, which didn’t feel right. For one thing, it is established at the start of the story that Sadie is very impulsive and Carter is very reserved and restrained, thus creating the expectation in the reader that this would change to some extent. I’m not saying that these qualities would just vanish, but that they would slowly learn to act against these negative traits.
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Also, with the threat of the end of the world, you’d think that more development would be dedicated to the end of the world rather than relationships. I really thought that Carter and Sadie had great potential as characters, but they were executed bad. They do not learn about their own flaws and strive to change them like a good character should. They only care about what their respective love interest thinks about them.
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While such thoughts are expected in an average teen, these two aren’t average teens. There should have been a balance between relationships and end of the world importance, but there wasn’t.
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At least, that is my opinion. I completely respect if you disagree.
These books are definitely Riordan’s best work
Sadly, the Kane Chronicles will remain underrated by the majority of readers, because there’s no Percy Jackson. Which was what I actually liked about it, and was my issue with Heroes of Olympus initially. The Kane Chronicles felt like you had the core of what made Riordan good: a well-researched backstory of gods and mortals, then throw in teenagers getting mixed up in everything, and there’s your story. Not to mention, it’s short; I have plenty of other series that are 10+ books if I want a long read.
Meanwhile, Heroes of Olympus felt like it was just Percy Jackson with a new coat of paint, and while good, as others will tell you… the last book was meh. Then you have Magnus Chase, and I think the biggest problem there is that it was set up to fail, by the very nature of Norse mythology: as Magnus puts it: wait, we’re trying to prevent Ragnarok? But I thought the whole point was to fight a glorious battle to (perma-)death in Ragnarok. I don’t even think this fundamental issue was properly addressed, or it was waved off as a pseudo-joke.
Personally, the Kane Chronicles were kind of forgettable for me. I mean don’t get me wrong here, they were of course good books, but they’re not a series that I’m ever going to recommend to someone unless they explicitly bring it up.
Honestly I thought it was the weakest of all RR’s series. The supporting cast was great, but Carter often felt boring and Sadie whines about boys more often than the impending doom of the human race. I have some specific complaints about the last book but that’s going into spoilers.