Review: The Throne of Fire - Rick Riordan

The Throne of Fire

by Rick Riordan

Middle Grade

Read From: Apr. 7, 2012 - Apr. 14, 2012

Review

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every bit as good as The Red Pyramid. Sadie and Carter continue to be witty and intelligent heroes, and their sibling banter very real. I still have a difficult time comparing this particular series to Percy Jackson and the Olympians because they are different enough. I will venture to say, however, that I actually am growing to like the Egyptian gods better than the Greek ones, from the standpoint that the Egyptian gods seem more human than Ares or Zeus. But they also don't seem as powerful. As I said in my review for The Red Pyramid, such differences work for The Kane Chronicles, but if the Author had portrayed the Greek and Roman gods like this in Percy Jackson and The Heroes of Olympus, it probably would not have worked.

Needless to say, The Throne of Fire is full of new perils and villains. Apophis is still not as scary as Kronos or Gaia, but he works for the series. Meanwhile, I found absolutely nothing about Set intimidating. He's actually really funny in this installment - kind of reminds me of Jim Carry in The Mask, only red instead of green. I believe that this was the Author's intention, though, so it works. And though many of the twists in The Throne of Fire are predictable, they are twists that leave the Reader satisfied with being right, rather than leaving you thinking, "I was hoping that my guess was incorrect, because that's just lame!"

I look forward to The Serpent's Shadow.

Others in The Kane Chronicles:

1)The Red Pyramid

2)The Throne of Fire

3)The Serpent's Shadow

Review: Sapphique - Catherine Fisher

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

Series: Incarceron #2

Genre: YA, dystopian, futuristic

Published on December 28, 2010

Published by Dial

Pages: 462

Read From: 4.10.12 - 4.13.12

SYNOPSIS

Incarceron, the living prison, has lost one of its inmates to the outside world: Finn's escaped, only to find that Outside is not at all what he expected. Used to the technologically advanced, if violently harsh, conditions of the prison, Finn is now forced to obey the rules of Protocol, which require all people to live without technology. To Finn, Outside is just a prison of another kind, especially when Claudia, the daughter of the prison's warden, declares Finn the lost heir to the throne. When another claimant emerges, both Finn's and Claudia's very lives hang on Finn convincing the Court of something that even he doesn't full believe. 

Meanwhile, Finn's oathbrother Keiro and his friend Attia are still trapped inside Incarceron. They are searching for a magical glove, which legend says Sapphique used to escape. To find it, they must battle the prison itself, because Incarceron wants the glove, too.

Review

While the storyline of Incarceron's sequel is essentially the same - characters are searching for Escape and Claudia is trying to prove that the Crown Prince really isn't dead - the Author manages to make it feel new. Sapphique is, in many ways, weirder than Incarceron, but I was used to it and able to look on the weirdness with a shrug and say to myself, "That was weird" and then not be surprised with the weird occurrence isn't really explained later. As with the first one, stuff happens and things are mentioned, and no, there is no explanation.

As far as characters go, they all stay good. Finn still lacks something of a personality and doesn't really do anything terribly useful - and yet somehow I still kind of like him. Claudia is still the determined and practical heroine from the first who does her best to survive in the world of Outside. Keiro is as annoying as ever, and I kept wishing that he would die. And I was infinitely pleased that Attia remained a quiet, intelligent, and cautious girl. No annoying love triangles surfaced involving her, Finn, and Claudia, which I was seriously concerned about. Attia is a good character, but she had the potential of being annoying if she and Claudia started fighting over Finn. And I am also pleased to say that while Claudia and Finn are a "couple," no irritating romance scenes surface to impede the adventure.

The end is very weird, but it is also satisfying and fit. I actually felt a little sorry for the Prison, as strange as that may sound. Catherine Fisher is an Author who can do weird and still make it a good story, from beginning to finis, while still managing to not explain over half of the things the characters encounter. It still really bugs me that there are a lot of things about Sapphique that are never explained, but I suppose I'll live with it. Fans of Incarceron will not be disappointed with its sequel.

Others in This Series:

1)Incarceron

2)Sapphique