The Kane Chronicles

The Kane Chronicles

The US and UK logo for The Kane Chronicles
The Red Pyramid (2010) The Throne of Fire (2011) The Serpent's Shadow (2012)
Author	Rick Riordan
Cover artist	John Rocco
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Egyptian mythological fiction, fantasy, adventure and children's fiction
Publisher	Disney Hyperion and Puffin Books
Published	2010–2012
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book
No. of books	3

The Kane Chronicles is a trilogy of adventure and Egyptian mythological fiction books written by American author Rick Riordan, set in the same universe as Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus, as well as the subsequent Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.

The novels are narrated alternately by the two protagonists, siblings Carter and Sadie Kane, descended from Pharaohs Narmer and Ramses the Great, forced to contend with Egyptian gods and goddesses.

Origins

Riordan, a former middle-school social studies teacher, stated that the idea for The Kane Chronicles originated from the fact the only more popular subject than Ancient Greece was Ancient Egypt.^[1] The idea of having a brother and sister who were multiracial came from two siblings that he taught, as well as the fact that Egypt is an ancient multicultural society; however the European tradition has been to separate Egypt from African history.^[2]

Novel series

In the books, Rick Riordan tells that the story is a written down version of a transcript he received from "Carter and Sadie". The story takes place in the same universe as the Camp Half-Blood chronicles and occasional in-jokes are made to that series.

The Red Pyramid

The first book in the series, The Red Pyramid, was released on May 4, 2010. The story is told as a transcription of a recording made by Sadie and Carter Kane, detailing the rise of the Egyptian gods in the modern world.

After a mysterious accident in a museum leaves their egyptologist father missing, siblings Carter and Sadie Kane are taken in by their uncle Amos and introduced to their family's long and proud tradition of magic. The duo discover that they have been chosen as "hosts" by the gods Horus and Isis, respectively, and are now hunted by a governing body of Egyptian magicians called the House of Life. They learn that the god Set plans to destroy the North American continent using their father's power, and embark on a quest to save him and prove their innocence and good intentions to the House.

The Throne of Fire

The second book in the series, The Throne of Fire, was released on May 4, 2011. The book takes place roughly three months after the events of the first book, The Red Pyramid.

Carter and Sadie Kane have recruited several students to follow the path of the gods, but are still fugitives from the House of Life. The young magicians secretly plan to find the long-lost king of the gods, Ra, hoping he will help them fight Apophis, the god who masterminded Set's scheme earlier that year. They journey across the world to find hints to Ra's location (as well as the location of a highly skilled magician named Zia Rashid), and finally into the Duat to rescue Ra and drive Apophis further from the mortal world.

The Serpent's Shadow

The third and last volume, The Serpent's Shadow, was released on May 1, 2012.

The House of Life faces repeated invasions by the forces of chaos, leading the Kanes and their trainees to look desperately for a way to stop Apophis. They finally settle on a difficult method involving the Serpent's sheut and go to great lengths to ensure they have accounted for all possibilities. With the help of all the gods, especially Ra (hosted by Zia Rashid), the Kane siblings are able to finally banish Apophis and save their friends, but their actions have the unintended consequence of driving the gods away from the mortal world.

Supplementary works

Survival Guide

The Kane Chronicles: Survival Guide is a companion to the series written by Mary-Jane Knight, who is not credited on the front cover. It features illustrations of characters in the series by Antonio Caparo and full-color diagrams and maps, as well as the guide text. The latter "teaches readers how to compile secret messages, read hieroglyphics, and recite ancient magic spells", in the words of the publisher, which refer to the intended audience as "avid followers and budding Egyptologists alike". The book was released by Disney Hyperion on March 20, 2012 (144 pp.; 1-4231-5362-6).^[3] The British edition was published by Puffin Books in October.^[4]

Graphic novel

A graphic novel based on The Red Pyramid was published on October 12, 2010. It follows a shortened version of Carter and Sadie adventures in The Red Pyramid with full color drawings.

A graphic novel based on The Throne of Fire was released on October 6, 2015.^[5]

Crossovers

The Son of Sobek

The first ever Percy Jackson-Carter Kane crossover story was included in the back of the paperback edition of The Serpent's Shadow, published May 7, 2013, and subsequently became available as an e-single/audio purchase.

In the story, told from Carter's point of view and set on Long Island's south shore, in the vicinity of Moriches Bay, he is devoured by a giant magical crocodile he has been hunting, which immediately spits him out when stabbed by Percy, who has been hunting the crocodile also, because it has been menacing Camp Half-Blood, even devouring one of the camp's pegasi. They find themselves teaming up to fight the crocodile, which turns out to be a petsuchos, an ordinary crocodile turned to giant size and invested with the power of the Egyptian crocodile god Sobek by a magical necklace placed around its neck.

The Staff of Serapis

The sequel to The Son of Sobek, entitled The Staff of Serapis is the sixty-page crossover story in which Sadie and Annabeth meet. The sequel came out in April 2014, in the paperback version of The Mark of Athena, and then was released later on in the year in e-book/audiobook format read by Riordan and including a sneak preview of The Blood of Olympus.

In this story, told from Annabeth's point of view, Annabeth pursues a strange chimerical creature she encounters on the New York subway, is attacked by it, and then rescued by Sadie, who says that the creature was a figurine that suddenly came to life on the library table at Brooklyn House and fled the mansion. The two girls deduce that the creature is two parts of a tripartite creature, the Staff of Serapis, which belongs to the Egyptian god by that name, Hellenized after Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt and the subsequent founding of the last Egyptian dynasty by Alexander's general Pharaoh Ptolemy I. Serapis has taken up residence in a ruined lighthouse in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens and Annabeth and Sadie do battle with him.

The Crown of Ptolemy

The sequel to The Staff of Serapis is told from Percy's point of view. Percy, Carter, Annabeth, and Sadie all appear together.

Percy and Annabeth, investigate Governor's Island in Manhattan, as they are informed about trouble. Percy tries to call Carter, but to no avail. Setne, the evil magician, who is responsible for the events of the crossovers, is conducting a ritual for his apotheosis. Using the Book of Thoth, he perfects Greek-Egyptian magic, which results in a freak hurricane.

Percy and Annabeth try to stop Setne, but are overcome by his superior magic skill. Setne absorbs Percy's sword, much to the latter's chagrin. Setne summons Wadjet, the Cobra Goddess of Lower Egypt, and consumes her essence and takes her crown. Meanwhile, Carter and Sadie arrive and Setne flees.

The four teenagers head south, discussing plans. They find Setne summoning Nekhbet, the Vulture Goddess of Upper Egypt, and flees with her crown, although Nekhbet is saved by Percy and Annabeth. Setne leaves the Book of Thoth behind, and the group decide to use a ritual to trap Setne. Nekhbet advises that three of them must prepare the ritual, while the fourth must fight Setne.

Nekhbet chooses Percy as her host, as he is a powerful Greek demigod, and would stand a chance against Setne. Percy reluctantly agrees and hosts the goddess. They find Setne consuming the Duat, a mysterious layer which distorts reality for mortals. Sadie temporarily gives Annabeth the ability to perform magic. Setne blasts the four, but Percy is encased in a purple vulture avatar and shields the girls.

Percy grabs Setne and ascends into the sky. Setne tries to manipulate Percy, saying he was foolish to turn down godhood. This backfires when Percy retains control and justifies his decision. Nekhbet does not cooperate and Percy loses his avatar. He grabs Setne and they fall into the ocean. Percy, being the son of Poseidon, defeats Setne once and for all, grabbing him by his throat and dragging him to the surface.

Percy hurls Setne into a magical circle and pulls out his sword from the magician's throat, making Setne regurgigating all the magic and essence he had absorbed. The Kanes complete chanting and imprison Setne in a snowglobe.

An hour later, the teenagers sit, having lunch. Carter is impressed that Percy did not fall for Setne's manipulation and commends him for turning down immortality. Percy suspects that the crowns left behind is a test by Nekhbet, to see if Percy would wield its power. The Kanes decide to take the crowns and the Book of Thoth, and secure it properly, so that no one would misuse it. The demigods and the magicians decide to keep their mythical realities separate, for fear of chaos. They decide to keep contact and the Kanes bid goodbye.

Annabeth kisses Percy, happy that he is not a god, and they go for cheeseburgers.

Characters

References

External links

• The Kane Chronicles at The Worlds of Rick Riordan (Disney: readriordan.com)
• Rick Riordan Myth Master at publisher Penguin Books (UK)
• Kane activity ideas and instructional material at RickRiordan.com
• Percy Jackson Universe series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database