MINI-REVIEW: The Serpent’s Shadow by Rick Riordan

The Serpent’s Shadow (Kane Chronicles #3) by Rick Riordan
Disney-Hyperion, 2012
[Goodreads] [Book Depository]

NOTE: Summary contains spoilers for the previous books in this series.

He’s b-a-a-ack! Despite their best efforts, Carter and Sadie Kane can’t seem to keep Apophis, the chaos snake, down. Now Apophis is threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness, and the Kanes are faced with the impossible task of having to destroy him once and for all. Unfortunately, the magicians of the House of Life are on the brink of civil war, the gods are divided, and the young initiates of Brooklyn House stand almost alone against the forces of chaos. The Kanes’ only hope is an ancient spell that might turn the serpent’s own shadow into a weapon, but the magic has been lost for a millennia. To find the answer they need, the Kanes must rely on the murderous ghost of a powerful magician who might be able to lead them to the serpent’s shadow . . . or might lead them to their deaths in the depths of the underworld. Nothing less than the mortal world is at stake when the Kane family fulfills its destiny in this thrilling conclusion to the Kane Chronicles.

1. It took me nearly three years to get around to finishing this series. The more I thought about the first two books, the more I realized I didn’t like them nearly as much as I’d initially thought I did – I think I was overcome by the fact that Rick Riordan wrote them, and not really thinking objectively about the books themselves.
2. Ultimately this book just wasn’t Percy Jackson. I didn’t like it – or the series – as much as either of the Greek series.
3. One thing I did like? Sadie is pretty kick ass. She’s strong and determined, but you also saw a lot of her emotional state in this book, and it just really made me like her. She felt very real, connection to Isis notwithstanding, of course.
4. There were several things that I saw coming in this book and just wanted to shout into the void and warn the characters. Of course, that never works, and the book needed some of these things to keep the action up, but still. Kind of frustrating to watch the characters walk into traps.
5. The idea of fighting chaos is pretty cool, though. I give Riordan major props for that!

FINAL VERDICT: This series is decent, but nothing spectacular. I do like that it was about Egyptian Mythology, though, as there just aren’t enough mythology books that revolve around the Egyptian pantheon and it’s really a hugely missed opportunity. It’s also possible that, had I read this book upon its release, I would have liked it – and the series – more, but compared to Percy, Carter and Sadie just fall flat.