Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan starting on June 15 2023.


Happy Reading!

Thank you!

Library has CDs! Yay! I'm excited!

Running late... Will be here in the next few days...

Might start this today... current audiobook has 3 hours. Then I think I want something light and funny...

Started! I'm up through Chapter 8. In true Riordan style, I'm chortling a lot throughout--I particularly enjoyed (view spoiler)[the story of when Carter & Da's car got a carwash when the other cars all got overturned during a riot.

Definitely feel a lot of the Percy books here--and there's even a nod to them, about how "Manhattan has other gods." But when Carter & Sadie were reminiscing about the sixth birthday cake, it reminded me of Percy doing the same thing in the first book, remembering childhood experiences that showed things were strange, like strangling a snake in his sleep in kindergarten. Very Heracles.

It's interesting doing audio, with this book also supposedly being an audio recording. Which also makes it easier to suspend disbelief when the two narrators don't do each other's characters voices perfectly.

Mostly though, I stopped by here to say BAST IS AWESOME. And poor Phillip! I hope he's ok. (hide spoiler)]

These are just so much fun. I'm up through Chapter 24 or so, and I'm really enjoying the quirky humor. I also really appreciate how Riordan is really active in using these YA books to bridge gaps culturally and ethnically etc. Like how (view spoiler)[it compares Carter's experience as a young black man--getting lots of talks about appearance from his dad--with his sister Sadie who looks white in comparison, but who still has to deal with being labeled mixed race--and how Carter's situation is similar to a military kid's constant uproot & travel, while Sadie has to deal with being the "kid who..." with lots of different labels that boil down to her not fitting in... Neither one had it "better" and both had it hard. It's nice to think of the kids out there who feel seen from reading these books, and how reading these could help kids understand others too.

And Bast is still the best. (hide spoiler)]

Finished! I enjoyed this more than my first read--I remember thinking that it didn't have the charm of the Percy series, and a lot of the jokes fell flat for me. But not this time! I laughed a lot at the little snarky and silly bits, and I appreciated how the series is both a bit darker, with (view spoiler)[Carter & Sadie's parents being dead and them entirely on their own, their uncle possessed by a chaos god (hide spoiler)] and also addressing serious issues that a lot of kids have to deal with. I especially enjoyed (view spoiler)[Sadie mooning over Anubis. (hide spoiler)] I didn't get as much satisfaction on the references side as I do on the Greek--I had an Egyptian phase when I was young, but it didn't last as long as my Greek myths phase, and I don't remember as much. But still tons of fun!

I am up to Ch. 8 right now... (view spoiler)[ The but about the car getting washed and the twenties on the windshield wipers, was hilarious!

Thank you for noting the "Manhattan has other g-ds"bit. I would have missed it if I hadn't read your spoiler:)

I really like the combination of Carter and Sadie's characters. They compliment each other perfectly. Their banter while writing the book for us is cheeky and pleasant to read.

I felt bad for the grandmother, who now has lost both her daughter and granddaughter, but I was not pleased with the grandparents wanting only the girl... That actually infuriates me. You should try to care for both, even if you prefer one over the other. However, Carter did get to hang out with his dad a lot and maybe learn from him...

I am not sure how I feel about uncle Amos yet... (hide spoiler)]

Yeah, Bast is awesome!!! And I loved her fiercely protecting them from a metal ball:)))

Who is Zia?

Choko wrote: "I am up to Ch. 8 right now...."

I really love how Sadie & Carter complement each other! (view spoiler)[I love that the younger sister is the brave impulsive one, while the older brother is more timid but more likely to think things through carefully. Totally complement each other! (hide spoiler)]

re: Zia--that's the question, isn't it! ^^

Up to Ch. 25... (view spoiler)[ Bast is being shifty, but I still like her!

I agree with you, RR does a great job at portraying the different cultural experiences..

I also enjoy the shape shifting:) That's different from Percy's books. Also, the basketball playing baboons:))) And I totally sympathize with Carter - basketball is my favorite game to watch, but I have never been able to play it... That was a very cute scene.

Toth was a bit of an ass, but I guess all of the g-ds are. Going to the "house of the magician, Graysland!!! Hahaha!

I really liked Nut, with the stars and planets and sky being her body. I am enjoying the whole Egyptian g-ds thing quite a lot!

Bast fighting for so long... It is a wonder sh is not insane... (hide spoiler)]

Finished! Ok, I really liked this! It felt more different than similar to PJ, and I am good with that. I liked the little tidbits about Egyptian mythology and those things that have transcended time and cultures.

(view spoiler)[ Sadie was the best! I can't believe she is only 12-13... Loved the moment when Anubis decided that she was too mouthy and wondered how come her father hadn't given her into a marriage a long time ago. She was hilariously horrified, telling him she is only 13 and he needs to learn some marriage customs as well as the death ones he knows...

I thought Amos being taken over by Seth was well done, and I loved that in the end he decided to look for help with his depression and magical trauma...

The basketball playing baboon was a wonderful comedic relief! As well as Doughboy:))) Ok, now that I think about it, he was my favorite secondary character!

The conclusion was very good as well, the kids understanding and choosing to grow on their own merits, but still work with the g-ds. I hope The House of Life folks decide to grow up and work with them.

I don't know if I could so easily trust Seth's word and would never feel comfortable having him out there, always looking over my shoulder... The way I understood it, he released Chaos and now there are worse things that will probably happen...

Loved Carter's password - the numbers of Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson and Careem Abdul Jabar! It doesn't get better than that:))) Also loved when he finally got to see his mom and she immediately made him feel like he needs to run and hide of embarrassment:)))

I want to know more about Zia, and want to figure out if they only ever met her double, or did they meet her at least in the beginning in the museum...

Once again, the shape-shifting was pretty cool! I really enjoyed seeing Amos transform them into clouds. Now, I do think they were stupid to disregard the multiple times they saw him and noted that he was performing Chaos magic! Which is only one of the several very obviously stupid situations the characters just threw themselves in, where it was obviously a trap and they just put themselves in danger... I couldn't believe a G-d would just lay in a coffin no matter what the circumstances! (hide spoiler)]

Overall, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one. Are these a bit longer than PJ in general, or was it only this one?

Oh, the Baboon basketball was great! (view spoiler)[Felt so bad for Carter, when he was like "ask me any question and I can answer..." but he has no game. And then at the end when Hufu offered to teach him, I was like awwwww!

And thanks for the note about why the numbers were chosen! I missed that!

I also love the narrator's voice for Doughboy! (hide spoiler)]

Love that Elvis is (view spoiler)[The Magician!! One of the things that is so fun about these books, and the Percy books, when they're like "oh yeah, this famous person was a child of xx" and now they're like "oh, this famous person was a magician" ^_^ (hide spoiler)]

Bast--(view spoiler)[I was so happy when she comes back at the end and is their guardian!! (hide spoiler)]

As for book length.... actually, I think all of them are longer from here on out--wait until we get to the Heroes of Olympus series...

I am determined to read all of them! These are light and fun and still keep your brain going with all the mythology. Lovely and I am in for the whole thing!

^_^ They do go so nice and fast, and are such a nice breath of fresh air...

Need to unpack this one :) still in foil :)

Monika wrote: "Need to unpack this one :) still in foil :)"

LOL Has your little man read this one already?

Nope, but he's done with Magnus Chase already :)

LOL

There's a few short stories that have Kane Chronicles/Percy Jackson crossovers too, that take place between these books and the next series.

I started this yesterday. I've just finished chapter 7.

Unlike with the Percy Jackson books I haven't read these before but I'm having a lot of fun so far. I studied Egyptology and Classical Civilisation at Uni so all Rick Riordan's books as well as being entertaining are like a quick fresher guide on all the mythology I used to study 😂

Hailee wrote: "I started this yesterday. I've just finished chapter 7.

Unlike with the Percy Jackson books I haven't read these before but I'm having a lot of fun so far. I studied Egyptology and Classical Civil..."

So cool that you studied Egyptology! Please do share any insights that occur to you!

Yes, Hailee, if you see something you could expand on, feel free to do so:))

Monika, yay!

Hm. I think I'll put in separate request for the crossovers--apparently they've been collected in one book! Demigods & Magicians: Percy and Annabeth Meet the Kanes--and then line up Heroes of Olympus afterwards.

Do we want to stay on the 15th, or move the date? 15 seems to be getting crowded with some repeats... Eli Monpress & Alex Verus both on the 15th... but then these all go quickly so it's not a big deal.

15th is fine.

Whewkay! Requests made for Demigods & Magicians, and then lined up Heroes of Olympus through 2/15/2024!

Great!!! I would like to have completed some series, eventually:)))

Well, thankfully, though Riordan continues to work in the shared universe, a bunch of his series are finished...

1. Percy & Olympians
2. Kane
3. Heroes of Olympus
4. Magnus Chase
5. Apollo
Are all done.

Not sure if the Nico d'Angelo adventures is going to be a series or one-off, and there's a new Percy book this year for Sept, again not sure if it's a start of a new series or one-off.

Slowly going through it :) Chapter 7 at the moment. No time for reading really. Last week in primary school for my boy and preps for holidays. We're flying to Ireland tomorrow early morning. Well deserved few days in different scenery for all three of us :)

Got around to this one a little later than you all. My review:

This book started off weak, with most of what was happening seeming random due to the inadequate background information. Halfway through the book got better as the world started to make sense. It still didn’t reach the heights of the Percy Jackson series, due perhaps in part to my lower familiarity with Egyptian mythology. The battle writing was usually engaging, and the characters were decent. Throughout, the magic was too soft for my tastes.

Full book spoilers (view spoiler)[Zia being a shabti I didn't see coming, and like someone else commented Amos being inhabited was well done. Perhaps my favorite part was the salsa battle. (hide spoiler)]

re: Full book spoilers--(view spoiler)[this was a reread for me, and I still didn't see Zia the shabti coming. ^^ It's been ... probably 10 years or so. (hide spoiler)]

@Monika--Ireland sounds awesome! I hope your vacation is everything you & family hoped for.

Thank you @Nirkatze :)

Back to reading :) Chapter 16 at the moment. Not sure what to think about Zia and Iskandar... This testing of Carter and Sadie sounds though... We'll see...

Iskandar's pretty cool. It's an interesting contrast to the Percy books--where half-bloods usually die before hitting adulthood. But here you have a thousand-year-old magician.

Them magicians are kinda strange.... I mean yes they seem powerful but kinda naive, they can be manipulated so easily...
I like scene between Sadie and Nut :)

LOL The story of the Riordanverse--the adults are naive, and the children have to save their behinds.

Finished :) interesting, but kinda missing something, maybe will find it in next one :)

I felt the same when I read the Kane Chronicles for the first time. It just didn't have the same charm or charisma as the Percy books. I think I was able to enjoy it more on a reread.

I'll wait for Dom's opinion LOL!

Nirkatze wrote: "I felt the same when I read the Kane Chronicles for the first time. It just didn't have the same charm or charisma as the Percy books. I think I was able to enjoy it more on a reread."

That pretty much sums my feelings on it as well. As much as I enjoyed it, especially reading how Riordan' adapts the myths to be more child friendly, (view spoiler)[no mentions of Osiris' missing penis or Set's sexual abuse of Horus ect (hide spoiler)] I am still more attached to the characters in Percy Jackson than Kane Chronicles. Still there are 2 books left.

I am so excited that we get the start of a new Percy series this year too...