Tag: Mythology

Poseidon’s Academy by Sarah A. Vogler

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Poseidon’s Academy

Author: Sarah A. Vogler
Reviewer: Marlou

Summary

Getting sucked into a whirlpool, sleeping in monster-infested woods, and battling psycho sea-nymphs was not how Hailey planned to spend her first year of high school. But when you’re the only Zeus in the world, life tends to get a bit complicated… 

The Great Battle saw the world changed forever when humans killed the gods and absorbed their powers. One power was coveted above all others: Zeus’s. Thirteen-year-old Hailey Woods is the first Zeus in over a century. Unlike everyone else, she hates her powers because of an ancient prophecy that claims a Zeus will have to save the world someday. 

Hailey doesn’t want to save the world. She wants to be a normal teenager, whose biggest dilemma in life is deciding what to eat for lunch, rather than training to become the ultimate weapon. Poseidon’s Academy, an underwater palace where her powers don’t work, was meant to give her that opportunity. But when she arrives, she discovers the sea-nymphs living there are plotting to resurrect the gods, and Hailey must find a way to stop them before they can enact the prophecy. 

So much for normal!

View this book on Goodreads.

Review

Rating: 2,5 out of 5 stars

This book was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

I want to start this review saying that despite giving this book 2.5 stars, I still enjoyed myself. This book has a lot of potential, but it just didn’t wow me. I’ve read almost all of Rick Riordan’s books and I find myself comparing this book to his, and when I do, I find that this book lacks so much. 

Worldbuilding: Gods have been defeated by humans. Humans got their powers. And that’s it. I couldn’t find anything more than that and I would have liked to see more.

Mythology: Yes, she uses the gods and their powers, but there is nothing that hints to myths and no actual stories about the gods are mentioned. 

Characters: Oh boy, they were so flat. There just wasn’t much to them and I really wouldn’t have cared if any of them died… 

Overall, this book is okay. I give it 2.5 stars and I’ll never look back. I do not recommend reading this book. Maybe a young child of age 8 might like it, because of its simplicity.

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The Serpent’s Shadow by Rick Riordan

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The Serpent’s Shadow

Author: Rick Riordan
Series: The Kane Chronicles #3
Reviewer: Marlou

Summary

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.

View this book on Goodreads.

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

“If you’re listening to this, congratulations! You survived Doomsday.I’d like to apologize straightaway for any inconvenience the end of the world may have caused you. The earthquakes, rebellions, riots, tornadoes, floods, tsunamis, and of course the giant snake who swallowed the sun—I’m afraid most of that was our fault. Carter and I decided we should at least explain how it happened.”

What a book. Lovely. Tragic. Suspenseful. Funny. Need I go on?

Rick Riordan did it again. I was getting stuck in a reading slump and his books helped me right out of that.

Rick would not be Rick if there weren’t very funny moments when they’re in very serious situations.

Exhibit A:“‘There’s my baby!’ I cried, quite carried away. ‘There’s my Poochiekins!’

Ammit ran at me and leaped into my arms, nuzzling me with his rough snout.
‘My lord Osiris!’ Disturber lost the bottom of his scroll again, which unraveled around his legs. ‘This is an outrage!’

‘Sadie,’ Dad said firmly, ‘please do not refer to the Devourer of Souls as Poochiekins.’”

Uncle Rick also gives some very nice advice from time to time. “Dealing with any man means dealing with multiple personalities.” I mean, good to know right?

There was one thing in the book, just a small little thing, that got me thinking for a bit: “‘And if someone doesn’t believe in any afterlife?’ I asked.
Walt gave me a sad look. ‘Then that’s what they experience.’”

Just saying, but this makes total sense to me. People are always saying there can only exist one god/religion but that’s crap. I’m not saying god/gods exist the way Riordan writes it, but I do think that all the gods can coexist or that all the religions are just different stories about the same divine being(s). Alright, I’ll shut up about this now.

This book was lovely. It was a great book and it made for a great end to the trilogy. I think my favorite book was the first one (The Red Pyramid), because the story was all new and I liked Set better as the villain.

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The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

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The Throne of Fire

Author: Rick Riordan
Series: The Kane Chronicles #2
Reviewer: Marlou

Summary

Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven’t given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians. 

And now their most threatening enemy yet – the chaos snake Apophis – is rising. If they don’t prevent him from breaking free in a few days’ time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it’s a typical week for the Kane family. 

To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished. 

First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly? 

Narrated in two different wisecracking voices, featuring a large cast of new and unforgettable characters, and with adventures spanning the globe, this second installment in the Kane Chronicles is nothing short of a thrill ride. 

View this book on Goodreads.

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

“Words are the source of all power. And names are more than just a collection of letters.”

Took me a while to finish this book. Not because I didn’t want to finish it, but simply because I was doing other things. I did want to finish this book. It was so good. A solid 4 stars from me.

I think I liked the first book a bit more than the second one. I did appreciate that it was quite different. I do not like the boy drama one bit. Sadie Kane is only 13 years old (yeah, I have to keep reminding myself of that) and she has a crush on two boys (she’s crushing hard) and, well, I think it’s unnecessary. One guy already brings enough trouble.

There was one funny part about boy drama that I quite enjoyed:
“I thought she’d make some comment about the bloodthirsty gods chasing us, but when she finally found her voice, she said, ‘That boy kissed you!’ Leave it to Liz to have her priorities straight.”

Also, Uncle Rick has managed once again to include his other series (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by mentioning Blackjack, Percy’s black pegasus:
“I looked across the river to Manhattan. It was a great view. When Sadie and I had first arrived at Brooklyn House, Amos had told us that magicians tried to stay out of Manhattan. He said Manhattan had other problems–whatever that meant. And sometimes when I looked across the water, I could swear I was seeing things. Sadie laughed about it, but once I thought I saw a flying horse. Probably just the mansion’s magic barriers causing optical illusions, but still, it was weird.”

This book was a little more all over the place. I didn’t mind that most of the time, but sometimes it really bothered me. It was still an awesome book though.

I’m very excited to read the last book.

Sadie and Carter don’t you dare die. I’m sure Anubis wouldn’t like that one bit.

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The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

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The Red Pyramid

Author: Rick Riordan
Series: The Kane Chronicles #1
Reviewer: Marlou

Summary

Since his mother’s death six years ago, Carter Kane has been living out of a suitcase, traveling the globe with his father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. But while Carter’s been homeschooled, his younger sister, Sadie, has been living with their grandparents in London. Sadie has just what Carter wants—school friends and a chance at a “normal” life. But Carter has just what Sadie longs for—time with their father. After six years of living apart, the siblings have almost nothing in common. Until now.

On Christmas Eve, Sadie and Carter are reunited when their father brings them to the British Museum, with a promise that he’s going to “make things right.” But all does not go according to plan: Carter and Sadie watch as Julius summons a mysterious figure, who quickly banishes their father and causes a fiery explosion.

Soon Carter and Sadie discover that the gods of Ancient Egypt are waking, and the worst of them—Set—has a frightening scheme. To save their father, they must embark on a dangerous journey—a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and its links to the House of Life, a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

View this book on Goodreads

Review

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

“I guess it started in London, the night our dad blew up the British museum.”

I loved this book. Rick Riordan is my go-to author when I’m not sure what I want to read. I just know one of his books is going to get me out of my slump. It once again did.

The Red Pyramid is a little different from his other books (I won’t mention how exactly, you’ll have to find that out on your own).

Uncle Rick is the king when it comes to puns and silly jokes.
Exhibit A: “In person, if possible, Anubis was even more drop-dead gorgeous. [Oh . . . ha, ha. I didn’t catch the pun, but thank you, Carter. God of the dead, drop-dead gorgeous. Yes, hilarious. Now, may I continue?]”

He also mentions his other series (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) in this book.
Exhibit B: “Manhattan has other problems. Other gods. It’s best we stay separate.”

There are so many good parts in this book but if I had to choose just one it would be the part where they meet with Anubis. Rick was describing a graveyard in a city and I guessed it was New Orleans. I was right, it was New Orleans. I loved that part simply because I guessed it right. It showed that I’m a true fangirl who’s obsessed with the TV show The Originals.

All in all this book was lovely. I finished it in two days. It got me out of my reading slump. Thanks, Rick, for another amazing book!

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