Red Pyramid would be a lot strong if I hadn’t read Percy Jackson.
Don’t get me wrong. Red Pyramid is still a fine book, although it feels like it’s written for an even younger audience than Percy Jackson.
A few of the downsides:
Red Pyramid is told ‘interview style’, as if it were a transcribed copy of an audio recording. It would be fine as a framing device, except there are random interjections between the two narrators that each time pulled me out of the story. They’re supposed to be ‘witty’, but I could have done without them.
The humor feels younger than Percy Jackson. The five elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and … Cheese. I guess I’m getting old.
Despite having two narrators, it was hard to tell who’s chapter I was reading at times. Riordan did this much better in the Heroes of Olympus.
The BAD GUYS were BAD just for the sake of BEING BAD. Even from a kid’s book, I would like a little more depth. Although I guess there’s something to be said for gods playing a role.
On a more positive note:
Egyptian mythology is weird! The flavor does play through several points of the story. Where the Greek and Roman gods felt ‘human’, the Egyptian gods feel weird. That’s a good thing. The hieroglyphics in particular were a neat touch.
There are hints at a shared universe (the western bank belongs to … others) without it being overbearing. I don’t think I would ever like to see a crossover with the Greek/Roman books, but the possibility is neat in and of itself.
SUMMON BIGGER BAD. The ending was fairly obvious from early on (and once again strongly echoes Percy Jackson), but it did leave me wanting more.
Still. A fun read. Relatively quick. I’ll finish the series.