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.