Reviews

Ognisty tron by Rick Riordan

mjk1221's review against another edition

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5.0

I enjoyed the second book a lot. I grew up loving Greek mythology and Egyptology so Riordan is quite my childhood (and adult) fan. This book had about the same tone and pace as the last. The relationships for Sadie and Carter were a little stronger this time and I'm interested to see how Riordan works it in the next book. The new characters were good and complimented the siblings well. It was an interesting story about the need to awaken Ra and the obstacles it took to do what they needed to do. I read the book in a day so it's an excellent read and I can't wait for the third.

hunain216's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

brittney_tyler's review against another edition

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5.0

Star Rating: 5 stars

Note: This is the 2nd book in the Kane Chronicles series so this will not be an in-depth review.

In an effort to get fully caught up on Rick Riordan’s books, I decided to pick up The Throne of Fire, book 2 in the Kane Chronicles, which continues the story of Carter and Sadie Kane as they struggle to beat the forces of Apophis- the leader of Chaos- before he raises to power and causes Armageddon. As if that wasn’t bad enough, this 13-year and 16-year old have to do this while also dealing with their normal teenage such as crushes, family/friend problems, and school. Filled with wisecracking humor and lovable characters, this book definitely stands up to the standards that we have come to expect from Riordan.

The thing that I noticed most about this book was the fact that Riordan makes characters that have similar powers or fill similar places within different mythologies look the same. For instance, Anubis, the god of funerals in Egyptian mythology, looks, sounds, and acts a lot like Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades/Pluto aka the God of the underworld in Greek/Roman mythology. I can’t see Riordan making them that similar without a purpose so I thought maybe he was trying to show that just because this people worshipped different gods and came from different backgrounds and cultures, they still had things in common, employing that we should set aside our differences because we have a lot more in common than we think troupe. Also, he repeatedly brings up Biblical stories and showcases what they have in common with ancient Egyptian beliefs. I can’t help seeing this as another instance of him employing the aforementioned troupe. I love that he does things with his books because it teaches the young people that his books are geared towards to be more world-aware and more willing to accept people different than them.

If you were worried that Riordan’s Kane Chronicles wouldn’t be as good as his Percy Jackson series, then I am here to tell you that you have nothing to worry about. This series, in my opinion, is just as good if not better than the Percy Jackson, especially since we get to hear from Sadie’s perspective as well as Carter’s. Up until this point, we have gotten girl side characters but no main perspectives whereas in this series, we get to be in Sadie’s head, which was a nice change. All in all, a great book, worthy of Riordan’s name and 5 stars!!!!!!!!!!!!

cscharfway's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I actually loved this book. I think this series is way more grown up than Percy Jackson, even the kids are in the same range. The story seems more complex and the characters are very witty, but have a depth to them that make them relatable. This is not just for kids, as a thirty-something, I couldn’t put it down. 

amanda_19's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

khalessie's review against another edition

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5.0

This was great. It had adventure, excitement and humour. The storyline was great and it taught me a lot about Egypt. It was really fascinating.

elfduchess's review against another edition

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4.0

Solid second book in the series.

Things have continued apace for Carter and Sadie and it was nice to see a few more faces to flesh out their Nome. I like how responsible Carter is, a trait that is somewhat unusual for teen boys in stories. I can seem him growing into a stable man, which is a nice thought. Sadie is brave, though she is a little too...too something for me. Firey, I think, but she's a good character that livens up the story at times.

I still love the sibling bond between Carter and Sadie and it's wonderful to see it getting even stronger here. I like the racial diversity and how Riordan took a major step away from the predominately white world of the first Percy Jackson series. I also like how his writing has improved. It's wonderful to see.

Definitely well on my way to preferring the Kane Chronicles over Percy Jackson.

lilbil's review against another edition

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5.0

I liked dis book!

keegan_rellim_taylor's review against another edition

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4.0

Okay, I had two problems with this. First, Sadie doesn't fit her age. I know it shouldn't be a big deal, but pretty much from beginning to end this drives me crazy. I worked with twelve and thirteen-year-old girls for awhile and Sadie fits more my experience with fourteen and fifteen-year-old girls. I know that she's always saying how precocious she is, but if you feel the need to assert that regularly as an author, it seems to me you should just upgrade her age. Also, I can see a thirteen-year-old having a crush on a seventeen-year-old, but it's how to see the boy reciprocating that. Four years' difference in the teenage years is huge! I wish that Sadie had just been fourteen or fifteen and Carter had been a year or two older than her.

The other thing is that the editing is far from excellent. I always think it's odd when a book that's highly anticipated from an author that's highly anticipated isn't perfect. Perhaps editing houses figure that's the kind of book that doesn't need perfection, but it bothers me. The first book had some mistakes as well, but when it happens in a second book it always bugs me even more.

Other than that, though, I really do like this story and these characters. I like Carter and Sadie, of course. But there are a lot of other characters that add even more to the story. For instance, I've mentioned in other reviews that I often like ugly characters -- Bes is one of those and, again, love him! He's just got so much personality and spunk. Also, I like the twists and spins. I thought things would turn out a little more tucked together at the end with Ra, but I'm actually glad that it didn't. And now I'm looking forward to the next book . . .

soapysprings's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0