The Serpent’s Shadow: Kane Chronicles, Book 3 by Rick Riordan (ISBN-13: 978-1423140573)

This was the book I set aside for after school ends, my reward for getting through the last couple of weeks. Like many folks, when Rick Riordan  started this new series after wrapping up with the Percy Jackson books, I thought he was nuts. I mean, if you’re going to abandon well-loved characters, you should do it for something totally new. The Kane Chronicles seemed like a re-tread, only instead of Greek Mythology, we had much more complicated Egyptian Mythology and a narrative that switches between two viewpoints. Needless to say, all the gnashing of teeth I was doing distracted me from the story. The second book was better, partly because I had learned who the major Egyptian gods were, and partly because I had let go of my disappointment over Percy. (And I found out that Percy would be returning in the Heroes of Olympus series!) The Serpent’s Shadow brings this series to a satisfying conclusion, with Sadie and Carter fulfilling their destinies and, of course, saving the world as we know it. Great summer read for fantasy fans. Now can we have the next in the Heroes of Olympus series? Please? (News Flash! The Mark of Athena is coming out in October!)