The Red Pyramid facts for kids
Cover of first edition
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| Author | Rick Riordan |
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| Illustrator | Sean O'Kelly Michelle Gengaro-Kokmen (Hieroglyph art) |
| Cover artist | John Rocco |
| Country | United States |
| Series | The Kane Chronicles (book 1) |
| Genre | Fantasy, Egyptian mythology, young-adult fiction |
| Publisher | Disney Hyperion |
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Publication date
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May 4, 2010 |
| Media type | Print, audiobook |
| Pages | 516 (first ed.) |
| ISBN | 978-1-4231-1338-6 |
| OCLC | 488861751 |
| LC Class | PZ7.R4829 Re 2010 |
| Followed by | The Throne of Fire |
The Red Pyramid is an exciting fantasy and adventure novel written by Rick Riordan. It came out in 2010 and is based on amazing Egyptian mythology. This book is the first one in The Kane Chronicles series. It was first published in the United States on May 4, 2010. You can find it as a hardcover book, an audiobook, an ebook, or in large-print. It has even been translated into 19 different languages!
The story follows two siblings, Carter and Sadie Kane. They discover that their family comes from both ancient Egyptian pharaohs and powerful magicians. This means they can do two amazing things: they can host Egyptian gods, and they can use magic. Carter unknowingly hosts the god Horus, and Sadie hosts the goddess Isis. Their father, Julius, hosts the god Osiris, but he is captured by the evil god Set. Carter and Sadie are suddenly thrown into a huge adventure. They must rescue their father and try to save the world from being destroyed. The book is written in a cool way, like it's a recording made by Carter and Sadie themselves. They take turns telling the story from their own point of view.
The Red Pyramid got many good reviews. People liked its fast pace, exciting action, and interesting story. The book was a bestseller on Amazon for children. It also won a School Library Journal Best Book Award. It was even considered for the 2011 Red House Children's Book Award. The audiobook version, read by Katherine Kellgren and Kevin P. Free, was a finalist for the Audiobook of the Year Award.
Contents
Story Summary
The book begins with Carter and his father, Julius Kane, visiting Carter's sister Sadie. Sadie lives with her grandparents in London because their mother, Ruby Kane, passed away. Julius is an Egyptologist, but he is secretly a powerful magician. He takes the siblings to the British Museum. There, he tries to bring Osiris, the Egyptian god of the Underworld, into the human world.
His magic has some unexpected results. It accidentally summons other gods: Horus, Isis, Nephthys, and Set. It also alerts other magicians, Zia Rashid and Michel Desjardins, to his actions. Bringing gods into the human world is against the rules for magicians. Set, who is a god of chaos, captures Julius. He then announces that he wants to rule the world. Carter and Sadie don't know it yet, but each of the gods who appeared chooses a human to host them.
A New World of Magic
Carter and Sadie are taken to Brooklyn by their uncle Amos. He tells them that they come from a long line of magicians. Their family goes all the way back to ancient Egyptian pharaohs like Ramesses the Great and Narmer. Amos explains how dangerous Set is to the world. He then leaves to find Set. While he is gone, Set's evil helpers attack the mansion. Sadie's cat, Muffin, helps them escape. Muffin is actually hosting the goddess Bast. With help from Zia Rashid, they escape to Cairo.
Once in Cairo, Carter and Sadie learn that they are hosting gods! Carter hosts Horus, the god of war, and Sadie hosts Isis, the goddess of magic. They begin to train in magic. But then, the leader of the magicians, Iskandar, dies. The new leader, Michel Desjardins, orders that Carter and Sadie be captured. This is because they are working with gods, which is forbidden.
Facing the Chaos God
The siblings escape and make a plan to defeat Set. They hope to rescue their father and clear their names with the magic community. They travel to Set's secret hideout in Arizona. Along the way, they gather special ingredients for a magic spell. They also have to avoid dangerous monsters and other magicians who are trying to stop them.
Bast, the cat goddess, bravely sacrifices herself to protect Carter and Sadie from the god Sobek. Later, they meet Amos and Zia again. The four of them head to Set's hideout. There, they learn the last part of the spell they need from a dying Zia. She was unknowingly hosting the goddess Nephthys. Carter, Sadie, Horus, and Isis use the spell to stop Set. However, they don't completely destroy him. They realize that Set was being controlled by an even worse enemy: Apophis, a much more powerful god of chaos.
Desjardins, the new head magician, reluctantly lets Carter and Sadie go free. This happens after they say goodbye to Horus and Isis, who leave their bodies. After a sad farewell with Zia, who turns out to have been a magical copy of the real Zia, Carter and Sadie return to Brooklyn. They visit their father, who is now in the underworld, reunited with their ghostly mother. As a gift, the other gods and Osiris (who is still hosted by Julius) help Bast return to the human world. Carter and Sadie plan to find other magicians and teach them how to work with the gods, even though it's against the rules. Carter also decides he will search for the real Zia Rashid.
Main Characters
- Carter Kane – He is 14 years old and the son of Julius and Ruby Kane. After his mother died, he traveled a lot with his father. He has dark skin, curly dark brown hair, and brown eyes. He hosts the war god, Horus. Carter is very good at combat magic, and his favorite weapon is a khopesh, an ancient Egyptian sword.
- Sadie Kane – She is 12 years old and Carter's sister. She lived in England with her grandparents after her mother died. She has lighter skin than Carter, with blue eyes and "caramel-colored" hair. Sadie is bolder and more daring than her brother. She hosts Isis, the goddess of magic.
- Julius Kane – He is Sadie and Carter's father. He is an Egyptologist and secretly an Egyptian magician. He becomes a host for Osiris. His wife, Ruby Kane, died trying to seal away the chaos snake Apophis.
- Amos Kane – He is Julius Kane's brother and an Egyptian magician. He helps protect Carter and Sadie.
- Zia Rashid – An Egyptian magician who hosts Nephthys.
- Bast – The Egyptian goddess of cats. She protects the Kane children while pretending to be Sadie's cat, Muffin.
- Set – The Egyptian god of evil. He is the main bad guy in this book.
- Horus – The Egyptian god of war. He possesses Carter during the story until they part ways.
- Isis – The Egyptian goddess of magic. She was hosted by Sadie until they part ways.
Other Important Characters:
- Thoth – The Egyptian god of knowledge.
- Anubis – The Egyptian god of funerals.
- Iskandar – The former leader of the House of Life, which is the main organization for magicians.
- Michel Desjardins – The new leader of the House of Life after Iskandar.
What Happens Next
The next book in the series after The Red Pyramid is called The Throne of Fire. It was published on May 3, 2011.
See also
In Spanish: La pirámide roja para niños
