Review: Throne of Fire

The Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles, book two)
By Rick Riordan
Published 2011 by Hyperion Books for Children

Carter and Sadie Kane have been reunited and they may have saved the world from Set, but that doesn't mean it's saved for good. Now, the Kanes must use all their power and resources to stop Apophis, the god of Chaos, from rising and destroying life as we know it.

Naturally, I had to pick up the second book in the series to see what the continuing saga of the Kanes had in store for me. As I was reading, for some reason, I found myself wishing I knew how many books are going to be in the series. I've since found out the answer (three, the third and final with an expected publication of May 2012) and I think I'm satisfied with it. I don't know why it felt necessary to know how many books to expect in the series, but it made me feel better once I knew. Maybe I just wanted to see how it compared to the Percy Jackson series. Anyway, I read the print version of this one and I have to admit, I desperately missed the audio version. These books are written as a series of recordings, so they just work well in that medium. Also, the narrators chosen do an excellent job with characterizations. So, for me, the print version loses some of the awesomeness of the audio version. That being said, this second entry in the series is just as exciting, fast-paced and funny as the first Kane Chronicle book. With some of the same characters as the first but also introducing a whole bunch of new characters, it's easy to see that populating his worlds with interesting and diverse characters is Riordan's strong suit. I especially loved the Kanes' new guardian, the dwarf god. I thought this one had some great twists and turns for the characters and I think it was a wonderful continuation of the series. I can't wait for the last book to come out!