The Serpent's Shadow Book Review!

Surprise! A second birthday gift from Ashley!

To celebrate my 18^th birthday, I've finished a book and I can't help but write a book review! IT'S A MUST READ!

The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan! It's the third book in his Kane Chronicles using Egyptian mythology to craft an enjoyable read that never fails his readers!

After all Sadie and Carter Kane have been through, sending Rick Riordan audio recordings to explain to the world what they've been up to, losing best friends left and right, and given immense responsibilities for 14 and 15 year olds – not to mention their dramatic love lives driving them crazy, it's all come down to this. The final battle with Apophis, the evil god working to destroy all of civilization, will either cost the Kanes lives or live to see the end of the world. In this epic show down of friendship, loyalty, brother and sister love, crazy mythology thrown left and right...it's a book you can't put down.

The most exciting part for us readers (or maybe just me) but you finally get to see what happens with Carter Kane and Zia Rashid! Questions swirling around Zia answered! And an ending hopefully leading us on to even more books.

My favorite characters in this book are Sadie Kane, Walt Stone, and Anubis the god of death. These guys are seriously the best trio/couple to exist in Egypt!

Not only is the story a must read but I encourage parents to nudge their kids about reading ANY book by Rick Riordan. Kids absolutely love reading these books and teenagers all over the world. What I've seriously noticed at book signings and movie crazies for Riordan's books is how much kids want to read thanks to these awesome books and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the books for you parents to sheild your childrens eyes. These books are a learning experience about mythology in Greece, Italy, and now Egypt!

Honestly I couldn't have asked for more from Rick Riordan once again. He never fails the world with his awesomeness and his story telling is beyond brilliant.

If you are interested in reading this series or any series by Rick Riordan keep in mind when he wrote his books! The Percy Jackson and the Olympians (6 book series) is the starting point. After that is the sequel series Heroes of Olympus but he started writing the Kane Chronicles as well. I only mention this because he continues to mention Greek mythology in the Percy Jackson world in the Kane Chronicles and I SERIOUSLY am starting to wonder if Riordan is planning to combine these three series into one eventually.

Read The Kane Chronicles if you want to see what I see!

Describing a Scene When Your Character is Running for their Lives

Ashley's birthday special!

After reading The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan, I couldn't help but notice a common reappearance: describing a room when the main character is running for his/her life and you're using first person.

I'm sorry did I miss something? If I was running for my life I would not be describing the room I had ran into. More like I would be freaking out and as the author I would be writing about the emotions running through my body in the heat of the moment.

In The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan there's a scene with main character, Carter Kane, who is being chased by a crazy bull with lazer beams (don't ask). He's running through a maze and the poor 15 year old character is freaking out, having no plan or idea of how to get out of this mad situation. A character running next to him, Zia Rashid, pulls him down a side entrance with her and they enter a great room. Now Carter Kane is describing the room in the heat of the battle with the crazy bull on his tail.

It's awkward!

I know some of you may disagree here but it doesn't add up.

Honestly, if you really want to describe that room than please wait until after your character has defeated the crazy bull shooting lazer beams at him/her.

The only exception is this common writing mistake is during the fight. When your character is desperate for something to help them out, then your character will be quickly scanning the room in desperation.

I'm not entirely criticizing Riordan's move in this particular scene but maybe you could have stationed that one paragraph into another scene.

Also in this different situation with Rick Riordan's novels, his previous series (Heroes of Olympus and Percy Jackson and the Olympians) the main characters have ADHD and dyslexia. Those characters are going to be running into a room chased by some ungodly creature and yes they are going to be scanning that room as quickly as they can because of their condition/ ability.

In the Kane Chronicles, the characters are normal kids with the blood of the pharaohs (ok not so normal as they may appear) but when did they have ADHD? They don't but the only excuse here is the character was on adrenaline in the near death experience.

If YOU are going to be writing a scene similar to this situation with Carter Kane in The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan, than please choose wisely with where you put your descriptions of a room or anything else in your scenes!

Someone like me may come along and ask, why did you describe that when your character is about to be blown to a trillion particles?