The Serpent's Shadow

After getting through this whole series, I modify my recommendation slightly. The story is still interesting, the Egyptian mythology is useful, the writing is still clever. However, there is some dissonance between the stated age of the characters and their actions. Both characters act in ways that at least one more year is almost mentally required to make this work.

I find this most odd with Sadie, who is 12 and 13 in the series as she is completely infatuated with characters in a way that is beyond her years; she is constantly (in clean terms) discussing her romantic physical urges. She also expresses some social and human consciousness that is more adult than her age suggests. Parents and younger middle grade kids may find the romance a bit off-putting. Slightly older middle grade readers may find it relatable if they don't think too hard about the age of the kids. Note that there are NO truly romantic scenes or sensitive topics.

Rick Riordan has proven once again that he's capable of writing amazing endings. As well as he did with Percy Jackson and the Olympians' last book, he successfully answered all the questions that had risen during the previous books without giving the reader a moment of boredom.

Even though I didn't enjoy this series as much as Percy..., I thoroughly enjoyed The Serpent's Shadow.
Every single chapter was filled with action and witty comments Riordan is known for.

The romantic aspect was always present but did not eclipse the main focus of the book and the ultimate challenge the Kane had to face. I think one of the main reason I endure reading Sadie's chapters was the promise of a sudden appearance of the flawless, swoon-inducing god of the dead, Anubis. I fell in love with the character as much as Sadie did.

Riordan hinted of a continuity of the series and even a crossover between his Greek mythology series by the end, which I find both interesting and disappointed. I know that a crossover would be AMAZING but I find that the whole children-descending-from-the-gods-with-superpowers-needed-to-save-the-world concept is starting to get a bit repetitive. Rick has a wonderful way with words that make his stories very interesting and amusing. That is why I feel that he should try to come up with a different idea. I know he's capable of writing page-turning books so I'd love to see him embark in another project completely different to his mythology works. Maybe a mystery story like his Tres Navarre series or a DIFFERENT fantasy novel.

All in all, another grand finale for a good (tiny bit disappointing for me but I did have very high expectations) series.

Esta trilogía me parece muy interesante y ni hablar de la forma en que escribe rick..
Lo que me pasó fue que el primer libro me fascinó y me lo devoré. Pero ya el segundo me costó un poco y este tercero casi me genera bloqueo, no lograba conectar con la historia y sentía que por momentos era muy repetitivo. Aún así creo que es una gran historia en general.

The finale sort of gives up developing the characters, in favor of advancing the plot. From the very beginning of the series, it was clear what the climax was going to be but I think the author left too much to do for the last one.

Age range: 9-15
Not recommended for adult readers, won't hold attention.