REVIEW
A long awaited read, The Read Pyramid is a book that’s been on my radar for quite some time now. I have had the wonderful opportunity to read the Percy Jackson series at a younger age and I was very much excited about it—not only because it was a themed around mythology, but also because it was such a good read. So, of course, upon discovering that Riordan has a series with an Egyptian theme, I knew I had to pick it up. Although it wasn’t until now, many years after, that I finally did it.
The story follows an epistolary format that changes between the perspective of the two sibling protagonist, Carter and Sadie Kane. They live two separate lives with respect to a history that will soon be entangled within the confines of this book. This separation will begin to collide as their father [Julies Kane] tries to fulfill a promise that involves the gods of Egypt and an association of mages that will do everything to stop the endeavour of Mr. Kane.
Epistolary has always been one of those literature formatting that I adore. It allows the reader to have a deeper relationship not only with the story itself, but with the character who shares the story. Despite being Riordan’s 3rd published series and 11th published book, it felt as though there was a huge experimentation going on with how he wrote the story. The interaction between the siblings, in writing, felt unnatural and forced—the commentary that we get here and there in the story. It is true that the juvenile nature of the protagonist plays a huge part of why it is so; however, it is quite random and made you think that if they were to act their age, it would’ve been a more frequent interruption than the feeling of trying to add some comic relief to the narrative.
“The gods do not think of relationships the way we humans do. Their hosts are merely like changes of clothes. This is why the ancient stories seem so mixed up.”
An exciting beginning, the story’s narrative began with a secret followed by an action sequence that will really exhilarate you as you go along in your reading journey. After a few chapters, though, you’d begin to notice how the book seem to lack any slow narration. Each chapter were headstrong and action packed that it’s quite a shock that I began to crave for slow parts that focuses more on the character arcs than any of the devices that will ignite excitement.
Alas, I have reached the end of the book—or, at least, tried my best to—and I was both unimpressed and underwhelmed by it. The characters felt clunky and one-dimensional, the plot was quite predictable, and the writing style induced a pretentious atmosphere that it seemed like the author was trying to experiment with his narrative.
It has become a habit of mine to reduce, or completely obliterate, any expectations I have for a book. Part of the reason why is because it allows myself less disappointment if the book ends up not being good at all; however, as I’ve always feared, it is quite a sad situation to be in when you read an author you so like and come across a work of him that doesn’t really connect with you as much as you would like. I tried to love the book, to like it and see the beauty in it but unfortunately, it just didn’t work with me.
Might I indulge you to try it still? I love the theme of the story and if you’re looking for a book that has magic, angry gods, and full of action, then this is just the right book for you! Take my review of it with a grain of salt. Not because I didn’t like it doesn’t mean you won’t too.
