Reese’s Review of The Throne of Fire

New York Times Best Seller's List – Children's Chapter Books July 2011

Exposition:

Sadie and Carter Kane, who are descendants of the House of Life, find themselves once again in the midst of protecting the modern day world from complete destruction.

Conflict:

Apophis, the snake which represented Chaos in the ancient Egyptian world, is about to break out of his confines and to swallow the world. Sadie and Carter work to rescue Ra, the sun god, in order to save the world.

Rising Action:

Sadie decides to take off to go back to Gramps and Gran's flat to celebrate her birthday before embarking on the quest to save the world. Unknown to her, a trap awaits as some of the Egyptian gods don't want Ra returned to power. Meanwhile, Carter has had a premonition and arrives at the scene too late to assist as Sadie has succeeded with the assistance of dwarf god Bes.

Climax:

The search for Ra leads Carter and Sadie into the Duat, through multiple challenges, and finally to Ra, who is seemingly incapable because of is senility of taking on the challenge of saving the world. While still in the Duat, Sadie and Carter find themselves battling Apophis, the snake of Chaos. To defeat Menshikov, who has been enslaved by Apophis, Sadie and Carter find themselves teamed with Desjardins, long an enemy. Desjardins manages to erase the name of Apophis and defeat him (at least temporarily) at cost of his own life.

Falling Action:

Sadie , Carter and Ra make it back to Brooklyn and their friends who have been in a demon battle of their own. Ra's appearance scares many of the demons away and the rest are vanquished by the group.

Resolution:

After the death of the first and third most powerful magicians in the world, the second is Uncle Amos. Amos takes his position as new Chief Lector, and Bast accompanies Ra as he continues his daily journey through the Duat.

Literary Elements:

Riordan uses a multitude of figurative language throughout this book including similes such as "my heart was as heavy as a bowling ball" (p. 62) to assist the reader in experiencing the events. He also uses precise vocabulary which fits the mixed settings of the ancient Egyptian time period and current day.

Riordan , R. (2011). The Throne of Fire. New York: Hyperion Books.