Sadie and Carter are back again, trying to stop the end of the world...again. The Chaos snake Apophis has awoken, and plans to arise out of the Duat (spirit world) on the equinox. Before he gets that far, he's making sure to cause lots of havoc. Different Nomes (magician temples) are being destroyed, and all the magicians killed. Apophis wants to guarantee his success, he's not leaving anything to chance. He has hunted down and incinerated all copies of the spell which might imprison him again.
Sadie and Carter are running out of ideas. Sadie gets a hint from a ghost she starts calling Uncle Vinnie. They save a shadow box from one of the Nomes before it is leveled, and discover is literally holds the sheut, or soul shadow, of its owner. From this, a plan is born. They will capture Apophis' shadow, and execrate that instead of trying to vanquish Apophis himself (which is most likely to end in them burning to a crisp anyway).
Along the way, they get some help from their friends. Walt is at death's door, literally, but he refuses to give up the fight. Anubis crashes the school dance to talk to Sadie, and gives her some distressing news: they have been forbidden to see each other anymore. Apparently the gods don't look kindly on human/god romance. The other bad news is that the only person who can help them with the shadow is being tried in her father/Osiris' court. As if they didn't have enough to do already!
They go to visit Osiris at the Hall of Judgment, and stop along the way to learn a little from Thoth, the god of wisdom. After that, they split up. Carter and Zia take Setne to find the shadow. Sadie and Walt head off to find Bes's shadow, they think they can restore him to his former self and practice the spell for Apophis in one go.
Of course nothing goes quite according to plan. Several more of their friends have been following the path of the gods, and surprises abound. Bloodstained Blade makes an appearance, as does Set. The final showdown against Apophis and his minions is coming, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Can the Kanes find a way to defeat the chaos snake without sacrificing everything they love? Great for middle school and high school, and any interested in Egyptian mythology.
"'Shadows,' I said. 'This bloke Setne...he found a way to use shadows for an execration spell. if the sheut is a backup copy of the soul, and if Setne's magic could be used in reverse...'*Library Link*
Tawaret's eyes widened. 'You believe you could use Bes's shadow to bring him back?'
'Yes.' I knew it sounded made, but I had to believe. Saying it aloud to Tawaret, who cared about Bes even more than I did...well, I simply couldn't let her down. Besides, if we could do this for Bes, then who knew? Perhaps we could use the same magic to get the sun god Ra back into fighting shape," (Riordan pg 166, 2012).
If you liked this, check out:
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan Kane Chronicles, Book 1
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. LaFevers
Sphinx's Princess by Esther Friesner
Riordan, Rick. (2012). The Serpent's Shadow. New York: Disney/Hyperion.
I started reading the Kane Chronicles while i waited for The House Of Hades to come out. In hope i could stretch out these three books until then, that didn't happen. Rick you are just not writing fast enough!!! LOL I've enjoyed all your books! Just keep writing and i will keep reading!
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