Thursday, June 9, 2016

Demigods & Magicians by Rick Riordan

I am not really much of a series reader. Long, long ago I read The Lightning Thief, made my way through most of The Sea of Monsters and then lost interest when I made a shot at The Titan's Curse. I've been cheerfully recommending Rick Riordan's fantasies and read-alikes ever since (can it really be 10 years? Yes, yes it can.) but never picked up another book. Until now. I had a sudden urge to read his latest companion novel and got caught up in it.

This book is composed of three short stories which are interconnected. The first introduces Carter Kane, from Riordan's Egyptian series, to Percy Jackson. The second connects Sadie Kane, Carter's older sister, to Annabeth Chase. The third brings all four together to defeat a common enemy.

Teamed up, the four are definitely powerful but it takes them a while to work together. Carter and Sadie are much younger than Percy and Annabeth; Carter and Annabeth are analytical, prefer to research and plan before taking action, but both have very different experiences. Percy and Sadie are both very physical and more willing to take action and see what happens and rush into situations. They will have to figure out how to combine their very different magics and abilities to defeat an unexpected foe.

It's been a long time since I read any of the Percy Jackson books and I've never read any of the Kane siblings titles. However, I had no problem picking up the threads and jumping into this fast read. It's hard to tell how much of that is my ability to retain information from books I've read and intuit content (yes, I've passed tests on literature I haven't read. Shhhh, don't tell my professors). There's really only one mild spoiler if you haven't read the previous titles, Percy and Annabeth's relationship, although there are a few general references to previous events. The book also includes color plates, I would guess from the graphic novels, depicting the characters in action.

Verdict: This is really a book for fans; it doesn't exactly introduce the characters and their backstories, although it might draw in new readers and interest them in going back and reading more. Really, it's a fun tidbit for fans, a quick and exciting read and generally enjoyable.

ISBN: 9781484732786; Published 2016 by Disney-Hyperion; Purchased for the library

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