Finally Finished!

 

     If you have read some of my previous blog posts you would know that I have been reading The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan. I have finally finished the book and I am eager to read the next one in the series.

 

     This book was very action packed. Sadie and Carter Kane go on a quest to awaken the sun god, Ra, and prevent Chaos from taking over. In the beginning, Sadie, Carter, and their friends Walt and Jaz find the first scroll of three that must be used to awaken Ra. Later Sadie leaves the Brooklyn House (the place where she and Carter had been staying with their Uncle Amos and had been training other young magicians) to spend her birthday back in London with her grandparents and friends. When she gets there she finds her grandparents possessed by the gods Nekhbet and Babi who try to stop her from going on the quest. Sadie escapes with the help of Bes, the dwarf god, who was sent to protect the Kane kids. Carter meets back up with Sadie and Bes takes them to Russia where they find the second scroll in a famous palace that was turned into a museum. They find Vlad Menshikov (one of the most powerful magicians) trying to summon Set the god of fire and ask for his help to awaken Apophis, god of Chaos. Vlad sees the Kane kids and sets a demon on them. Set helps Sadie and Carter and also gives them the location of the third scroll. After that, Bes takes Carter and Sadie to Alexandria. Set had also given Sadie a clue to the location of Carter's friend Zia who had been hidden to keep her safe after she too had been possessed by a goddess. Carter knows he has to save her and so he and Bes go to find her. Meanwhile Sadie asks Walt to come and help her find the third scroll.

 

     Carter and Bes travel to the ruins of Zia's old village and find her buried in a chamber beneath the Nile River with the crook and flail of Ra. Sadie and Walt travel across a vast dessert and into an uncovered tomb of mummies. After escaping an army of the undead they succeed in retrieving the third scroll. They are teleported to the location of Carter and Bes only to find Vlad Menshikov and Desjardins (the Chief Lector of the House of Life who didn't exactly have the best history with the Kanes) trying to arrest Carter for stealing the symbols of Ra. Desjardins wants Carter to come in piece but Vlad insists on fighting to the death. Bes uses his powers to send the two men back to their home, but Vlad is sure to come after them. Bes and Zia return to the Brooklyn House to warn and assist Amos in the battle against the army Vlad had sent their way. Sadie and Carter enter the daut (the realm of the gods) and sail through the Twelve Houses of the Night where they come across many gods and use the three scrolls that make up the book of Ra to lead them on their journey. The Kane kids find Ra and awaken him, but he is not strong enough to battle Apophis. Vlad, who had been following Sadie and Carter on their journey, takes on the form of Apophis and tries to destroy Ra as well as the Kane kids. Desjardins shows up and uses his last bit of life to turn Apophis to dust. However this does not get rid of the Chaos god, but only buys Sadie and Carter time. Ra returns to the throne room of the gods where the other gods and goddesses pledge to look after him until he once again becomes strong.

 

     The theme of The Throne of Fire is that you shouldn't let others be the boss of you, in the end the only opinion that should matter is your own. Many of the gods didn't not want Sadie and Carter to continue on their quest to awaken Ra. They did not want a weak god placed in a position of power. Even Nekhbet and Babi tried to kill Sadie to prevent her from succeeding. Nekhbet says to Sadie, "You would place a weak pharaoh on the throne of the gods. It goes against nature!"(Riordan 102). Nekhbet is obviously trying to sway Sadie's decision but Sadie ignores her and does what she believes should be done. Another god named Horus also tries to change Carter's decision about waking Ra and convince him to take the throne for himself and lead the House of Life to victory. Horus says to Carter, "Claim the crook and flail for yourself. Take the throne. Together, we can defeat Apophis"(Riordan 306). Carter finds the offer tempting but he knows the smartest decision is to continue with his plan to awaken Ra. Neither Sadie or Carter let the gods' opinions interfere with what they believe they should do. This theme that I have explained is clearly stated on page 326. Zia tells Carter, "Promise me, if it comes to a choice, that you'll listen to your own heart, not the will of the gods."