The Serpent's Shadow

I recently finished a book, The Serpent's Shadow.  It is the third and final book in the Kane Chronicles.  The two main protagonist are Sadie and Carter Kane.  The book is written in first person and alternates between Sadie and Carter as narrators.  In the first book they discover they are descended from the Egyptian Pharos and have the ability to use magic.  They discover that many gods, goddesses, and other mythical beings actually exist.  The series is very similar to Percy Jackson and the Olympians; it uses Egyptian mythology instead of Greek mythology.  Both series are written by the same author, Rick Riordan.  I'm not the bigest fan of the book.  The characters aren't developed and are very one dimensional.  They lack complexity.  In the book protagonists are always good and the antagonists are always evil, while the line between good and evil should be thinner.  The book lacked larger themes and was, like the characters, one dimensional and didn't represent any more universal issues.  The writing was not vivid and was unable to clearly describe scenery or characters.  I wish the writing would be more concise.  I am being a little overly critical; Rick Riordan cannot compare to Ernest Hemingway.  The Serpent's Shadow is a great quick read for anybody who loves action, adventure books and has not out grown Rick Riordan.

The Old Man and the Sea

I just started reading The Old Man and the Sea.  It is written by one of my favorite authors, Ernest Hemingway.  I just finished one of his books, For Whom the Bell Tolls.  I plan to read another book by Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, after I finish The Old Man and the Sea.  It is a very short book; it is less than a hundred pages long.  The protagonist of the book is an elderly fisherman named Santiago who lives in Cuba.  At the beginning of the book, Santiago is considered bad luck because he hasn't caught any fish for eighty-four days.  Santiago loses his young apprentice when the apprentice's parents make him sail with a more successful fisherman.  Despite being forced to leave the elderly fisherman, the apprentice remains loyal to Santiago and gives him food and talks with the fisherman.  I am just thirty pages into the book and it is already one of the best books I have ever read.  The writing is extremely detailed and is very genuine and true.  In thirty pages, the author has already created extremely deep and rich characters without spending time to give back stories about the main characters.  The characters are relatable and can relate to every human being.  The writing is descriptive, yet still very condensed; no word is unnecessary.  Few authors can compare to Ernest Hemingway.  I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read a great work of literature and has time to read eighty pages.  The Old Man and the Sea is one of the best books I've ever read.