The Serpent's Shadow (Kane Chronicles, #3)

by Rick Riordan

CARTER AND SADIE KANE, descendants of the magical House of Life, are in pretty big trouble.

Despite their bravest efforts, Apophis, the giant snake of Chaos, is still threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness. Now the Kanes must do something no magician has ever managed - defeat Apophis himself. No pressure there then.

Battling against the forces of Chaos, their only hope is an ancient spell - but the magic has been lost for a millennia. Will they find the serpent's shadow, or will they be led to their deaths in the depths of the Underworld?

• ISBN10: 0141335688
• ISBN13: 9780141335681
• Publish Date: 1 May 2012 (first published 15 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 20 December 2012
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Puffin
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog: www.thepunktheory.wordpress.com

This series was hell of a ride! I loved the first two parts and The Serpent's Shadow was far from a letdown.
Rick Riordan created a fast-paced end with lots of twist and turns for the last novel of the Kane Chronicles. Right up until the final chapters you won't be able to tell who will survive or whether the world will be destroyed.
As I've mentioned before, I enjoyed how Riordan constructed the story and told it from two different points of view. It makes for an interesting flow that feels quite unique.
To be honest, there's not much to say, that I haven't mentioned before. The Serpent's Shadow is a thrilling book with lots of amiable heroes and impressive antagonists. Nothing is ever exclusively black or white and Riordan is great with character development. You might not expect it from a YA novel, but his stories always have several dimensions and there's more to it than you'd think at first glance. He never ceases to impress me with his knowledge about mythology from different times and areas. I've never seen anyone transfer ancient tales to the modern world with such ease and in such a convincing way.

[nightingalereads]

2.75 stars.

A bit docked due to something that happened in Sadie's storyline.

[moraa]

YES! I will severely miss this series. Such a joy.

[Chelsea]

Quick thoughts:
1. A perfect ending for this story!
2. This book continues off the second book but is still it's own book.
3. The characters got to actually work with the gods.
4. Still lots of action!
5. A quick and relaxing read.

See my full review on my blog here!

[Mercy]

Creo que es un final perfecto. No totalmente cerrado, porque claramente el mundo, la magia, los dioses malos y los problemas no se han acabado. Pero es un excelente final para la historia, para los personajes y les deja tiempo para disfrutar de una vida "normal". Como siempre, la acción ha sido mucha, las emociones (de todo tipo) y el crecimiento de los personajes es incluso mejor.

[nitzan_schwarz]

2013 cleaning my shelves challenge

This review contains book 1&2 Spoilers. No spoilers for this book, though
The Serpent's Shadow is classic Rick Riordan; insanely funny and hilariously crazy, smart and clever. Riordan is a MUST author in the realm of the books, and all his books are a delight to read.

Seriously, Riordan can do no wrong in my eyes. His books teach of actual mythology in a fun and engaging way, making learning... easy and effortless! Teachers out there can learn from this mastermind. I don't know about you, but I love when books teach me new things without me feeling like my brain might fall out at any moment (i.e: history class in high-school. So glad I'm over that >>")
Not only that, but I know I have a lot to thank Riordan for, because alongside Twilight, it was the discovery and reading of the Percy Jackson series that got me back into reading, and his books haven't disappointed once.


Now that we're done with the praise and compliments, and my rather lame try to convince you to read his books, lets move to the review...

To read the full review, go here, to my blog. Thanks!

[Jyc]

★★★ // carter is likeable enough. sadie’s too young for that kind of romance.

[jnikkir]

Solid three star rating for this one, no hesitation -- maybe even 2.5/2.75 rounded up -- mostly because as much as I wanted to love it, and as hard as I tried to ignore the many little things that bothered me, it just did not pull through. Way too predictable, WAY too much obvious foreshadowing... I kept feeling like I'd actually read the book and just forgot, because I felt like I knew what was going to happen way too often. I mean, it was entertaining, and had its moments, but this series really does not compare to the Percy Jackson books. In fact I probably got more joy out of the few allusions to the Greek gods / Camp Half-Blood than I did out of most of the rest of the book. Just not up to Riordan's PJO standard.

And for the record, as everyone else is mentioning, the "resolution" of that love triangle made me SO uncomfortable for SO many reasons. Just... No. Riordan made it perfectly clear through the entire rest of the trilogy that a god and his/her host are TWO PEOPLE. Yes they're cooperating and working together, but they are two distinct entities. I do not see how a couple of lines about "oh yeah Walt is really one new person now" makes his situation any different. Just... No.

[Artemis]

Another really enjoyable series from Riordan. I really loved the "conclusion" to this series (much more than the PJO series) though he left it open a bit for another book or two to be added on.