The Kane Chronicles (Kane Chronicles, #2)

by Rick Riordan

[jnikkir]

I feel really bad giving this book 3 stars, same as I rated Book 1... I did enjoy both titles a lot, and I felt that this one was stronger than the first, but I just can't round up to 4 stars. These books really do pale in comparison to Riordan's Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series.

For some reason, I don't feel pulled into the plot as much with the Kane books - there's SO much that just flat-out isn't explained. I get that a lot of it is "just suspend your disbelief and go with it" - I'm a pro at that, and I still can't quite cope with the plot elements and scenarios and character's miraculous recoveries (as another reviewer mentioned) which were left un- or just under-explained.

I also don't really feel as emotionally connected to these characters as with the PJO books, but I can't put my finger on why. Admittedly, the first PJO series is all narrated by Percy, which puts you in his shoes and gives you an immediate connection... But the Heroes series is written from a whole bunch of different perspectives, and I still feel more connected to those characters than to Sadie and Carter.

Argh. It hurts because I WANT to like these books as much as PJO, but there's just something missing, some kind of spark, that I just don't get from these. They're entertaining and fun and all that, but. Grr. It's just so frustrating!