“The Staff of Serapis” by Rick Riordan

THE STAFF OF SERAPIS (Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles Crossover #2)
Author: Rick Riordan
Read Date: 14 April 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

In this adventure, Annabeth encounters more oddities in the subway than usual, including a two-headed monster and a younger blond girl who reminds her a little of herself.

Review Summary: A more cohesive, more imaginative, and mythologically richer crossover than “The Son of Sobek”, but still too formulaic.

*SPOILER WARNING FOR PLOT DETAILS*

When I reviewed “The Son of Sobek”, I commented that these Percy Jackson / Kane Chronicles crossovers were cool but might not fly because the Greek and Egyptian worlds that Riordan created were too different. Well, I’m glad to be proven wrong.

More than just the novelty of Annabeth and Sadie meeting and working together to kick divine butt, what I really liked about “The Staff of Serapis” was how Riordan was able to connect the Greek and Egyptian mythologies using a god that was worshiped in Greek-controlled Alexandria. He was able to blend the Greek and Egyptian magic systems together by focusing on the similar nature of the Mist and the Duat. It was also nice to see Annabeth and Sadie exchanging weapons, tactics, and healing items.

Everything was still formulaic, of course: Annabeth meets Sadie; they see that the other girl is capable so they develop a wary respect for each other unlike the boys, who, predictably, tried to up one another in a pissing contest; they each reveal secrets about their worlds; they fight the Big Bad Villain of This Story Who Has Questionable Taste in Human Fashion and Has a Penchant for Trademark Riordan Wit and Trademark Villain Monologue / Exposition alternately so that each girl gets to be in the spotlight; Big Bad Villain is defeated; they exchange cell numbers because, of course, that is more practical than those weird Symbols on Your Hand Thing the boys exchanged; Riordan shines a lantern on future crossover opportunities. Was this all because of the limitations of the genre, publisher-driven requirements, or Riordan not wanting to tamper with something that obviously works? *shrug* Me outgrowing the genre, as I suspected, back with “The Son of Neptune”? Who knows.

But hey, this was more interesting than the last few Heroes of Olympus novels despite the formulas and all that. Thanks again, Rick. 😉

★ ★ ★
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