Throne of Fire, by Rick Riordan

Last night I finished the second book in the Kane Chronicles series.  Throne of Fire, by Rick Riordan, follows Carter and Sadie Kane as they journey to awaken the sun god Ra in an effort to thwart the return of Chaos (embodied in the serpent god Apophis).

Sadie and Carter must travel the known world, and the magical world, in order to find the three pieces of the Book of Ra.  Once they have reunited all three pieces of the scroll, the brother-sister duo must follow the ancient journey Ra took each night through the underworld (the Duat in ancient Egyptian lore), find Ra and bring him back to life and power.  Sounds easy, right?

Wrong.  There are, of course, many people against the Kane children.  Sadie and Carter must battle the House of Life - a group of magicians led by the Chief Lector - who believe that Sadie and Carter are trying to bring the gods back in an effort to become more powerful themselves.  The House of Life views the Kanes as power-hungry children who do not understand what is at stake.  They also have to fight against the powers of Chaos - including a crazy Russian called Vlad the Inhaler because of his wheezy voice - who want Apophis to return and to destroy the world as it is currently understood.

Along their journey, the Kane children make some unexpected allies - including one at the end so shocking I can not believe it!  They are also helped along their journey by Bes - a dwarf god who can scare the socks off of anyone by dressing in his Speedo that says "Dwarf Pride" and hollering "BOO" at anyone and anything!  (Great mental imagery by the author on that one!)  As they travel through the Duat, the Kanes meet some new gods who help them, one who they gamble with and have a chance to have dinner with their parents.

This was another great installment of the Kane Chronicles.  Again, I was really impressed with the switch in voice between Carter and Sadie.  You can tell that the different chapters are from the different points of view just by the writing styles.  There are the expected (and now required by me) twists and turns and a few "did that really just happen?" moments in the book.  I recommend this book to every one!

Zahi Hawass and Egyptian Antiquities

*Disclaimer:  this blog post reflects my personal opinion, and not the opinions of any institution that I am associated with.  All sources will be cited as available.  Please feel free to research on your own, and respond with your own opinion...that's what a dialogue is about!*

There has been some interesting news within the realm of Egyptology this past week.  It appears that Zahi Hawass, Antiquities Minister for Egypt has been fired from his position (see this NY Times/AP article for more information).  Hawass is a popular fixture in American documentaries, articles and press on Egyptian archaeology.  He has faced much criticism in the antiquities community for his apparent desire for fame and fortune.  There has also been many protests with the ousting of Mubarak that Hawass should be ousted too.  The apparent thought presented during these protests is that Hawass is a Mubarak appointee who is a friend of Mubarak (and thus should be also ousted), does not have the best interests of Egyptology in mind and, basically, there is no need for his cabinet position anyway.

Another blog I read (Archaeopop) cites an AP report about Hawass' "trademark Indiana Jones hat" as well as his clothing line and many other public/profit-making ties.  According to this author (and many other commentators out there), Hawass has styled himself as the real life Indiana Jones. 

The newest report, as of today, is that Zahi Hawass will remain antiquities minister....for the time being (The Art Newspaper).  There is still a lot of controversy surrounding Mr. Hawass.  How close is he to Mubarak?  Is he impartial?  Does he have the best interests of Egyptology and Egyptian sites and artifacts in mind? 

In my opinion, he is most certainly a charismatic and interesting figure in popular Egyptology.  He brings a sense of adventure and life to real-life archaeology.  He has made himself and many Egyptian sites available to popular media.  Is this a good thing or a bad thing?  On one hand, it brings attention to the need for conservation, cautious exploration and the preservation of ancient sites, and artifacts.  Hawass has been vocal about returning Egyptian artifacts back to Egypt (there are many, many artifacts in museums in other nations due to the way archaeology was practiced many years ago), which I believe is important.  He also makes archaeology interesting for the lay person.  

On the other hand, is he focusing too much on PR and outreach and not enough of the integrity and ethics of archaeology and Egyptology?  Is he really just a political appointee who will continue to advocate for the way things used to be under Mubarak?  Or is Hawass a man who can adapt, change and play to the strengths of his government and field?  All this, I can not say.  I do know that I will be following his tale as it unfolds.