strange and random happenstance: The Chosen Keepers

Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh by R. L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
ARC Provided by Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 4th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Challenge: Valley of the Kings
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
Theodosia is returning to the land of her birth. Egypt! Who cares if she has a very important mission to return some items to a secret society bent on hiding artifacts of the Gods in the desert. It's Egypt and she's on an expedition with her mom. Take care of the Orb and Rae and the Emerald Tablet and spend the rest of the time doing what she's always dreamed of doing, archeology! Obviously, with her pet cat Isis by her side, despite her mother's protestations. When they arrive in Cairo though, the angry people milling about does tend to put a damper on the Egyptological fervor. The Nationalist Party is holding a demonstration, one of many to cause an inconvenience. Her mother needs to check in at the Museum, as does Theo, though, not so much with Maspero, but with the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers and their subterranean headquarters. But the Keepers in Egypt are very different from those in England. Here they are the front line, not the last defense. So it's more offense than defense, and Theo is not quite sure she's willing to embrace those methods. That's until she sees von Braggenschnott posing as a member of the museum staff, a Mr. Borscht, and having a cup of tea with her mother! Trying to flee the museum is harder than you'd think. There's another rally and they resort to taking Donkey's. Theo's driver is a little hunchback boy, Gadji, and he proves himself very wise in the ways of the street... and very cunning, his "hump" is his pet monkey, Sefu.

The next day they travel to Luxor, and surprisingly so does Gadji and Sefu, his family was originally from there. Which makes Gadji the perfect tour guide for her when Theo's playing sick. Because what other explanation could she give her mother for not wanting to scramble around in the dirt looking for hidden temples? But she must meet her contact here, a Major Grindle, and get the trade off set up at the temple with the wedjadeen. The trade off goes pretty well, despite all the threats that she shouldn't be allowed to live, even if the wedjadeen take an unusual interest in Gadji. Things can't remain so simple for long, the Serpents of Chaos are stirring the natives for more uprisings, and soon they kidnap Gadji in order to get the Emerald Tablet, which they apparently don't realize Theo already got ride of. Another trade is set up, which goes horridly wrong and ends with Theo and Major Grindle in the hands of the wedjadeen. They know too many secrets and their lives now hang in the balance. But will Theo's powers and her destiny be able to save herself and all those in danger? Most importantly of all, will she get answers as to what she actually is?

The Last Pharaoh is everything I expected from Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles that it failed to deliver. Theo's world is expanding and becoming more complex, but in a way that is natural. Robin has not forced the change, she has gradually led us to it in the most wonderful journey yet. Instead of being trapped within the confines of the museum and having Theo playing all her contacts off one another, here we have a true Egyptian adventure. All the books have been leading to this one. Temples with true power, statues that come alive, where Theo's magic really comes from. All of this is woven together in a plausible yet magical way. You don't have to suspend your belief to be satisfied by the ending. At first I did have some misgivings. Gadji was very much like an Egyptian Sticky Will with a monkey instead of a snotty younger brother. But I should have trusted that Robin knew what she was doing and the plot twist, I did not see coming. Plus Theo's connection to Isis made my heart yearn for a cat in my life again. The only problem I now face is how will I wait for the next installment. Will Theo begin training? Will the wedjadeen and the Chosen Keepers embrace their shared goals and heritage and work together to defeat chaos. As we crawl ever closer to the first World War, I wonder how Chaos and all their evil little Germans will fit in. But as long as I get my Egyptian fix I will be a satisfied reader.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Egypt, Emerald Tablet, Isis, R.L. LaFevers, Rick Riordan, Serpents of Chaos, The Chosen Keepers, The Kane Chronicles, Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh, Valley of the Kings Reading Challenge, Wedjadeen

Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris by R. L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: November 10th, 2008
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

So what did Theodosia really expect? She single handedly saves England by returning the heart of Egypt and in return her parts let her clean out the catacombs at the museum. In all fairness, they aren't "technically" catacombs, but they're creepy, dank, dusty, full of mummies and worst of all, dark magic Theo can't even begin to speculate on. She did at least get to attend a gala event due to her discovery of the hidden annex in the tomb of Amenemhab, of course she rather embarrassingly pointed out, in front of all and sundry, that the mummy that was the focal point of the evening was actually the missing miscreant from the British Museum, Tetley, last seen in Amenemhab's tomb. But the mundanties of daily life soon resume their pace, cataloging mummies and shabtis, avoiding Grandmother and her plethora of new governesses (where does she find them all), her parents hiring yet another slimy curator, Weems, and just the basic stopping of evil powers rising up out of the museum's artifacts. But all this doesn't really matter once Theo finds an interesting staff and a golden orb which leads to a jackal statue coming to life and all the mummies in London disappearing and mysteriously congregating at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities.

With her father being the center of the police investigation, because there really is no sensible explanation for all the mummies, how can Theo concentrate on learning from the horrid governess of the day (she's a pincher)? She must find out what is going on. She will need the help of her friends, The Chosen Keepers. But do the mummies have a connection to The Serpents of Chaos? And how can corpses that are almost dust help a group hell bent on world chaos? And who are these Black Sunners? Because the one thing Theo doesn't need is even more secret societies getting underfoot. And Will is acting cagey, and there's a mysterious man in death weeds who's shadowing Will. But at the center of this all is the might of the British Empire, a mighty boat... I mean ship, which proudly tells the world that England is great. But with a war looming ever closer... how long will that might last?

Building on the wonderful story of the first book, the second in the Theodosia series brings in even more Egyptian mythology while layering hilarious exploits of several secret societies with the more day to day trials and tribulations of a girl just trying to save England but being belaboured with an interfering Grandmother hell bent on her granddaughter becoming a lady, no matter what the cost or the final tally of governesses hired. While in the beginning we saw a more solitary Theo, she is slowly gathering more allies in the fight against evil. Of course the fight is having increasingly greater stakes. No longer is it just a restless soul trapped in a rope that brings about boils, but the fate of England and the world. And with greater allies come greater enemies. She is starting to get a list of men who would like nothing more then to see her dead. These men almost seem easier to deal with then those who would worship her as the goddess Isis... but nothing can ever go right. But what I find interesting is the expansion and inclusion of Egyptian history and myth. The idea of Gods walking the earth and leaving behind items of great power... scary to think what might happen if these were in the wrong hands... and I can't help feeling that with The Great War about to start, some things might just end up in the hands of Chaos.

I just can't get enough of this series. It brings back the feeling of what it's like to be a kid and read the perfect book and be totally absorbed in that world. To think about it long after you've shut the pages. To dwell on what might happen next and to hope for the next book as soon as possible. There is a magical quality to Theo, much like the feeling of watching Raiders of the Lost Ark when you were young. It's something different, wonderful and being played out right in front of your eyes and you feel like it's written just for you. A glittering world open for your exploration. I hope you pick up this series and get to have that connection that one longs for with a book.

Also make sure to enter my giveaway for an ARC of the 3rd book in the series, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, thanks to Houghton Mifflin!