The Red Pyramid

Did you guess that Zia was replaced by a shabti and that she hosted Nephthys? If so, when? What clues made it obvious, and what could Riordan have done differently to make it less clear? If not, why not, and what red herrings kept you from figuring it out? How did Riordan’s choice of false clues and their placement affect your discernment?

Riordan offers a few different histories of the gods, their relationships, and their motivations. Do you think this is intentional? Does this reflect the ever-changing nature of the gods through the centuries? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Choose three gods that make a brief appearance in The Red Pyramid (some options are Thoth, Nut, Geb, Serqet, and Sekhmet). How does Riordan modernize them for the time the story is set? What elements of Egyptian myth does he stay true to? Explore how the melding of modern and ancient influences creates unique characters and adds to the story. Do you feel it detracts from the story? If so, how?

Compare and contrast how Carter and Sadie respond to the judgment of others (Carter trying to be presentable and Sadie giving people what they expect). What are the pros and cons of each method? How do their choices affect their growth throughout the story, and how might each have developed differently if they used the other’s method? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

No explanation is given for the colored spheres that escape the shabti of Zia and Thoth’s combat magicians. What do you think these spheres are? Why do they appear in different colors, and what might those colors symbolize? How might these spheres become relevant in the rest of the series? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Do the bracketed asides from Carter and Sadie enhance or distract from the story? Why? How might the story be different if Riordan didn’t include them? Why do you think he chose to include them in the first place?

The Red Pyramid explores family structures and their effect on children. Do you think a family’s structure (number of parents, children, etc.) automatically equates to a healthy environment? What about stability, regardless of family structure? Why do you feel this way?

In chapter 17, Carter contemplates Zia’s lack of memories of her family, noting how he remembers learning of his mother’s death more vividly than his mother herself. Do you think traumatic memories are stronger than other memories? Why or why not? If not, what types of memories might be stronger? Why those memories?