The Red Pyramid

Sadie is the other protagonist of the novel. She takes after her mother and presents as white, and without similar lessons from her father on always showing the best side of herself, Sadie is less careful about her appearance. At school, Sadie is labeled as “the different girl” (170)—the girl who is not really white, an American living in Britain, and a host of other classifications that make people assume negative things about her that aren’t true. Where Carter meets the preconceived notions of others by showing them what he hopes they wish to see, Sadie does the opposite and presents herself as the troublemaker they see her as.

Sadie’s choice to ignore the judgments of others makes her less stringent when it comes to rules. She foils Carter’s desire to do what he’s told and follow the advice of those with more experience than him. Sadie is more likely to rebel, sneak around, and eavesdrop, which is how she learns information throughout the book. Sadie’s ultimate decision to banish Set to the Duat intact shows how she departs from the advice of the magicians and instead listens to the wisdom of the gods. Her choice allows Set to be a resource for her, which will likely become relevant as the battle with Apophis looms closer.

Bast is the Egyptian cat goddess and a parental figure for Sadie and Carter throughout the book. At various times, she inhabits Muffin, Sadie’s cat, which allows her to keep a watchful eye without revealing her goddess nature. As a human, Bast is “small and lithe like a gymnast” (112) or warrior. Her fighting skills allowed her to battle Apophis even as her strength failed. Bast’s tragic flaw is her fear. Her feline nature interferes with her ability to put herself in harm’s way, but her protective instincts allow her to overcome this flaw to help Carter and Sadie, even though it means her essence is dispersed into the Duat.

Set is the Egyptian god of chaos and the novel’s main antagonist. He appears to have two faces—one of a cruel human and the other of a vicious dog—so that he looks like “someone had superimposed two different faces on top of each other” (27). These two visages represent the dual nature of Set’s personality. His human face shows that, while he is cruel, he has the ability to feel. Set was betrayed by the gods and wishes to destroy them, but he has not truly forgotten the caring he holds for his family and their survival. The dog-human face shows Set’s commitment to chaos and death. In Egyptian myth, hounds were associated with the afterlife (one example being Anubis—who would take the form of a jackal), and Set’s canine side shows his desire for destruction. At the end of the book, Set is in his human form when Sadie banishes him into the Duat, suggesting that Set will remember his loyalty to the gods and help them fight Apophis when the time comes.

Zia is a member of the House of Life and spends most of the book in a sleeping state, replaced by a living shabti. Zia has golden eyes that are “both beautiful and scary” (135), representing her struggle to decide where her loyalties lie. As a magician with the House, Zia believes that hosting gods can only lead a magician to ruin and the world to destruction. As she watches Carter and Sadie responsibly host gods and sees the gradual worsening of Set’s threat, Zia grapples with her beliefs. It is unclear how much of Zia’s personality is influenced by her hosting Nephthys. At the end of the book, Zia’s shabti tells Carter she was only a messenger and never really with him, suggesting that Nephthys might have had some influence over the shabti to direct its actions and hold information. The only time we see the real Zia is at the end of Chapter 2, following the explosion at the British Museum, which means the real Zia may not have any memory of the events that take place throughout the rest of the book. It is unclear if she will have the same war of beliefs later in the series or if she will even choose to help Sadie and Carter when given the choice.

Amos is Carter and Sadie’s uncle and a magician. In appearance, Amos is “barrel shaped, with skin the color of roasted coffee” (6), which shows his strength as a magician and protector. Amos spends most of the book under Set’s influence. Every decision he makes from helping Sadie and Carter escape blame for the museum explosion onward is directed by Set, and the dreams Carter experiences where he sees Amos’s capture are orchestrated by Set to ensure the kids trust Amos. Amos fights against Set’s influence and drops hints, such as using chaos storm magic to turn them into clouds, to try to warn them that he isn’t fully himself. At the end of the book, Amos struggles to heal from the trauma of Set’s influence. His decision to seek aid shows that he is also strong enough to admit when he needs help and isn’t too proud to seek it.

Julius Kane is Carter and Sadie’s father. He spends most of the book trapped in a sarcophagus, but his actions in the early chapters are instrumental in jumpstarting the story, as well as Carter and Sadie’s character arcs. Julius doesn’t regret freeing Bast eight years before the story’s beginning, but he does feel that he made mistakes that night, including the death of his wife and giving Apophis a foothold in the world. He believes freeing the other gods to fight the serpent is the right thing to do, a belief he doesn’t waiver from even when the House of Life threatens him. Julius’s merger with Osiris at the end of the book brings his character arc full circle. He meant to raise Osiris in the first two chapters and accomplishes the task at the end, hosting the god so that Osiris may increase his power for the impending battle against Apophis.

Desjardins is a magician of the House of Life and represents the negative impact of being closed-minded. Desjardins refuses to listen to Julius, Carter, and Sadie, instead choosing to cling to the House’s laws even as Set’s and Apophis’s powers grow. Time and again, Desjardins is thwarted by Sadie and Carter, showing how the siblings’ open-minded views of the gods are what the House of Life needs to maintain power. At the end of the book, Desjardins refuses to open the House to the path of the gods, showing how he has not changed despite everything he’s seen. Desjardins’s decision here will likely put the House at a disadvantage in the next book.

Iskandar is the Lecter of the House of Life and represents how it’s never too late to change. While Desjardins remains steadfastly against any path involving the gods, Iskandar’s love for Sadie and Carter’s mother makes him reconsider. Her warnings of the House’s fall make Iskandar rethink what is best for magicians and the world, but he doesn’t realize the decisions that need to be made until it’s too late. Iskandar dies before he can implement the change that needs to happen and leaves the door open for Desjardins to persecute Carter and Sadie for hosting gods.

Ruby is Carter and Sadie’s mother. She is only seen once as a spirit at the end of the book, but her influence is felt throughout all the trials the kids face. Ruby’s death before the book’s beginning is the event that fractures Carter and Sadie’s family, as well as the motivation the kids need to finish the mission their parents started. Ruby’s presence at the end of the book shows how their family is whole, despite being divided by the boundaries of life and death.