Staff of Serapis Review

When Rick Riordan announced the Son of Sobek, excitement was high. As the official crossover between the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series and the Kane Chronicles series, the short story was huge news. While the Son of Sobek was a solid read, it didn't really have the gravitas or high magnitude we were expecting. However, Riordan continues the storyline in a sequel called the Staff of Serapis, which stars female leads of the respective series's and has managed to send the series soaring.

The Staff of Serapis far beats out its predecessor, creating the ultimate crossover. There were many things Rick Riordan got right with his sequel. First off, he finally created a set time period this series of short crossover stories is set. The Son of Sobek was vague in whether it was set around the period of time between the Last Olympian and the Lost Hero, or if it took place after the Heroes of Olympus. We now know that it is indeed set after the Heroes of Olympus, meaning any story threads he has going on in the main series does not interfere with the Staff of Serapis, as this is set in the not so far future. It leaves this crossover series free to take any direction it wants to take, meaning some big things can finally happen, making this second entry more satisfying than its predecessor. The only problem is that this confirms Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase do not die in the finale for the Heroes of Olympus, spoiling the upcoming Blood of Olympus for us, but nobody really thought Riordan would kill of his most popular characters, so it doesn't really matter.

The second great thing about this story is the character work. Annabeth and Sadie are already well established and popular characters in their respective series, so Riordan is freed from the task from fleshing them out and can dive right into the interactions and dialogue between the two. This was a strength in Son of Sobek, and is strong here as well. The dialogue here is also very refreshing, as Riordan utilizes Annabeth and Sadie's differences from their male leads to create a new style of banter, where the cooler heads of the girls provide a new type of team-up story. His work is still strong in this area and is a common strength of the Son of Sobek and the Staff of Serapis.

A place Staff of Serapis succeeds where Son of Sobek faltered is the antagonist. The Son of Sobek featured a baby crocodile that finds the amulet of Sobek, Egyptian God of Crocodiles, and becomes a monster known as the Son of Sobek. However, this crocodile was a weak, boring villain, basically being summed up as a knockoff of Sobek, who was a minor villain in the Red Pyramid. Not very impressive. In the sequel though, Riordan provides a villain with real threat. This villain is the Alexandrian god Serapis, a fusion of Greeks and Egyptians. The level of danger he possesses is real compared to the mindless giant crocodile of the former story.

The final element that makes the Staff of Serapis great is that it takes a clear direction for this budding miniseries. The Son of Sobek was more a chance to see Percy and Carter meet and interact, but they never confided in each other their backgrounds and thus, the crossover managed to keep the two worlds separate for a little longer. This was disappointing, but it is rectified in the Staff of Serapis. Annabeth and Sadie open up to each other and now the Egyptians and Greeks are finally aware of each other. This opens the door for exciting new possibilities and sends the storyline spinning forward. We learn some shocking reveals and twists, mainly the villain behind the shadows responsible for the Greek/Egyptian meetings, and the information is mind-blowing and fits in perfectly, making perfect sense. The Son of Sobek was the launchpad of the series, but the Staff of Serapis is the rocket, where this miniseries really soars and will only continue to reach new heights.