After reading this book over spring break, I have now read this book for a total of 3 times in about...one year. 3 times in one year? Yep. 
 The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan is a story with two alternating voices: Carter and Sadie Kane. After their father goes to the British Museum and blows up the Rosetta Stone, they are thrust into the lives of the Egyptian gods. They are taken by their Uncle Amos to the 21st Nome of the House of Life, in Brooklyn, New York. They are then introduced to the world of magic, and then they learn about Set, the Egyptian god of chaos and evil. 
 Set is planning to complete his red pyramid on his birthday, the third Demon Day--December 29th. On that day, he will have fully risen, and he has the potential to destroy all of North America. Who sets out to stop him? Carter and Sadie, two inexperienced magicians who literally just learned about magic a few days before. Along the way, they meet Bast, the Egyptian goddess of cats, and many more characters, such as Zia Rashid, an experienced mage of the House of Life, Desjardins, the new Chief Lector (the strongest magician) who wants to destroy the Kanes, Thoth, god of wisdom/intelligence, and Anubis, god of funerals. They also learn a whole lot about the Egyptian myths, and find out surprising things along the way. 
 I've read Rick's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series before this, as well as The Heroes of Olympus, and they both were very intriguing. I personally like the first books (such as this one) the best, because the characters don't know anything about what's going on and it's hilarious. The books after this, though, are also fantastic. 
 So where should I start? This book was an absolute masterpiece, and everything about it was amazing. 
 The plot was great. It had just about the perfect pacing and whatever you'd want from an action/fantasy book. The plot twists at the end were very, very unexpected on my first read-through, and Rick is so clever with them that they genuinely surprised me. Not only that, but the plot did quite well with the regular main-characters-go-on-a-quest-to-stop-the-villain thing, and it was very creative. 
 Next up are the characters. 
 The characters were perfect in any way possible. They were all diverse, and all of them were extremely likable in their own ways. Carter and Sadie were funny, Set was cynical in that villainous way, and every character was so different. Every main character and even a few supporting characters were polished and they weren't all the same. For example, Zia was rather serious compared to Sadie, who was sarcastic all the time and made many jokes about everything. 
 Then we have the writing. 
 The writing was grand. The humor was perfectly placed and there were a few moments in the book where I laughed and smiled out loud, even on my rereads. The humor still gets me, even to this day. 
 All in all, this book is a must-read for any people who love adventure or fantasy. It's similar to many books of the same genre, but yet it's so different from all of those. The Red Pyramid is one of those books that is simply a grand masterpiece. It certainly deserves 5 stars.