The Serpent's Shadow (Riordan novel)

The Serpent's Shadow

Cover of first edition
Author	Rick Riordan
Illustrator	John Rocco
Country	United States
Series	The Kane Chronicles (bk 3)
Genre	Fantasy, adventure, children's novel
Publisher	Disney Hyperion
Publication date	May 2, 2012
Media type	Print, audiobook
Pages	406 pp (first ed.)
ISBN
OCLC	757484331
LC Class	PZ7.R4829 Se 2012
Preceded by	The Throne of Fire

The Serpent's Shadow is a 2012 fantasy adventure novel based on Egyptian mythology written by Rick Riordan. It is the third and final novel in The Kane Chronicles series. It was published by Disney Hyperion on May 1, 2012.

This book begins when Carter Kane and Sadie Kane, travel to Dallas the 51st nome, with their initiates, and meet J.D. Grissom, the leader of the nome. They tell him that they need a heavily guarded magic scroll from the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, or his nome will get attacked and destroyed by the forces of Apophis, the god of chaos, who will rise, swallow the sun, and destroy the world in three days time. Sadie sees a face in the wall, which tells that they will not understand the scroll and they instead need a golden box. However, the nome is attacked, and the scroll is destroyed. To save everyone from getting killed, Sadie summons Ma'at, repulsing the forces of chaos but blacks out from the experience. They discover that all of the 51st nome has been destroyed, and all of the magicians killed by the minions of Chaos. At the 21st nome in Brooklyn, they discover that the golden box Sadie was told to retrieve by the wacko magician, is a shadow box of king Tut.

Horus visits Carter as a pigeon and hints a connection between shadows and statues. Carter suspects that there is a better way to execrate Apophis than perhaps blowing himself and Sadie, and decides to consult Thoth. He tells everybody at dinner and Sadie makes him go to their school dance. During the dance, Sadie meets Anubis, and he suggests that the sheut is like a computer backup drive, but Shu, god of wind, and also Anubis' great-grandfather breaks them up later. Sadie gets an idea about using Bes' sheut to give him back his ren.

The Russian magician they met last year comes with bad news. Sadie takes him to the First Nome to meet Amos. He tells them that the rebels, led by Sarah Jacobi and Kwai, have teamed up with Apophis. Amos tells Zia and Sadie to visit Bes. Meanwhile, Carter and Walt go visit Thoth. Thoth is being attacked by demons. Walt and Carter repulse them, and Thoth helps them understand who Setne is. They realize they have to visit the Land of the Dead at his trial and persuade Osiris to help them.