When life throws lemons my way, I usually turn the other cheek, but lately I’ve been juggling quite a few. Seriously, I am not in the mood for lemonade right now, but since I enjoy reading and discussing Young Adult literature, I’ll make haste and get to the matter at hand.

With “Percy Jackson” fans being delighted to have what I am presuming is an exciting read with the recent release of author Rick Riordan’s The Red Pyramid, the first book in his new Young Adult series, “The Kane Chronicles”, though I have yet to read this title, I’ll take the liberty to express that Riordan has not broken any new ground whatsoever. In spite of staking out fresh territory, this time, employing ancient Egyptian mythology.

If it seems that I have an axe to grind, you’re absolutely right, but I assure you that my gripe is legitmate. After reading the synopsis and a chapter sample of The Red Pyramid, I noted several parallels to my own Young Adult novel, The Netherworld of Kemet: Ezra’s Trial of Faith, though self-published, it debuted in mid-October of 2008, making a modest, but respectable splash into the literary realm, garnering an honorable rank among a ‘suggested young reader’s list’, during the previous spring for Valerie Jackson’s talk-radio program, “Between the Lines”, which airs on National Public Radio, from Atlanta, GA.

Curious enough, both of our works feature Set, the ancient Egyptian god of discord, as the notorious villain within our story. After stealing a small artifact from a popular King Tut exhibit, my central protagonist, Ezra Wallace, a twelve-year-old African-American boy, embarks on a remarkable journey into the ancient Egyptian afterlife with a fellow classmate and friend, Kismet Prince, (also twelve and African-American). Sometime
during their adventure, Ezra learns that Kismet’s biological mother has passed away and that she resents her step-mother. Although Riordan’s, (a non-African author), features two main protagonists, both discover that they are siblings, sharing the same deceased mother.

Moreover, both of Riordian's characters are “half African-American”. Last but not least, Riordan and I feature well-known museums to serve as settings for the catalyst for the rising action within our stories. Though ancient Egyptians believed that the art of magic is a divine gift, magic is not the central focus of The Netherworld of Kemet, however, it has a notable presence and magic is presented in miraculous ways. Are these mere coincidences? You be the judge.

Needless to say, it is not uncommon for creative people to spawn similar ideas. So, before I began launching a tirade about conspiracy theories, I recalled a legal rule of thumb, as it pertains to creativity. “Ideas cannot be copyrighted, only the individual expression of those ideas can be legally protected.”

Additionally, when a writer chooses to undertake the ambitious task of writing a novel that contains elements of historical fiction, infusing their own imagination to create elements of fantasy, without question the opportunity is open for all that apply, but open season in this arena can prove to be problematic. For instance, there have been many published books that feature ancient Egypt as a backdrop, but most of them, particularly those that are authored by non-African writers omit the fact that ancient Egypt was an African civilization. The racial heritage of the civilization was diluted over many centuries due to the various invasions of neighboring cultures, most notably, ancient Rome, ancient Greece, ancient Arabia, and ancient Prussia, etc.

To his credit, Riordan does not shy away from noting ancient Egypt as an African civilization, he utilizes this fact as a plausible mechanism to substantiate his main character's ancestral lineage to ancient pharaohs. Though I commend him for staying true to the ethnic identity of the ancient Egyptians, this admission is still considered to be a provocat