The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1
Publisher: Disney Hyperion (2015)
Hardcover (491 pages)
Rating:
Also by this author: The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse
Reading Challenges: 2015 Mythology, Read 2015
Synopsis
Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.
One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.
The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.
When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.
Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .
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My Review
What a wonderful book this was! I can’t really comment on the accuracy of the Norse mythology as I am rather clueless in that area but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Magnus Chase is a hilarious narrator. I think he is even more hilarious than Percy Jackson which is saying quite a lot. He is also the cousin of Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson series.
It turns out that someone is trying to kill Magnus… on his sixteenth birthday even. This is kind of a bummer, especially when he actually does die after finding the sword of his Norse god father and being attacked by a fire-giant-thing named Surt.
(Sidenote: The name Surt totally threw me for a bit since it is a name used in the reading book we use at the school as the name of a wolf pup. So here I am picturing this little wolf pup on fire trying to attack Magnus. Yep, that’s one crazy picture.)
However, Magnus doesn’t die the way we will die. Magnus is taken to the Norse afterworld for heroes called Valhalla. The Valkyrie Samirah rescues his spirit under mysterious orders and takes him to Valhalla.
So now Magnus is an einherji, a soldier in Odin’s eternal army for Doomsday. He also might have some other problems such as figuring out where his father’s sword is and something to do with the Fenris Wolf. Who said the afterlife was simple?
This was another wonderful Rick Riordan book with a hilarious protagonist. It was also pretty amazing that Doctor Who and The Princess Bride were mentioned within ten pages of each other near the beginning.
I totally recommend The Sword of Summer and cannot wait for the next book in this great series.
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