The Sword of Summer: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book One

4.5 stars!Rick Riordan has done it again! THE SWORD OF SUMMER follows what has become Riordan’s trademark formula: take an ancient mythology and see what would happen if it were real, here and now. It’s a formula that works, in large part because of the imagination and humor Riordan brings to his books. The combination kept me veering from suspense to outright laughter, interspersed with moments of sympathy and even grief.I worried at first that Magnus would prove to be a Percy knockoff. The two characters share a similar predilection for snark as well as an impulse to protect others, particularly the innocent. Like Percy in his first few books, Magnus has lost his mother. But Magnus is older and little darker; he’s more of a realist, or perhaps a pessimist, than Percy, and thanks to several years spent homeless, he’s far more streetwise and wary.He’s also (it’s hardly a spoiler at this point) Annabeth’s cousin. I was just hoping for a few passing references to Annabeth, so I was downright delighted to get several whole scenes with her. The scene where the two of them compete for whose life is the weirdest without actually telling each other the truth made me ridiculously happy. And though I have my fingers crossed for a major crossover when this series is finished, there are hints that it might actually take place within this series, which would make me (and a lot of other people) very happy as well.Riordan has been working to add more diversity to his books, and he does a great job with it in The Sword of Summer. Of course, there’s the built-in diversity of Norse myth, with its frost giants and fire giants and dwarves and elves, but there’s also diversity among the Valkyrie and the einherjar, the fallen warriors brought to Valhalla. Besides Magnus, who is largely of Norse descent, there’s Sam(ira) el-Abbas, a Valkyrie and daughter of a Norse god; T.J., the son of an escaped slave and a Norse god, who fought for the Union; a half-troll; a deaf elf and a dwarf who’s more into fashion than crafting things; an Irish girl. . . you get the idea. And it works really well, because Riordan never makes the mistake of making the character’s race, ethnicity, or disability into their distinguishing characteristic. Sam is from a Muslim family; she wears a hijab, at least when she might see someone she knows (and the hijab itself is more than it appears). But her culture is only one aspect of who she is, and it’s not the most important one — not to Magnus, not to Riordan, and not to the reader. Hearth’s deafness means he communicates with Magnus and Blitz (the dwarf) in ASL, but he’s not a token deaf person by any means. It’s part of him, but it doesn’t define him.The humor in the book had me literally laughing aloud, and stopping to read out choice bits to my husband. Here’s one of my favorites, referring to how a certain magical item was made: “. . . with the most powerful paradoxes in the Nine Worlds — WiFi with no lag, a politician’s sincerity, a printer that prints, healthy deep-fried food, and an interesting grammar lecture!” “Okay, yeah,” I admitted. “Those things don’t exist.”Then there are Magnus’s various comments on the Norse habit of naming, well, pretty much everything. (“Is this potato called Steve?”) And his general snarkiness: when he and some friends literally jump off a cliff, he reflects in the first-person narrative, “Because, you know, what are friends for?” His friends are, for the most part, able to keep up their end: Sam is particularly good at riposte and sarcasm. One of the best bits (not from Sam) is a direct jab at the Percy Jackson series; it’s glorious and much to good to spoil, so you’ll just have to be on the lookout for it. And there are a number of pop-culture references, including to various Marvel and DC superhero franchises, that will make you chuckle as well.The humor scattered liberally throughout the book helps to balance the rather stark, death-doom-and-glory quality of the Norse mythos. To be honest, I had wondered before I read it whether Riordan could pull this series off, because so much of Norse myth is really dark and fatalistic. I needn’t have worried; Magnus’s snarky irreverence lightens the narrative without detracting from either his determination or his underlying anger at being pulled out of his life without so much as a by-your-leave — even if it wasn’t a very happy one. It’s his mother’s influence that really centers him, despite her absence. Another similarity with Percy, I guess: they both had mothers whose love and presence shaped their personalities for the better. (I would pay good money to see Magnus and Percy build a friendship and trade jokes; if we’re lucky, we’ll get that chance. Probably while they’re both fighting for their lives and the future of the world.)As for the plot, it’s everything a Riordan fan could want: plenty of well-described action, a series of quests or tasks, encounters with supernatural beings both friendly and unfriendly (and not infrequently untrustworthy), interspersed with short periods for rest, introspection, and character and relationship development. It’s a formula, sure, but a highly successful one — not to mention supremely entertaining. If you loved Riordan’s other books, you’re definitely going to enjoy these. If you haven’t read the others, you can easily jump in here. . . but after you read this book, I recommend backtracking to the preceding two series for the sheer fun of it.REVIEW ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED on The Bookwyrm's Hoard blog, 11/05/15.

Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan is an exciting book which is fun and easy to read, and very well-written. Since it is mostly intended for younger audiences, I’m writing this review from a younger standpoint. With humor, sarcasm, adventure, excitement and fantasy all rolled up into one, it was a book that I simply could not put down until I finished. The way Riordan writes his characters makes the readers get attached, and they will feel like they must know what happens and won’t be able to stop until they get there. The reader is introduced to Magnus Chase, a homeless teenager trying to make his life on the streets of Boston. He doesn’t have much except for some homeless friends, two of whom will come to play big roles in the story—Hearthstone and Blitzen. On Magnus’s sixteenth birthday, he is plunged into the world of Norse mythology, never again to return to his “normal” human life, if it could even be called that in the first place. When Magus finds out that he is the son of a Norse god and that he is supposed to be a very important element in a quest to save the nine worlds, his world is flipped upside down. He and his friends must go on a series of sort quests, all leading up to their major quest—stop Fenris World from tearing free of his bindings and destroying the nine worlds. Like all of Riordan’s pieces, Magnus Chase is a quick, easy, and highly enjoyable read. The characters are a perfect balance of serious and comedic, which comes as a delight to the reader. With quotes like, “Weakly, I raised my free hand. I flipped him a gesture that he wouldn’t need sign language to understand,” it made me laugh on several occasions, which is one of the reasons why I enjoyed it so much (Riordan). The writing is easy to understand which makes it very pleasurable for the reader to get through. I never had to stop and think about what was going on because it was all written very clearly. Riordan is also very creative. The places and characters that he describes are whimsical and fun, and they put vivid images into the readers’ minds. The story moves at a nice, moderate pace and it is easy to keep up with all the events. Riordan writes teenagers in a way that is incredibly relatable and therefore makes the readers feel a connection to the story and its events. The one issue that people might have with this book is its predictability. Anyone who has read some of Riordan’s pieces before will be able to determine how the book is going to end. However, the events that lead up to that final event are entirely unpredictable, so it definitely does leave the reader wondering what is going to happen and how. In that way, there are most certainly parts of the story that the reader will not see coming so in my opinion the predictability was not a huge issue. The uniqueness and excitement of the events more than compensated for it. Overall, in my opinion the book was a huge success and I would highly recommend it. With humorous chapter titles that draw the reader in and chapters that end in cliffhangers, you will not want to put it down. The dialogue is hilarious, witty and sarcastic—everything that real-life teenagers are as well. If you enjoy fantasy, mythology, action, and humor, then this book is definitely the one for you.

Good read

El tío Rick lo hizo de nuevo, estaba emocionada de leer este libro porque ya me leí las sagas de Percy Jackson, tener a Magnus como narrador lo hizo muy entretenido de leer y de asimilar, Rick Riordan tiene el don de escribir tramas y hacer inclusión de personajes haciéndolo ver orgánico, en ningun momento sentí forzado algún personaje o alguna situación, me parece que aunque vaya un poquito de la mano con el universo de Percy esta nueva historia sea opacada para nada, me intriga que es lo que vendrá en un futuro, además, hablando del aspecto físico del libro le doy otro 10 al libro, la portada es la cosa mas bella del mundo, el personaje de Magnus está bien estructurado y si bien no es como que sabe que debe hacer todo el tiempo es un buen protagonista, además ese guiño a Anabeth de la saga de Percy me encantó, definitivamente es un libro que mis futuros hijos tendrán puestos en su librero.

A mi hijo de 9 años le ha gustado mucho, y es lo que yo buscaba.Yo lo he leído, y bueno, es un libro para lectores muy jóvenes... Hace que prefieran leer a cualquier otra actividad

Ok, so when I was reading the reviews, people were complaining that it wasn't funny and was pretty much the same as every other series Rick Riordan (the author) has written with less likable characters. This is NOT true. It is funny and, seriously, in which other book have you seen the main character as A DEAD PERSON???!!!! To be honest, when I was reading the book description, I thought it would be a book about a zombie (This is not what it's about). Anyway it's super interesting and you should read it. (Plus my name is Rishi and I'm 10 years old)

A very nice and light take on Norse mythology, despite taking on some heavy topics. Would recommend to young readers and adults who enjoy Percy Jackson or Norse myths.