Title: The Sword of Summer [Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard 1]
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mythology
Length: 497
Rating: 3.5 rounded up to 4 Star
Series Review: 1
Related Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Description/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 . . .
Review – MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
I would like to say a big thank you to Penguin for sending me an ARC copy of this book! Now that we are a day after the books release, who else has already read the book? For those of you have liked previous books by Riordan I don’t think you will be disappointed.
If you have read my review of The Lightening Thief you will see that much of the issues I had in that book remain the same with this one. I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted to, and while this plot seemed to flow more organically than TLT, I still found lots of things happened just a tad too perfectly.
There was also my conflicting emotions with the actual theme for the story. While TLT ran close to home when it came to my beliefs, this one struck the target. For the most I didn’t have much of an issue, I loved Frey, Loki and mostly loved every other God that made an appearance, but they all had those parts where for me personally I think were just a bit disrespectful. Just because Thor was supposed to represent the more human side doesn’t mean he had to be disgusting and constantly be farting lightening… I liked how he snored and was a deep sleeper though. I really liked the way Freya was portrayed as a crazy cat lady, but she was also portrayed as pretty much totally stupid and slutty in the way she would get in bed with anyone who was offering her jewelry. Odin was odd but I can accept that. Freya was probably my biggest issue. Thats my Goddess you are demeaning.
All of those things aside though I did enjoy the book. The humor in Riordan’s writing is amazing and I was laughing out loud at a number of points. There was also really good set up for the rest of the books and I can tell that just like the other series I will probably enjoy each book more than the last because I think Riordan’s writing builds on itself.
I recommend this book to anyone who has liked Rick Riordan’s other works, and anyone who likes fantasy, and those who have kids they want to read to. These works are awesome things to read allowed.
Till Next Time…