The Sword of Summer
by Rick Riordan
For two years, Magnus Chase has lived the life of a homeless kid because that's what he is. Two years before, Magnus's mother was killed by wolves in their apartment in Boston. She sacrificed herself to save her son and he's lived on the streets ever since with the help of Blitz and Hearth, two other homeless men who keep Magnus safe and teach him the tricks he needs to survive.
When Magnus's uncle suddenly starts searching for him, two years after he became homeless, Magnus learns that he's more than just some random homeless kid; he's the son of a Norse god and his destiny is greater than he could ever have believed.
Of course, destiny can be a real pain in the... Anyway... Destiny causes Magnus quite a bit of pain; the first pain being the pain of dying.
Yes. Magnus has to die to face his destiny. But dying is only the first step.
Final thoughts: I liked this one, but it honestly lacked the flow of some of Riordan's other books. Someone mentioned in another review of this book that it's like an information dump, and that sounds about right. With Percy Jackson, most people started reading that series already knowing the basics about Greek mythology, so the story could just flow without much help regarding the history. However, Magnus Chase is the son of a much less well known Norse god and the stories of Norse mythology are not nearly so prolific. Much of this book is filled with hints of stories or outright retellings of those myths. More than once, I found myself putting the book down to go look up a myth or mythological character, so that didn't help much with the flow of the story, either. Additionally, as has been pointed out by other reviewers, Magnus's voice is very similar to Percy's. Their histories are pretty similar, as well, so it can get frustrating that they sound the same. Not all teens are snarky with witty comebacks, even if those comebacks are only in their heads and indicated to the readers. Can we have a different kind of teen, please? Let's have a voice change. All that being said, the story is solid and the building of the worlds is kind of cool. Special kudos to Riordan for his portrayal of Loki. You, Mr. Riordan, actually had me believing him and feeling sorry for him.
Rating: 3/5
When Magnus's uncle suddenly starts searching for him, two years after he became homeless, Magnus learns that he's more than just some random homeless kid; he's the son of a Norse god and his destiny is greater than he could ever have believed.
Of course, destiny can be a real pain in the... Anyway... Destiny causes Magnus quite a bit of pain; the first pain being the pain of dying.
Yes. Magnus has to die to face his destiny. But dying is only the first step.
Final thoughts: I liked this one, but it honestly lacked the flow of some of Riordan's other books. Someone mentioned in another review of this book that it's like an information dump, and that sounds about right. With Percy Jackson, most people started reading that series already knowing the basics about Greek mythology, so the story could just flow without much help regarding the history. However, Magnus Chase is the son of a much less well known Norse god and the stories of Norse mythology are not nearly so prolific. Much of this book is filled with hints of stories or outright retellings of those myths. More than once, I found myself putting the book down to go look up a myth or mythological character, so that didn't help much with the flow of the story, either. Additionally, as has been pointed out by other reviewers, Magnus's voice is very similar to Percy's. Their histories are pretty similar, as well, so it can get frustrating that they sound the same. Not all teens are snarky with witty comebacks, even if those comebacks are only in their heads and indicated to the readers. Can we have a different kind of teen, please? Let's have a voice change. All that being said, the story is solid and the building of the worlds is kind of cool. Special kudos to Riordan for his portrayal of Loki. You, Mr. Riordan, actually had me believing him and feeling sorry for him.
Rating: 3/5
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