Magnus Chase Sword of Summer By Rick Riordan I Book Review By Rishav,12,Kolkata

Magnus Chase Sword of Summer By Rick Riordan

If you have an interest in Greek mythology or you are an avid reader who likes fast – paced and thrilling stories, you have probably heard of the Percy Jackson series. If you liked that, I believe you will like this. 

If you haven’t read Percy Jackson, you can delve into the magical and wondrous stories written by Rick Riordan starting here.

The story starts off with Magnus Chase introducing his life to us. He is an orphan living harshly on the streets of Boston. One day he is warned by one of his close friends, Blitz, that two people are looking for him. When Magnus stalks them, they turn to his sister and her father, his uncle Frederick. He overhears his sister talking about his other uncle, Uncle Randolph. He breaks into Randolph’s house out of curiosity, though told repeatedly by his mother, when she was alive, not to go to Randolph. Randolph takes him to the Longfellow Bridge, where he tells him that his father was a Norse god. Randolph instructs him to call for the sword of Summer or Sumarbrander, which was the sword of his father. Magnus is successful. 

Surt, a fire giant, attacks Magnus, demanding the sword. He does not give it to him. While injuring Surt Magnus dies. 

This leads him to join the army of the Norse Gods, consisting of all those who have died bravely. This army is called the Einheri. While being teleported to the place where the Einheri live, Valhalla, he loses Sumarbrander as it slips from his hand while dying. In Valhalla he receives a quest and his godly parents are determined to be Frey, the god of summer. He meets two of his homeless friends who have come to Valhalla by using the World Tree, though they are still alive. It is not fully clear to me what the world tree is but inferring from the story, it seems that it connects everything, meaning the nine worlds of Norse mythology. It has portals leading everywhere. Additionally, there are some extremely huge animals that are extremely aggressive and live on the tree.

Continuing on Magnus with his two friends, Biltz and Hearth, whose full names are Blitzen and Hearthsone, embark on a perilous journey. Their goal is to find the island where the Fenris wolf is bound and change the chains so that they can delay Ragnarok, the Norse version of Doomsday.  They encounter many obstacles and near-death experiences. They also make a new friend, Samirah-al-Abbas, or Sam for short. 

Can Magnus and his friends defy all odds and be able to delay Ragnarok? 

Just like all the books written by Rick Riordan, the character development and side plots are present and amazing. For example, Magnus Chase’s late mother, though only mentioned and dreamt about, was an important character as her memories had a strong influence on Magnus. Blitz, a dwarf, was outcast from Dwarfian society as he wanted to create clothing instead of working the forges. I shall not spoil Hearth’s side plot, as it is probably the best. 

Rick Riordan’s writing is extremely good. It is fluent, making the book a fast read. Emotions and thoughts are well portrayed. This book is made more interesting by Magnus’s narrative, in which he breaks the 4th wall multiple times. 

In conclusion, I rate this book 4 / 5. I do not give it a 4.5, as in some places it is a little hard to understand.

Rating 4/5

For 10 years old and above.

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