Magnus Chase and The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan | Book Review
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 . . .
My Rating: 3.5/5
When the master of myths, Rick Riordan releases an all new series based on Norse mythology, the last that you can have on your mind is disappointment. The author of everyone’s favourite series, Percy Jackson and The Olympians cannot disappoint. And he does not. Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer isn’t disappointing but it isn’t satisfactory either.
I guess when you have read more than ten works by an author, you are bound to grow out of his magic. This is probably what happened with Rick Riordan and me. I picked up Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer with a hope that it would be different from that of Percy Jackson’s world. But alas! When I read this book I found it almost similar to Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.
First there is the exact similar tone of narration. Magnus Chase sounded so much like Percy. If it wasn’t written ‘Magnus Chase’ in shinning bold letters on the cover page, I don’t think I would have been able to tell these two apart. I understand that Riordan is trying to mimic the voice of teenage boys with that sarcastic and sassy style of narration and it worked so well with Percy. But giving that same tone to Magnus just made things repetitive and confusing.
And it is not just the narration but there were so many scenes and instances in the story which looked like they have been modified off from Percy Jackson’s books. Reading Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer was such a déjà vu experience.
Except those few problems, my experience with the book was pretty good. Riordan is back with those catchy chapter titles and I would jump once or twice in excitement when I read those. Seriously, Rick Riordan is the king of titles. The plot is adventure driven and there is always some kind of peppy stuff going on in each chapter. The chapters end when you least expect them to be, leaving you hanging, which is a very good thing.
The main character Magnus was almost Percy to me, so I will ignore him. But his female sidekick, Samirah al-Abbas was interesting to read about. She is a college going Muslim girl who wears a magic hijab and also works part time for Odin as a Valkyrie. She is the daughter of Loki and a shy badass. Also Magnus’s other two partners, one dwarf and the other an elf were super fun too. These characters are hilarious.
But the best thing about reading this book is the information about Norse myths that it gives to the reader. Discovering Norse mythology out of marvel’s cinematic universe was such a good experience. I loved the portrayal of Thor as a farting man and fan of human television shows. And then there is Loki --- still creepy, clever and super interesting. Also a lot of other Gods are mentioned, about whom I had absolutely zero idea before reading this book.
Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer is a humour filled book with an exciting plot and if you can ignore the similarities with the Percy Jackson series, you will love it. I feel that Riordian could have make this series a lot fresher and new than what it is now. But no matter what, I am buying the next book as soon as it gets out.
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