Publisher: Puffin
Released: October 6th
My Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads/Amazon
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 an uncle he's never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. His uncle 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... (from Goodreads)
Unsurprisingly, I loved Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer. Rick Riordan’s writing…it wins me over every time. EVERY TIME.
So this booked was a bit different to Rick’s other series. Our main character, Magnus, was a homeless teen, and had been for two years. His mum had been murdered, he didn’t trust his own family members, and now, he had just gotten himself killed. All in all, it’s safe to say he did not have an easy life. Magnus was very easy to like, though. He was funny but realistic, he was kind-hearted and determined! You just had to like the guy. His sense of humour was sarcastic but a bit darker than say Percy or Leo’s - which was understandable. He was also less trusting and wary of people - but was also pretty caring and (dare I say it) heroic - even if he didn’t think so himself. I really, really, really enjoyed following him in this book. I am also very curious as to what the prediction thingy (prophecy?) at Valhalla meant and how Magnus ties into it all. I honestly can’t wait for book two, I can’t. What am I going to do with myself?
Samirah was another character I really loved! A daughter of Loki, it was difficult to know whether to trust her or not (I did) but regardless, she was an awesome character. She was a Valkyrie, and was the one who chose Magnus for Valhalla. She also seemed to have a lot of secrets, but at the same time, seemed very dedicated to Odin and helping people. Everyone distrusted her because of her father, and she had to deal with that on a daily basis at Valhalla. You had to admire her for not constantly cracking under the pressure and managing to get through everything, even when it seemed like it was all going wrong. It was also interesting how her family had had many previous dealings with the gods before - the al-Abbas family was connected to them going back generations, so Sam knew a lot about it all, and she struggled between wanting to have a normal life and wanting to be a Valkyrie.
I also loved a lot of the other characters, including Blitz and Hearth, who were Magnus’s sort-of guardians/friends and looked out for him. Hearth was a very powerful rune magician and Blitz was a dwarf with a knack for fashion design and they were both awesome and loyal friends who stuck by Magnus. TJ, Mallory, Halfborn and X seemed like a nice bunch too and I really hope we get to see them interact with Magnus more in the next book! They seemed to all become friends with Magnus really quickly, and I do wish they had spent just a bit more time together so we could understand why they became close. We met a few gods in this book as well, but I’ll just talk about Loki for the time being, because he was (unsurprisingly) a very tricky character - the trickiest god we’ve met in all the series. It would be crazy to trust him from what we’ve seen of him so far, but he could also be very funny and somewhat charming at times, and could make you understand his point of view on certain matters - which was even more reason not to trust him.
I also have to mention the Sword of Summer (or Jack, as he liked to be called). I loved Jack. He was a sword to rival Pookie Bear from Penryn and the End of Days! He was just so funny and came up with the most hilarious stuff. Ahh, well I always love talking objects. I’m very glad Jack was in this book - and also, that joke about pen swords? I cracked up. I did.
Plot-wise, this is the type of book where you don’t even bother trying to predict what will happen because, a) you’re so engrossed, and b) literally anything could happen. I really enjoyed the plot and the obstacles Magnus face in his attempt to delay Ragnarok. I loved visiting some of the other worlds and meeting all the different people and different gods, plus I loved Magnus’s reaction to things (that scene where he asks about Loki and the horse, oh dear, I think I laughed for way too long). The thing that made me laugh the most though, was the title of chapter 48. I can’t even. It was so funny I just sat and laughed for a good five minutes before even reading the page. Also, ANNABETH! Annabeth was in this book! On three different occasions! Okay, not for long, but still. I missed her. And I can’t WAIT for Magnus to hear Annabeth’s story and vice versa. It’s going to be awesome (also if Percy makes a cameo in any future books, I may die. Just saying).
Overall, I loved this book, it was amazing, please read it. I mean, if you liked Percy Jackson, or if you like gods and mythology, you’re pretty much guaranteed to like this. And if you didn’t like Percy Jackson, I have no words for you. If you haven’t read Percy Jackson…get on that. Seriously. And then come back and read Magnus Chase.
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Also, for those interested, here is the trailer!
I really like the visuals for this trailer, but have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of the voiceover. Gets you hyped for the book though! I mean I was already very, very excited to read this book as a huge Rick Riordan fan, but the trailer added to it.
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