Intro

Ever since the success of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Rick Riordan has been among the most well-known middle grade authors of our time. He’s expanded his universe with not only more Percy Jackson books, but also with series that follow completely different characters who are dealing with completely different pantheons of gods from all over the world. And, now that he’s started to allow other authors to write within his universe, it’s only going to continue to expand.

Today, I’m going to talk about one of my favorites of Riordan’s books, the Sword of Summer. It’s the first book of his Norse gods series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, which, while still not nearly as popular as Percy Jackson, has built up a solid fan base of its own since its release in 2017. And there are lots of reasons to love it, from its sarcastic humor to its fun and diverse cast of characters.

So let’s dive into it!

The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan Overview

Ever since his mother was murdered in their apartment one night, sixteen year old Magnus Chase has been forced to live alone on the streets of Boston, with only his wits and the occasional help from Hearth and Blitz—two more of Boston’s homeless—to keep him alive. 

While his existence isn’t comfortable, at least it’s predictable—until his Uncle Randolph, a strange man that he barely knows and that his mother always warned him to steer clear of, suddenly tracks him down. Randolph tells him that he is the son of a Norse god and that, somehow, he must be the one to prevent Ragnarok.

In order to do this, Magnus must find Sumarbrander, the Sword of Summer, a weapon that has been missing for millenia. During his quest, he makes allies and enemies, and also comes to learn that some of his existing friends aren’t quite what they seem. 

Will Magnus and his companions succeed in stopping Ragnarok? Or will their actions only wind up bringing them closer to it?

Personal Thoughts

This is the first non-YA book I’ve recommended on the blog, but it’s really not a far cry off. As I mentioned above, Magnus is sixteen, which is typically considered to put him more in the YA age range, and all of the other main characters are around the same. It is, however, definitely much more mild, shall we say, than even your typical YA book, so it fits with the middle-grade genre and is certainly appropriate for younger readers.

I feel like I say this a lot, but my favorite part of the book was the characters. (I really like characters, okay?) Magnus is very sarcastic, and it’s very fun to be in his head while he interacts with the oftentimes weird Norse mythology world. Aside from Magnus himself, the rest of the main group all have their own distinct personalities as well, and there are plenty of funny interactions. It’s also possibly the most diverse main cast I’ve ever read, so this is also a great read for if you’re looking for that sort of thing too.

Like all of Riordan’s books, the humor is great in this one. This series was actually the first one that ever made me laugh out loud, so this is a great book for if you’re in the mood to read something funny. 

Outro

That’s about it for today’s post. I hope I’ve convinced you to check it out, and that you’ll check back next month for the next book recommendation. If you’ve already read this one but are looking for more mythology-based books, feel free to check out the similar books I’ve listed below. Thanks for reading!

Books Similar to the Sword of Summer

• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
• The Flame of Olympus by Kate O’Hearn
• The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan