The Sword of Summer

Cover The Sword of Summer
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Genres: Fiction » Fantasy
9.5/10
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Over all, a disappointment and let down. It took me 3 months (!) to finish it, where the other books by Riordan I finished within a week, which should say some thing about the book. The main problems to me is first: The massive tonal shifts all over the story, on one hand the life and death serious and dark plots (Homeless hero after the sad death of her mother? Supposed death to the main hero in the beginning?? Threat of Ragnarok looming, the destruction of the worlds???), and on the other hand

...

countless slapstick comedy and almost Bugs Bunny-level of cartoonish gags and situations that just didn't mesh well with the whole story. More so as for the first time the usual humorous storytelling of Riordan felt forced and most of the supposed jokes fall flat instead of making me laugh. The main hero Magnus Chase who should've sounded more like Percy Jackson (that's what Riordan intended), instead just sounded bitter and cynical, because unlike Percy who has a loving mother and a normal childhood, Magnus was homeless for two years after the tragic death of her mother... So while Percy is an uplifting and lighthearted person, Magnus is damaged and has a mostly negative perspective on life. That's why in my opinion the tone of the book should never have been this much light and trying-to-be-funny-at-every-turn, which totally undermined all the dark on goings and the seriousness of the underlying plot.

The second problem to me was the length of the novel and the repetitive structure of it's development. After our hero's quest begin, it turned in to a video game where they go to a new world, and have to solve a side-mission objective to achieve a clue for the main mission. At first I didn't mind, it was more or less entertaining as well as we get to explore the various worlds of Norse Mythology. But after having to go through the same thing over and over again it became uninteresting and quite simply: boring. And for a Rick Riordan novel that's just unthinkable to me! Lots of portions of the story didn't matter to the main plotline and could've been easily skipped. If the book was 100-150 pages less, I think it would be a much tighter story with a deservingly appropriate faster pace (like the earlier PJ novels).

Aside for the story, the characters didn't fare much greatly either. As the central figure, Magnus Chase could've been a very interesting and commanding character, but that whole always-trying-to-be-funny-when-he-really-isn't made me annoyed instead of liking him. I liked his character in the first part of the book when he felt like a genuine sympathetic human being who feels pain, sufferings, fear, anguish and was in way over his head. But the middle part turned him into a cartoon caricature. Same can be said about other main characters of Blitzen and Hearthstone who I just didn't care that much. Although it had to be also said that Riordan honestly tried to give these two depths and proper motivations to make them more real as the story progressed. The one character I liked very much is Samira Al-Abbas, Magnus Chase's valkyrie, mainly because she's the only one who didn't outright became a character from slapstick-screwball comedies. Oh, and I also liked Chase's friends from Valhalla, but there's only too little too late presence of them in the main quest to make me suitably invested in them. Hopefully we'll see more of them in the upcoming books.

It looks like I only blabbed about the negative parts about the book, but there are some positive points scattered here and there too. The first-third was really good and I enjoyed it wholeheartedly. I've always fascinated with Norse myths, and Riordan didn't let me down with his gloriously fun world-building according to Norse myth inside our own world. And though the middle part dragged and got repetitive, the climax was very well staged and the pay off was fun, more or less satisfying. Although it felt a bit rushed then after hundreds of pages, to have the ending wrapped up a little too quickly. But I have to say, the last-third of the book was good, and after stumbling and bumbling halfassed through out the quest, it was very refreshing to see the characters of Magnus, Biltz and Hearth to finally have some much deserved proper developments in becoming the men they should be that we, the readers would come to love and follow. That's maybe the sole reason I'm not throwing this series under the bus already, the ending showed real promise to the future of the series, and I seriously hope Riordan will be back with his usual awesomeness in the next books that was unfortunately more or less absent this time. Given the correct treatment, Magnus Chase and his comrades have the potential to be fun to read about. Here's hoping for the best in the next book: The Hammer of Thor!

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User Reviews:

Guest 4 years ago

I think this book was an awesome read and I loved it. I liked Magnus’s sarcastic and sassy personality kind of similar to Percy.

Guest 4 years ago

it was cool until the part where the main character did the thing then things started happening.

Guest 5 years ago

Uh guys these books are great!! There is language???? Why and it pretty much disappears in next 2 books in his series. But why is it even here?? Idk. But it still a good plot and some sarcastic humor.

TO COMMENTERS: IF YOU REALLY WANT TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT’S BAD ABOUT THE BOOK, DON’T JUST CALL IT “TERRIBLE” AND BE DONE!!!! GO ON AND SAY WHAT YOU THINK IS BAD!!!! BE MORE CLEAR!!

Guest 5 years ago

it was garbager

Guest 6 years ago

umm guys you are slow readers I read magnus chase in a day lol and I read pj books in half a day they have less pages personally I kinda think that pj is his best work :))) :()))()

CGZ The reader 4 years ago

Then you guys are not taking in everything in the book. I read it twice and only at the second time where I saw some things I missed the first thime

Guest 5 years ago

Pj books are easy
I fnished pj and heroes of olympus . I'm about to start Magnus Chase series I'm on Harry potter 7

Guest 6 years ago

I really enjoyed the book, I love it! I don't know why so many people didn't like it , oh well to each there own

Guest 6 years ago

it was garbage

dark reader 5 years ago

I think that u should mind ur language because 3 months have been put into this book, so appreciate it, if u don't like it no need to be crabby about it

Guest 5 years ago

Can u not sugar coat ur words, like ''oh its nice but not my type of read'' not ''it was garbage'' coz those words hurt especially because it took 3 months to make, id like to see u write a book in 3 months without having a severe mental breakdown :)

Guest 6 years ago

I like this book but i think percy jackson is better. It took me less than a week to read percy and a more than a month to read magnus chase

Guest 6 years ago

Percy Jackson is the bst of lot...and i didnt like the last book of it that much where percy was left to be a sidekick to jason grace..i mean you come to read 6-7 books with the guy in the lead and then you make him useless and sidekick...bahhh...magnus chase series...honestly they are not much fun

Guest 6 years ago

same i prefer p jackson series but like other rick riordan books as well

Guest 6 years ago

I really love all rick Riordan's book.
I hope there's more series to come.

Guest 6 years ago

Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, and Trials of Apollo are amazing books you can read all by Rick Riordan.

Guest 6 years ago

I agree, I have read all these, and from my opinion, these are awesome, and other Rick Riordan fans may enjoy these just as much as Percy Jackson. The Trials of Apollo aren't all published yet, but the books already out are interesting to read.
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