The Sword of Summer
2015
- serie:magnus_chase_and_the_gods_of_asgard
- action
- myths
- novel
- magic
- american literature
- children's literature
- fiction
- norse mithology
- fantasy
The story
Magnus Chase has seen his share of trouble. Ever since that terrible night two years ago when his mother told him to run, he has lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, staying one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. One day, Magnus learns that someone else is trying to track him down—his uncle Randolph, a man his mother had always warned him about. When Magnus tries to outmaneuver his uncle, he falls right into his clutches. Randolph starts rambling about Norse history and Magnus's birthright: a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years. The more Randolph talks, the more puzzle pieces fall into place. Stories about the gods of Asgard, wolves, and Doomsday bubble up from Magnus's memory. But he doesn't have time to consider it all before a fire giant attacks the city, forcing him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents. . . . Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die.
What it’s like
Wry, fast-moving city noise on every page: Boston streets, subway tunnels, a grimy homeless-shelter world rendered with a teenager's sardonic first-person voice that makes hunger and fear feel close without ever sinking into them. The prose is brisk and jokey, with short chapters that end on hooks, and the sensory palette leans toward cold concrete, river fog, scorched asphalt and the gleam of gold and bronze when myth breaks through the everyday. Its vibe is scrappy, funny and quietly tender, a backpack-and-hoodie adventure that suits a long commute, a lazy afternoon on the couch, or a reluctant reader who needs momentum. Magnus is a lonely, guarded kid slowly learning he can belong to something, and his found-family bonds carry the emotional weight. Violence is present but cartoonish and mostly off-page in its gore: monsters, battles and a fire giant's assault, with fights described in bursts of action and peril rather than lingering brutality. Death and grief surface as genuine stakes, handled with restraint. It suits middle-grade and younger teen readers, and adults who enjoy irreverent mythology and fast, playful fantasy.
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