Hello, you’ll find the reviews of each book in the MAGNUS CHASE AND THE GODS OF ASGARD trilogy by Rick Riordan here. Enjoy!
Navigate through this post with the titles below:
🗡 The Sword of Summer | 🔨 The Hammer of Thor | ⚓️ The Ship of the Dead
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The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1
Published October 6, 2015 by Disney-Hyperion Books
Age Range: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: LGBT, Muslim SC
Rating:
Synopsis:
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.
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For some reason, my mind didn’t make the connection that Magnus and Annabeth are related until the moment it was mentioned that he has a cousin with the same name. Am I dumb? 😂 Not gonna lie, the Avengers movies totally took over when I tried to imagine the characters–Loki as Tom Hiddleston, Thor as Chris Hemsworth. However, Rick Riordan still managed to infuse the book Loki and Thor with their own unique characteristics that are unlike the ones in the movies.
Now that I’m done with Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology, I’m venturing into the fourth series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, featuring Magnus Chase and Norse mythology. As always, the exploration of a new environment and characters written by Rick Riordan is filled with adventure and dangers. We meet giants, gods, dwarves, and valkyries in Norse mythology. Also, a witty talking sword!
#1:
“Sorry, introductions. Jack, Hearth. Hearth, Jack.”
Hearth signed, Is it talking? I don’t read sword lips.
“What is he saying?” Jack asked. “I don’t read elf hands.”
#2:
“Jack!” I called to the sword. “Where is Jack?”
Front he table above us, the sword yelled, “Dude, what? I’m washing off in this goblet. Give a guy some privacy, huh?”
#3:
“Blades before babes, you know what i’m saying?”
After his mother’s death, Magnus Chase lived on the streets with his close friends, Blitzen and Hearthstone. When Uncle Randolph tracked Magnus down to summon a weapon that’s supposedly Magnus’s birthright, he didn’t know what to think. More than that, he didn’t expect himself to die while getting the weapon. Waking up at Hotel Valhalla, where heroes who died valiantly went and lived until Doomsday, was a surprise to Magnus. Thus starting Magnus’s new life as an einherjar, as chosen by his valkyrie, Samirah.
I found the gods in The Sword of Summer to be comical, such as Thor, who I expected to be mighty but turned out to be slightly underwhelming, and Odin with his Powerpoint Slides. Of course, in Norse mythology, we must talk about the favorite villain and mischief master, Loki. In book one, we do see how gods try to manipulate Magnus and his friends into doing things. Behind the scenes, they pulled strings to ensure either Ragnarok doesn’t happen or happen sooner, but Magnus does things that surprise them along the way.
Magnus seemed to acclimate into the world pretty quickly and even got over being dead quickly too. His bravery and quick thinking saved the gang from tricky situations. The lengths he was willing to take, even if it meant sacrificing himself, to protect his friends are unlimited. Magnus stood to his own principles and instincts when it came to believing who is trustable even when others were whispering in his ears.
Blitzen, unlike other dwarves, loves fashion design which caused others to overlook his talent. Dwarves are meant to be creators of things like weapons instead. In The Sword of Summer, Blitzen overcame some of his self-doubts and finds peace with the past. For Hearthstone, he faced family problems because of his deafness. Although his journey of learning magic and handling runes is arduous, Hearthstone stuck to it without hesitation. Lastly, there’s Samirah the Valkyrie, a Muslim girl, who has her own insecurity because of her father, Loki. Never truly felt belonged with the Valkyrie since no one could be sure about Loki’s influence on Samirah.
“I know what it feels like to be an empty cup, to have everything taken away from you. But you’re not alone. However much magic you need to use, it’s okay. We’ve got you. We’re your family.”
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The next review is for book two in the series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard!
Navigate through this post with the titles below:
🗡 The Sword of Summer | 🔨 The Hammer of Thor | ⚓️ The Ship of the Dead
🔨🔨🔨
The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan
Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2
Published October 4, 2016 by Disney-Hyperion Books
Age Range: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: LGBT, Muslim SC
Rating:
Synopsis:
“Magnus Chase, you nearly started Ragnarok. What are you going to do next?”
It’s been six weeks since Magnus and his friends returned from defeating Fenris Wolf and the fire giants. Magnus has adjusted to life at the Hotel Valhalla—as much as a once-homeless and previously alive kid can. As a son of Frey, the god of summer, fertility, and health, Magnus doesn’t exactly fit in with the rest of Odin’s chosen warriors, but he has a few good peeps among his hallmates on floor nineteen, and he’s been dutifully training for Ragnarok along with everyone else. His days have settled into a new kind of normal.
But Magnus should have known there’s no such thing as normal in the Nine Worlds. His friends Hearthstone and Blitzen have disappeared. A new hallmate is creating chaos. According to a very nervous goat, a certain object belonging to Thor is still missing, and the thunder god’s enemies will stop at nothing to gain control of it.
Time to summon Jack, the Sword of Summer, and take action. Too bad the only action Jack seems to be interested in is dates with other magical weapons…
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While Magnus was chasing after a goat killer, Sam was reporting for valkyrie duty (Code 381: Heroic death in progress). Turns out, the einherjar is Alex Fierro, a shapeshifter, another child of Loki, a gender-fluid and transgender character with he/she pronouns.
To reunite Thor with his most powerful weapon and prevent giants from invading the human realm with it, Magnus and his friends went on a journey. Oh, and to prevent Sam from marrying a giant because Loki is a horrible father.
In The Hammer of Thor, we find out about the extent of Loki’s power over his children which made me extremely nervous about Sam and Alex. During their adventure, Hearthstone’s background started to resurface. His stories were heartbreaking and I’m glad he found family and friends who are genuine to him now.
As always, humor is present even in the direst situations.
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The next review is for book three in the series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard!
Navigate through this post with the titles below:
🗡 The Sword of Summer | 🔨 The Hammer of Thor | ⚓️ The Ship of the Dead
⚓️⚓️⚓️
The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan
Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #3
Published October 3, 2017 by Disney-Hyperion Books
Age Range: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: LGBT, Muslim SC
Rating:
Synopsis:
Magnus Chase, a once-homeless teen, is a resident of the Hotel Valhalla and one of Odin’s chosen warriors. As the son of Frey, the god of summer, fertility, and health, Magnus isn’t naturally inclined to fighting. But he has strong and steadfast friends, including Hearthstone the elf, Blitzen the dwarf, and Samirah the Valkyrie, and together they have achieved brave deeds, such as defeating Fenris Wolf and battling giants for Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. Now Magnus faces his most dangerous trial yet. His cousin, Annabeth, recruits her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, to give Magnus some pointers, but will his training be enough?
Loki is free from his chains. He’s readying Naglfar, the Ship of the Dead, complete with a host of giants and zombies, to sail against the Asgardian gods and begin the final battle of Ragnarok. It’s up to Magnus and his friends to stop him, but to do so they will have to sail across the oceans of Midgard, Jotunheim, and Niflheim in a desperate race to reach Naglfarbefore it’s ready to sail. Along the way, they will face angry sea gods, hostile giants, and an evil fire-breathing dragon. But Magnus’s biggest challenge will be facing his own inner demons. Does he have what it takes to outwit the wily trickster god?
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I feel like I didn’t get the oomph from the ending of The Ship of the Dead as I did from the other Rick Riordan series. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed Magnus’s journey in preventing Ragnarok as an einherjar. I think what truly shone through was the friendship between Magnus and the people around him. They truly helped him in various ways.
Loki, as a villain, didn’t feel too hyped up. He merely evaded them time and time again, but the weight of his goal isn’t as suffocating and heavy as it was for the other series. Although Ragnarok is fundamentally the end of the world, I didn’t feel too much stress about it. I thought we would get more of the actual ship of the dead. What we got, though, was pretty interesting in itself.
I enjoyed Magnus’s adventure in The Ship of the Dead. He learned more about his friends’ background and their stories. There was a little bit of romance by the end of it all too.
Regardless, Magnus still managed to keep his wits with him in the most dangerous of situations. He’s supportive and encouraging of his friends throughout the whole book too.
thisbellereadstoo.wordpress.com 
this series means a lot to me and i’m glad to hear you enjoyed it! i love the last installment, mostly because it’s all about the power of friendship hahah. it’s definitely a bit cliché, but i found to be refreshing that instead of being a chosen one story, it is clear that magnus can only defeat loki and stop ragnarok if he has all his friends by his side, which i loved so much!
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yes, i totally get it! although i think the last book wasn’t as impactful as the other series, i still really loved the friendship between magnus and his friends. they’ve came a long way
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