"Sword of summer" by Rick Riordan. This book is published by Puffin in Oct 2015 and has 528 pages. This is Book 1 of 'Magnus Chase and Gods of Asgard' series, based on Norse mythology.
Magnus Chase has become homeless in Boston two years ago when his mother was killed by wolves. On his sixteenth birthday he is told that he is the son of a Norse God. He miraculously retrieves a sword lost thousand years ago, fights a fire demon and dies. Ya! You heard right, he dies.
Is the series over at the beginning of first book? Where does Magnus go after death? What is he destined for? What is sword of summer? Why is it so important? Who is his father?
After his three previous series' on Greek mythology, Egypitian mythology and Roman mythology now Rick has ventured into Norse mythology.
The book contains life after death, dwarves, demigods, elves, giants, gods, serpents, Valhalla, magic and what not. There is a quest for sword of summer, Loki wants to release 'The wolf' and Magnus must stop him with the help of a dwarf, an elf and a valkyrie.
Rick has used some of the ideas from his previous book like the protagonist being a demigod, gods claiming their offspring at the camp, prophesies, quests etc. He has also used the name Annabeth which became famous in the Percy Jackson series. This repeated use of ideas could have been minimized. For an imaginative writer like Rick it was even avoidable.
Most gods are depicted as either stupid or lazy or ignorant or all of it. Author has made use of mythical Norse legends like Loki and Wolf constrained, Thor losing his hammer, Loss of sword of summer, concept of Valhalla, As hard, Midgard, Yggdrasil, nine worlds and Norse gods etc. And he has put them to good use. The story remains interesting till the end, but it's not over yet. More books are still to be published.
Magnus is a young boy who has special powers and a Destiny to fulfill, much like Percy Jackson. His character is still developing. His accomplices, the dwarf, the elf and the valkyrie fight with him along with his floor mates at Valhalla. Would they be there in next book? Well, they should be but author has created a small doubt about it.
Author has done a good job of introducing the readers to Norse mythology and legends through the story. Author has written the book in his trademark 'sarcastically witty' style that has become legendary. It's a joy to read this style of writing.
Book ends with (of course) victory for Magnus. Although this battle is won, the war is not over. Wait for the subsequent book to know what comes next.
If you have liked Percy Jackson, you will like this too.
