The Sword of Summer

Development

During Riordan's book tour for The House of Hades, he announced that he was writing a Norse mythology series that would take place in Boston. He also stated that his plans for the setting were unrelated to his recent move to the city, although living in Boston made researching for the series less difficult. On September 23, 2014, Riordan broadcast a webcast from the Empire State Building and announced the name of the series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. The title of the first book, The Sword of Summer, was revealed in the final page of The Blood of Olympus. On June 18, 2015, the cover and the second chapter were released on USA Today. The first five chapters were revealed on September 28, 2015. To prepare readers for the new book, Riordan posted images of Norse vocabulary words on his Twitter account starting August 28, 2015, along with the hashtag #norsecrashcourse. Words such as Valhalla, Ragnarok, and Yggdrasil were all included and defined.

In the months preceding The Sword of Summer's publication, Disney-Hyperion and Rick Riordan advertised even more heavily for the new book. Riordan embarked on a tour across the U.S., speaking to hundreds of fans on each stop of his tour. An online myth-writing competition was sponsored by Scholastic just before the novel's publication, with the grand prize of a "virtual visit" from Rick Riordan. Finally, Riordan signed 10,000 copies of The Sword of Summer, to be distributed on Black Friday at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide, as yet another massive advertising campaign.

Plot

The novel opens on the sixteenth birthday of the protagonist Magnus Chase, who has been living on the streets of Boston since his mother Natalie's death two years ago. After learning that his uncle Randolph has unexpectedly sent his uncle Frederick and cousin Annabeth to search for him, Magnus breaks into Randolph's house to look for answers. Randolph catches Magnus and drives him to Longfellow Bridge, cryptically claiming that Magnus is the son of a Norse god, giving him magic powers and placing him in the sights of an unnamed magical enemy. Randolph tells the boy that he must magically retrieve an ancient sword (Sumarbrander, or the "Sword of Summer") hidden in Boston Harbor to protect himself. A fire giant known as Surt appears demanding the sword, and begins to destroy the bridge. Magnus attacks Surt to allow other pedestrians time to escape. As he realizes that he is about to die, he manages to wound the demon and hurl the two of them off the bridge. He dies on impact with the water.

Magnus awakens in a place called Hotel Valhalla as an einherjar, where he is told he will spend eternity training for the day of Ragnarök. He is introduced to a Valkyrie named Sam who brought him to Valhalla, and to his new einherjar roommates. During Magnus's welcome feast, the three Norns pronounce Magnus a son of Frey and deliver a confusing prophecy. The hotel's ruling council banishes Sam the Valkyrie for apparently "wrongly [choosing]" Magnus. That night, Magnus's "human" friends Hearth and Blitz arrive and reveal they are actually an elf and dwarf, respectively. They convince him to leave the hotel. In Midgard, the trio joins up with Sam. The group then meets with the god Mimir, who tasks them with finding the Sword before Surt and bringing it to the island of the Fenris Wolf. They retrieve the sword from the sea goddess Ran and journey to Nidavellir to secure a new binding for the Wolf. During his quest, Magnus experiences dream-visions of Loki, and once even of the goddess Hel offering to reunite him with his late mother—a proposal he struggles to refuse.

After a detour to Jotunheim, where they help the god Thor and Magnus discovers new magical powers, they finally arrive at Fenris's island. Despite being attacked by a group of Valkyries, some Magnus's hallmates, and Surt, they successfully rebind the Wolf. Magnus has a brief vision of his father Frey before returning to Hotel Valhalla to stand trial for his disobedience. Before he can be punished, however, Magnus's hallmate X stands and reveals himself to be the god Odin, in disguise. Odin rewards each of the heroes in turn, finally offering Magnus a chance to return to life or choose a different afterlife. Magnus declines, but returns to Boston to speak with his cousin Annabeth. The two hold a funeral for Natalie Chase and exchange stories of each other's lives as demigods.

The novel ends with an epilogue, in which Uncle Randolph is punished by Loki for not being able to stop Magnus from rebinding Fenris. Loki implies that Randolph's family will be in danger if the man does not cooperate.

Prophecy

The prophecy that was given to Magnus by the Norns reads:

Wrongly chosen, wrongly slain,
A hero Valhalla cannot contain.
Nine days hence the sun must go east,
Ere Sword of Summer unbinds the beast.

The first line of the prophecy was initially taken as confirmation that Magnus was unfit for duty as an einherjar; later, Odin interprets it to mean that Loki chose the wrong hero to manipulate. The second line refers to how Magnus manages to leave Valhalla despite claims that the hotel is impossible to escape. The final two lines describe how Sumarbrander was fated to free Fenris (as it did before rebinding him), and how the one day of the year where Fenris's island can be reached by a mortal was exactly nine days from the date the prophecy was given.

Characters

Publication

It was released on October 6, 2015 with a first printing of 2.5 million hardcover copies in the U.S.. Many publishers in other countries - including Puffin Books in the UK - released hardcover editions on October 6, or shortly thereafter. Ebook editions were published worldwide on the same date, available through the print edition publishers or ebook distributors such as Kindle. An audiobook was released October 6 by Listening Library in the U.S., with a similar edition released by Penguin Random House Audio in the UK. An audiobook in German was released in 2016.

To date, editions have been published in English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, Polish, Turkish, Dutch, Bulgarian, and Finnish. The majority of foreign-language editions have been published with the same U.S. cover art, but a few boast unique illustrations not done by illustrator John Rocco.

Reception

The Sword of Summer has been very well received since its publication. Maggie Reagan of Booklist admonished readers and booksellers to "buy extra copies, and prepare for the siege. ...Riordan has the magic touch..." It debuted as number one on the New York Times Children's Middle Grade Hardcover Best Sellers list and has remained there for 36 weeks as of June 30, 2016. It was also #3 on Amazon's best-selling Children's Books list for 2015. School Library Journal explained why with its comment: "With an epic plot, engaging (and diverse) characters, and tons of wise-cracking humor, Riordan’s latest is a page turner. ...fans of his previous works will [also] be happy to see clever nods and references to the other in-universe books." While reviewer Jody Mitori said Riordan's pop culture "references may date the book in years to come", she went on to assert that "for now, they make the trek entertaining". Among overall children's book sales in 2015, The Sword of Summer did very well, but was not a "big front-runner" among other bestselling books.

The Sword of Summer has been praised especially as an excellent example of a Riordan novel. Kirkus Reviews, for example, wrote, "First there were the Greek gods, then the Egyptian gods, then the Roman gods—now Riordan takes on the Norse gods. ...A fast-paced, eventful, and largely successful pivot." More specific aspects of the novel have also been noted by critics. Author Cassandra Clare's review, praised "Riordan's effervescent world-building", in addition to the novel's humor and breakneck plot. Author Michael Grant lauded the novel as "a propulsive, kinetic, witty rebooting of Norse mythology with all the charm of the Percy Jackson novels." Kidsreads's review praised the characters and their development, saying "Magnus Chase feels fresh and exciting" even with its oft-used mythological themes.

A few reviews—most notably Adam Gopnik's in The New York Times—have expressed disappointment at the novel's failing to rise above Riordan's previous work, however. Gopnik's review acknowledged the difficulties modern-myth authors like Riordan face in writing for a young audience; such as the "required" action scenes, fantastic powers, and drama; but went on to question Riordan's inadequate portrayal of "the special quiddity that separates Norse mythology from other kinds...its fatalism". A similar review from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch asserted that "at nearly 500 pages, Sword of Summer is too long" and loses some of its charm from the overuse of "quests-within-a-quest". While Gopnik and others accept The Sword of Summer as of passable quality and certain to appeal to many readers, Gopnik summarizes their views in his review's concluding lines: "The marvels of myth Riordan recreates here as before; the mystery of myth remains unactualized in his work or, sadder and more likely, unasked for by his time."

On a more positive note, some critics appreciated Riordan's new turn towards multiculturalism. Other reviewers have shown interest in Riordan's choice to kill his main character and other signs of his newest story being more mature than the famous Percy Jackson & the Olympians. Kirkus praised Riordan's interesting choice to make the main female protagonist, Samirah al-Abbas, happily betrothed—and thus "blessedly free of romantic tension" with Magnus.