Published: October 6, 2015 by: Disney Hyperion
Pages: 499
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Ever since Magnus Chase's mother's mysterious death, Magnus has been homeless, a troubled kid who has no family. But when a complete stranger warns Magnus that he is in great danger, Magnus uncovers the truth about his family: he is the son of a Norse God. Now Magnus is swept into the magical world of the myths he never thought were true, and along his journey to find his father, he must embark on a quest. A quest to save his life, and the lives of the innocent people that fire giants long to destroy.
It's been a while since I've picked up a good old Riordan mythology series! I was very weary going into this book, since I've only known to love his Greek/Roman myths and never cared for the Kane Chronicles. And I think that was the main problem with this book. I'm not completely into other mythology, but I did enjoy the familiar wit of these novels and how easy to get through they are.
This book as the similar tone of all of Rick's books. They are funny and sarcastic, a lot of references to pop culture and the modern world, but with an mythological twist. I once more appreciated this writing because of how easy it makes the reading, and how it doesn't feel heavy at all. I got through this book quickly.
Again, I loved the diversity once more brought to the table and how committed Riordan is at showcasing a variety of people in his novels. It is so healthy for children to read these types of books so that they can know just how diverse the world actually is.
But, the main downfall for this book was that I'm not all that into Norse mythology. Like I said, I'm only into the Greek and Roman stuff and so this book left me a bit bored and a lot less keen on learning about the mythology. I find Norse mythology just to be unfamiliar and not something I'm interested in, and for that, I lost interest in the book.
So overall, I liked this book. It was charming and funny, just not my cup of tea when it comes to mythology.
Have you read The Sword of Summer? What did you think?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
I need to read more of the Percy Jackson and other series - there's just so many books to read and only so much time dammit! I need to like, download them into my brain or something, lol ;)
ReplyDeleteYou totally should!! The Heros of Olympus series is definitely the best and the most diverse. I hope you get to try them!!
DeleteIf this is the case, Emily, don't bother with The Hammer of Thor. I'm a big fan of Norse myths but Riordan let me down :/ Just more of the same stuff we've already seen, just with a different monster to fight. Quite disappointed that he can't diverge from his standard formula and I'm just getting too damn old to fully appreciate his work.
ReplyDeleteYeah, we talked about this before. I don't think I will be continueing with this series but I might with The Trials of Apollo, since I still like the Greek stuff.
DeleteI really liked this book (and the sequel, as well), but still not as much as the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I think that's partly because of how freakishly similar Riordan's works are - same type of characters, same formula... it's just not interesting to see the same story play out again, which is why I haven't read Heroes of Olympus, and I'm not sure I ever will. This series is a weaker four stars for me so far, and we'll see about the final novel. I'd say that the mythology aspect was a lot more interesting for me here than in Percy Jackson, because some of this is new to me, while I did know much of the mythology in Percy Jackson.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Em!
Veronika @ The Regal Critiques
Thanks Veronika! Riordan's books definitely all sound the same, despite having different themes throughout each series, which is why they are starting to become a bit boring for me too. Although Heroes of Olympus will always stay near and dear to my heart, I think I'm pretty much done with his other books.
DeleteThis has actually been sitting on my shelf since this time last year (I'm horrible). I just can't seem to bring myself to read it, mostly because I keep forgetting it's there. I adore Percy Jackson so I keep meaning to read. Hopefully I'll get there soon! Great review.
ReplyDeleteI think you should give it a try! If you like the style of Percy Jackson, you'll probably like this :)
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