I Know Nothing About Norse Mythology
Finding time to read in college is hard! But I finally finished another book, Rick Riordan's latest teen-hero extravaganza, Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer. This is Riordan's first novel in a new series, one that deals with the Norse gods. He gained fame with his work with the Greeks, so I was interested to see how he handled the opposite end of the spectrum- the harsh Norse myths differ greatly from the fun-loving Greeks. With this in mind, I realized I know pretty much nothing about Norse mythology. All the information I had previously gleaned was from the Thor movies, and apparently those are not entirely true to the original myths. So I learned quite a bit on my journey with Magnus.
Our adventure begins with Magnus Chase, a young homeless guy in Boston. He's orphaned, ekes out a life on the streets, and loves falafel. When people from his past start looking for him, he attempts to find out more about his family- most specifically, his Uncle Randolph, who his mother told him to never contact. So Magnus decides to do the obvious and break into his uncle's house. From there, things get crazy. He's discovered by his uncle, who rambles on about Magnus' past and heritage, insisting that people are going to try to kill him. Randolph brings Magnus to a river, and lo and behold, an ancient sword rises from the watery depths. Then a fire giant, a dwarf, an elf, some pedestrians, a stroller, and a large bridge all come into play. Chaos ensues, and Magnus ends up dead. Yep. The main character DIES. Luckily for us, the Norse have this cool place called Valhalla, where the bravest heroes are taken via Valkyrie when they die. Thus, Magnus is still alive? Sort of? It's vaguely confusing, I just know we still had a main character. The rest of Magnus' adventure is too exciting (and complicated) to summarize here- go read it!
I'm a long-time fan of Riordan's work, and I'm pleasantly surprised at this slightly more mature hero he has created. Magnus is a new kind of hero, more rough around the edges and less traditional. I like him and his obsession with falafel. I look forward to more adventures with him, and learning more about Norse mythology. Keep them coming, Rick! Now, I think I'll go listen to some ABBA and think Scandinavian- maybe that will help with all this Norse gods stuff.
Our adventure begins with Magnus Chase, a young homeless guy in Boston. He's orphaned, ekes out a life on the streets, and loves falafel. When people from his past start looking for him, he attempts to find out more about his family- most specifically, his Uncle Randolph, who his mother told him to never contact. So Magnus decides to do the obvious and break into his uncle's house. From there, things get crazy. He's discovered by his uncle, who rambles on about Magnus' past and heritage, insisting that people are going to try to kill him. Randolph brings Magnus to a river, and lo and behold, an ancient sword rises from the watery depths. Then a fire giant, a dwarf, an elf, some pedestrians, a stroller, and a large bridge all come into play. Chaos ensues, and Magnus ends up dead. Yep. The main character DIES. Luckily for us, the Norse have this cool place called Valhalla, where the bravest heroes are taken via Valkyrie when they die. Thus, Magnus is still alive? Sort of? It's vaguely confusing, I just know we still had a main character. The rest of Magnus' adventure is too exciting (and complicated) to summarize here- go read it!
I'm a long-time fan of Riordan's work, and I'm pleasantly surprised at this slightly more mature hero he has created. Magnus is a new kind of hero, more rough around the edges and less traditional. I like him and his obsession with falafel. I look forward to more adventures with him, and learning more about Norse mythology. Keep them coming, Rick! Now, I think I'll go listen to some ABBA and think Scandinavian- maybe that will help with all this Norse gods stuff.
(picture courtesy of goodreads.com)
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