Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - The Sword of Summer

c'était sympa, typique Rick Riordan, mais j'ai lu carrément mieux de lui.
les personnages secondaires sont + intéressants que Magnus ; meme s'il n'est pas si affreux, ça reste un mec cishet blanc chiant.
y a des passages très drôles par contre.
et j'ai bien aimé découvrir la mythologie nordique.

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unusuallyy's review against another edition

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2.0

only got into this for genderfluid rep tbh, didn't see her in this book and said screw it and immediately went to get the next one

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building_a_bookdom's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sophie42's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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finnft4's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Wow, this is so underrated. Seriously. Magnus Chase is way better than anyone said it was going to be. I don't care if it's an unpopular opinion.

The plot and concept are both so interesting and, even though it does follow a similar structure to other Riordan books, it just feels so different. I guess the change to mythology and the new characters is responsible for that, though. Speaking of the new characters, I'm seriously impressed. For once, I really like all the characters. None of them are boring. They're all so likable and interesting. Magnus, Sam, Blitz, Hearth, and Loki, to name just a few. In a single book, I managed to care more about these characters and their backstories than most of the new characters introduced in Heroes of Olympus. That's probably harsh, but after reading this, I'm realizing now how disappointing that sequel series was to me (This is probably SUPER unpopular, considering how many people like HoO. And if you do like it, no harm no foul. I just found it mediocre. Not awful, by any means, but disappointing when considering its predecessor).

The villain (or, at least, who I assume to be the antagonist), is extremely refreshing. Maybe my favorite Riordanverse villain, period. I'm stoked that we get more of a human-like antagonist this time, rather than an embodiment of evil devoid of personality like Kronos or Gaea. He's smart, fun, entertaining, has a motive beyond "I AM BAD", and FOILs Magnus's character very well.

The writing itself is absolutely hilarious. I thought Heroes of Olympus was funny, but this is on an entirely other level. On the other hand, I completely understand the criticism that Magnus sounds too similar to Percy. Personally, it didn't bother me, but I certainly see where it's coming from. I think the distinction between the two really comes down to their characters rather than narration at all. They're complete opposites in that way - fighter vs. healer. Besides, I'd rather have another character that's similar to PJO Percy, a character I LIKE, than a boring HoO character that acts identically to another HoO character to the point where I can't tell who's speaking sometimes. I'm hardly exaggerating when I say that Magnus's SWORD has more of a personality than Jason. I'm probably being super harsh now, but I'm serious when I say that the characters seriously dragged down that entire pentalogy for me. I dunno. I'm a simple guy who gets bored easily (and probably has ADHD - wow, I'm a real demigod!). Do something I like, and I'll read it. I'm not gonna complain too much about a character being similar to another as long as they're entertaining and interesting. I'll take Magnus's or Percy's narration any day over the mundanely dead third person narration.

On a similar note, the concept of Magnus Chase feels new and interesting. There's no summer camps. There's an entirely different world to explore, and I love that separation from PJO and HoO. And the new world is so immersive and interesting. And I appreciate that, rather than trying to rush a fully-fledged story with a "big battle" at the end of it, the battle will certifiably result in doom and devastation, but it happens off-screen. The characters do what they can now but ultimately can't prevent their future fates at Ragnarök (and I like how the story handles the idea of destiny itself, on that note) - they can't change the big picture, but their choices can alter the details. I know some people don't like it, but I prefer it heavily to trying to rush that entirely different arc and story with a "threat that will undeniably end the world" in 3 to 5 books, all while trying to make it seem much bigger-scale than it actually is and STILL make the final battle the most underwhelming, almost comically bad thing imaginable (Heroes of Olympus, anyone?).

Seriously. It's great. It is already miles better than Heroes of Olympus (in my humble opinion - HoO had its moments, but Magnus Chase has already avoided all the issues I had with that series - boring characters, underdeveloped relationships, repetitiveness, low stakes). It has the potential to surpass the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians for me, honestly. We'll see.

"I like that. A family of four empty cups!"

And small caveat: I've seen people mention some problematic elements of this book, like how Hearth's deafness is represented, Sam's hijab being magical, and Norse mythology being made into a joke. If the idea of these bother you, I recommend reading other people's reviews about any of the matters. It's not my place to talk about it. And also, just a warning - this book is a lot more violent than other Riordan books. The myths get pretty dark.

CURRENT RANKING
[1] PJO: The Last Olympian
[2] HoO: The House of Hades
[3] HoO: The Mark of Athena
[4] MCGA: The Sword of Summer
[5] PJO: The Lightning Thief
[6] PJO: The Titan's Curse
[7] HoO: The Son of Neptune
[8] PJO: The Battle of the Labyrinth
[9] HoO: The Lost Hero
[10] PJO: The Sea of Monsters
[11] HoO: The Blood of Olympus

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