It's been a while since I've listened to an audiobook, but I saw the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard in my Libby library and was ready to listen to a new book! I'm glad I picked this one up, for sure! Why I picked itI'm a big fan of Rick Riordan, and a bigger fan of Norse mythology and the Norwegian culture. A big part of my family history is in Norway, and I've always felt closest to that portion of my heritage. I liked Riordan's Percy Jackson series, so when I saw a similar series by the same author, but with a Norwegian and Norse spin, I was sold. I thought it would be a perfect and engaging read (or listen, in this case). Brief SummaryMagnus Chase's life was just fine until a couple of years ago when his mother was attacked and killed by wolves with glowing eyes. Ever since, he's lived alone on the streets with just a couple of other homeless friends. Until his sixteenth birthday, when his stuck-up rich uncle tries to find him and tells him that he is the only one who can recover a long lost sword, said to have been wielded by Frey, Norse god of summer and fertility. Soon, Magnus is in a fight with a fire giant, loses a little more than the fight, gets submerged into the Norse world and afterlife, and is tasked with stopping Ragnarok (aka, the end of the nine worlds). What I likedI'm a big fan of the character voices that Riordan uses in his writing. Each one is so unique. Magnus has such an angsty teen boy tone, and you can tell he's had to take care of himself and fend for himself for a few years. Sam is sassy and powerful and knows what she's doing and how to get where she needs to go. She's direct (most of the time) and she doesn't take crap from anyone. I love the fact that Riordan adds an elf with hearing impairments. Having the diversity of a character with a disability was kind of nice, and something I guess I didn't really realize I was missing in books. (Please don't come at me if you don't like the way I worded that.) I'm all for diversity in books, but I also know that as a writer it can be hard to write from diverse perspectives, firstly because you don't always understand what those characters or cultures would do or how they'd react to situations, and secondly because I feel like authors get attacked for not writing diverse characters, but also get attacked for writing diverse characters "wrong." Anyway. Debate for another day. The main point is that I liked having more diversity in abilities and characteristics in the characters. I don't know a lot about Norse mythology, though I'd like to learn more. So it was nice to have Riordan explain the different aspects of those beliefs, but not over-explain them. I was able to start understanding a little bit of the mythology and beliefs, and I liked the spin that Riordan added (like Thor portrayed differently than he is in the Marvel movies, for example). Also, I want to point out that I loved the narrator of the audiobook I listened to on Libby. He did a fabulous job (I didn't realize how great it was until I started listening to the second book with a different narrator who isn't nearly as good, in my opinion). What I didn't LIkeIt's been a while since I've read the Percy Jackson series, but I feel like this has a very similar vibe. I get it! It worked well the first time, let's do it again, just slightly different. And there are differences. But there are a lot of similarities: the sassiness of the writing voice (though Percy was a little more meek than Magnus is), a powerful chick that helps the main protagonist, a couple of non-human helpers and friends, finding out they're part of a world they didn't realize existed, but being an outcast in that world…I could easily go on. As much as I liked this book, there could have maybe been some more differences. Overall Impression 🌟🌟🌟🌟I enjoyed my journey with Magnus and Sam. It was a fun and light read, easy to listen to and follow all throughout (which is saying something for me - I'm not a fan of listening to fantasy because I can't normally grasp it well). I give this book a solid 4/5 stars. I'm continuing the series, which is a good sign. However, depending on how the story progresses, who knows if I'll follow all the way through the series. I really think that is the challenge for me as of late. I haven't found a ton of series that I'm like "Oh my gosh, I have to binge all of them now!" lately. That used to be the case, but not anymore…I guess we will see!
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AuthorJust sharing my passion of reading through my passion of writing. Archives
May 2020
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