MAGNUS CHASE AND THE GODS OF ASGARD: THE SWORD OF SUMMER, Rick Riordan

Is it just me, or does it seem like Norse mythology got really popular all of a sudden? Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is getting a miniseries (which in all fairness has only a couple Norse deities, no spoilers), Marvel is making its third Thor-centric film, and now Rick Riordan is throwing angsty teens at the mercy of Norns, Valkyries, dwarves and giants, not to mention the gods themselves. Now, this isn’t Riordan’s first mythology rodeo, as anyone who loves the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series can tell you. In fact, the Greek and Norse pantheons aren’t the only divine playgrounds he’s visited in his books. But what of the stories themselves? Is each new hero basically Percy Jackson with a different coat of paint? It may seem so with newcomer Magnus Chase, but the clever reimagining of the worlds of Yggdrasil and the characters joining Magnus in this adventure offer much to enjoy.

AMERICAN GODS, Neil Gaiman

More and more I’m becoming a fan of Neil Gaiman’s work, but in all honesty, my first attempt to read American Gods came to a crunching halt in the first chapter. I was in late high school at the time, so my literary palate still needed refining. Or I just needed to develop a deeper appreciation for Norse mythology. Whichever of these won out, I returned to and completed, with relish, this urban fantasy about ancient pantheons, sneaky mythological symbolism, and coin tricks. So many coin tricks.

Having a broader grasp of various mythologies from cultures around the world, especially that of the Norse religion, helped me progress through this book without running into prolonged periods of confusion. Some people, however, may enjoy the sheer mystery that our hero Shadow encounters on his unexpected journey. Actually, the parallels between American Gods and The Hobbit is not a little startling.