106 pages • 3 hours read
Rick RiordanThe Sword of Summer
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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The Nine Worlds
In Norse myth, existence is divided into realms, collectively known as the Nine Worlds: Asgard (realm of the Aesir gods), Vanaheim (realm of the Vanir gods), Alfheim (realm of the light elves), Midgard (realm of humans), Jotunheim (realm of the giants), Nidavellir (realm of the dwarves), Niflheim (realm of ice), Muspellheim (realm of the fire giants), and Helheim (realm of the dishonorable dead). Yggdrasil (the World Tree) connects the worlds and, in The Sword of Summer, has roots in Boston. Magnus and his friends journey to several of the Nine Worlds throughout the book.
As a mortal, Magnus is from Midgard, and a good portion of the book takes place in this world. When Magnus and Blitz travel to Nidavellir, Magnus notes the realm resembles Southie (South Boston). Blitz explains Midgard takes its appearance and popular culture partly from Midgard, as is evidenced by a Taylor Swift song playing in one of the pubs. When the group meets Thor, they travel to Jotunheim, realm of most giants. The exceptions are ice giants, who live in Niflheim, and fire giants (including Surt), who reside in Muspellheim. Giants take many forms and sizes, and those of the ice and fire realms are part giant, part demon.
Helheim contains the majority of the dead and is a place of darkness ruled by Hel (a daughter of Loki). Mortals who died of natural causes, sickness, or in weakness live out their afterlives in Hel’s domain. Realms for the honored dead exist within the worlds of the gods: Valhalla is in Asgard and mainly houses the honorable dead of the Aesir, and Folkvanger is within Vanaheim and is where most honorable Vanir dead rest. Magnus represents a crossover between the two groups of gods. As a son of Frey, he is Vanir but goes to Valhalla for his afterlife. Magnus also symbolizes middle ground between the two honorable halls. Valhalla celebrates accomplishment on the field of battle and takes combat seriously. By contrast, the dead of Folkvanger live a laidback existence and barely fight. Magnus fits in neither place and is therefore a mediator between the Vanir and Aesir.
Ships
The Norse Vikings are known for their exploration via longships. Throughout The Sword of Summer, ships represent finding and losing things. Like the Vikings, Magnus and his friends set sail several times, but rather than seeking land and glory, they seek important items and information. In addition, Randolph lost his family aboard a boat, which led to him being in service to Loki. Ships also feature prominently in Magnus’s dreams and appear at key times, symbolizing a transition to something new.
As the grandson of Njord (god of ships and the sea), Magnus is predisposed to sailing and the significance of ships. He finds and loses the Sword of Summer for the first time on the Longfellow Bridge, which has decorative construction resembling the prow of a Viking longship. Later, in Chapter 34, Magnus regains the sword from Ran while on Harald’s ship. Also aboard Harald’s boat, Magnus learns about Sam and her culture, and this conversation brings them closer and builds trust between them. In Chapter 61, Magnus and his friends board a boat to Fenris’s island, where the final battle ensues. The voyage leads to the loss of lives but also to Magnus finding his inner strength. Following the battle, the group boards a Valhalla longship, where Magnus nearly loses his life trying to save a friend. The funeral pyre for the deceased is built upon a Boston swan boat in Chapter 71.
Ships also represent transitions. The front desk of Valhalla is the keel of a boat flipped upside-down. Checking into the hotel symbolizes the beginning of Magnus’s journey as a hero and is also when things begin to change for him. Because of events that unfold at Valhalla, Magnus accepts his quest to find the sword and stop Ragnarok. In Chapter 38, Magnus and Blitz go to Freya’s hall in Folkvanger, which is an overturned ark. There, Magnus gains information about Fenris and the rope Gleipnir. He also comes to terms with his responsibility and the fact that some things are more important than finding his mother. Chapter 46 takes place upon Naglfar, a ship made from the fingernails and toenails of dead men. Magnus converses with Loki and learns the truth about the trickster god’s history and imprisonment. The chapter ends with Magnus gaining an understanding of how the gods operate and that even immortal beings can be terrible people.
Wolves
Wolves represent Magnus’s fears and his growth as a character. In Chapter 62, Fenris tells Magnus and his friends that he orchestrated the events leading them to his island. This included sending the wolves who killed Magnus’s mother, jumpstarting both the story arc and Magnus’s fear of wolves. For much of the book, wolves appear during combat or as symbols of fighting. Each time, they remind Magnus of his mother’s death, and he runs from them. Only when he realizes the strength of his summer powers does he overcome his fear and bind Fenris.
Wolves are the animal of Valhalla. They decorate the hall’s great doors and roam the hotel as cleanup crews and security. After Magnus’s experience with violent wolves, it’s ironic he ends up in Valhalla, where wolves are celebrated. In Chapter 46, Naglfar has wolf mastheads. Naglfar will sail at Ragnarok, and the wolves represent both the impending conflict of doomsday and Fenris gaining his freedom to join the battle. Wolves link Magnus and Blitz. Both lost loved ones to wolves, which they use as fuel in the battle with Fenris.
In Chapter 16, the Norns refer to Magnus as the harbinger of the wolf, linking his destiny to wolves and Fenris in particular. A harbinger is something that heralds the arrival of a force, and the claim that Magnus is a harbinger calls into question the cause and effect of Magnus’s involvement with wolves. The Norns read a mortal’s fate, and once fates are set, they do not change. If Magnus was always meant to be a harbinger of the wolf, he may have unknowingly brought his mother’s death and Fenris’s influence into being by virtue of his destiny. Events needed to happen in a way for Magnus to find the sword. While his mother may not have needed to die, Magnus may have faced equally difficult hardships to fulfill his fate had she lived.
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By Rick Riordan
