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.
Summary
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaThemes
All Decisions Have Consequences
Whether god, mortal, or monster, the characters of The Sword of Summer face consequences for every choice they make. Depending on their outlook, a decision may be bad or good, and two characters may view the same consequence in very different ways. Before the book’s beginning, Frey’s decision to sit upon Odin’s throne put the story’s events into motion. Frey found love but lost Jack. At first glance, it seems that finding love is positive, but to do so, Frey gave up his weapon and friend. Losing Jack seems like a negative occurrence, but if Frey kept the sword, Magnus never would have found it, bonded with Jack, and found his place among friends in Valhalla. Each consequence of Frey’s inciting choice is both positive and negative.
Throughout the book, Magnus faces difficult choices. More than once, he has the opportunity to give up the sword and hand over responsibility for Ragnarok to someone else. While it seems like doing so can only bring about negative outcomes, Magnus could save himself and possibly his friends by relinquishing the dangerous position he puts them in. However, if he turns away from his responsibility, no one else may take up the cause, which would usher in an early doomsday. Magnus uses Jack to accomplish feats he could not on his own, all the while knowing that too much exertion could kill him. Still, he tests his limits over and over to save his friends. Magnus also decides against finding his mother to uphold his responsibility. Leaving the fight behind to find her would mean they are together but also that he can’t stop Ragnarok. Again, what seems like a positive outcome (mother and son reuniting) has a negative side (the end of the world).
Randolph also struggles with his choices. He persisted in researching the Vikings, which led to the deaths of his wife and daughter. At the end of the book, we learn Loki has a hold over Randolph’s family, but the circumstances of that hold are unclear. Randolph may have thrown his lot in with Loki, who was somehow able to rescue Randolph’s family from their doomed afterlife. It may also be that Loki captured Randolph’s family to use them as blackmail. Regardless, Randolph finds himself in a difficult situation. Saving his family means working against Magnus to start Ragnarok, but delaying doomsday leaves his family at Loki’s mercy. While it may seem that stopping Ragnarok is the right choice, doing so means Randolph loses everything he loves. Saving his family is more important to him than saving the world.
Sam is reluctant to use any abilities she inherited from Loki because of the effect they have on her emotions. When she does use her abilities, she does so to save her friends, actively choosing to put herself in danger to help others. She risks the consequence of becoming more like Loki while taking actions Loki would not take. For her, the benefits outweigh the costs. By contrast, Fenris Wolf does not fight his nature. He adopts his inherited ability to lie and manipulate everyone around him, including those in other worlds. He uses those abilities to bring about Ragnarok because he thrives on destruction. To Fenris, Ragnarok is not a negative consequence. He welcomes the chaos, even if it means he dies with the rest of the world.
The Inequality of Hierarchies
Hierarchies define the gods and the Nine Worlds throughout The Sword of Summer. Within Valhalla, the thanes lead and hold authority over who is worthy to partake in the honorable afterlife. The einherjar are celebrated and waited upon by the Valkyries. Though formidable warriors, the Valkyries rank lowest among the groups in Valhalla. If an einherjar’s death is found unworthy, the Valkyrie who chose the warrior for Valhalla takes the blame, even though the Valkyrie had nothing to do with the circumstances of the warrior’s death. Einherjar are above reproach, and their elevated status within Valhalla affords them protections.
The incoming warriors to Valhalla in Chapter 14 include sons of Thor (known for his battle prowess) and Odin (the high lord of the gods and Valhalla). Due to these gods’ ranks, their children receive extra respect and find places of glory among the einherjar with greater ease. By contrast, Sam, a child of Loki, receives no respect from the thanes, Valkyries, or einherjar. The gods distrust Loki, and though Sam is not like her father, no one trusts her because her father is an enemy of Odin and Thor. The thanes and einherjar judge Sam based on Loki’s deeds, rather than her own merits, and as a member of the lowest-ranking group in Valhalla, there is little she can do to clear her name. Though it’s obvious Magnus’s death video was edited, the thanes deny Sam the chance to explain because Loki is a liar, and the thanes believe that therefore Sam must be a liar, too.
Within the hierarchy of Valhalla, there are further subdivisions. Odin’s posing as a half-troll exposes the racism within Valhalla. Though X is strong and died nobly, the einherjar shun him because he is not an ideal warrior. Prejudice against trolls makes X an outcast. Odin’s disguise serves as a warning to those who believe they are better than others. Even if it isn’t obvious, actions are observed. Odin saw how his own people treated X poorly, and there will likely be consequences followed by changes in Valhalla. Thinking no one will notice mistreatment doesn’t make mistreatment acceptable.
Odin and Thor hold places of power among the gods as well. Both are popular, well-liked, and seen as heroes. They hold influence over the rest of the pantheon. Loki, by contrast, is a trickster, thief, and murderer. By killing Balder, he sealed his fate as an enemy of Odin. With his power and influence, Odin was able to take any action he desired against Loki. Odin’s punishment seems to outweigh Loki’s crime, but there is nothing Loki can do. Odin’s status gives his decisions more authority than Loki can challenge.
There Are Different Ways to Fight
Throughout The Sword of Summer, Magnus and his friends fight in unconventional ways. Valhalla celebrates skill in combat on the battlefield, and einherjar who aren’t proficient in hand-to-hand combat fall to the bottom of the warrior ranks. As a son of a Vanir god, Magnus’s strength leans away from conventional battle. Frey is the god of peace, and Magnus fights with his ability to cease conflict. Both during his only battle in Valhalla and on Fenris Wolf’s island, Magnus strikes a devastating blow to his combatants by disarming them, rendering his own sword the only viable weapon. Magnus only defeats Fenris when he stops trying to physically attack the wolf. Instead, he calls upon summer’s light to counter Fenris’s darkness, which ultimately lets him bind the wolf and delay Ragnarok.
Dwarven culture also has its own form of combat. While the einherjar fight on the battlefield, dwarves craft—a slower-moving activity without bloodshed (except for the final beheading if the wager is reinforced). Dwarves treat a crafting contest like a sporting event, gathering to watch the competition unfold and see who emerges victorious. Like Magnus, Blitz competes in ways that play to his strengths. His fashionable armor is different from what dwarves normally make, but it is still a craft and, thus, recognized by the contest judges. If not for Sam’s interference, Blitz may not have won the contest, but the contest allowed Blitz to invent the items. Winner or not, he found a way to craft that works for him. The practical use of his craft saves his life in Chapter 65. His bulletproof necktie helps him survive a deadly strike from Fenris. Blitz’s offense is a strong defense. His unconventional crafting saves him twice and stays true to his desire to create his own clothes.
Hearth also shows how battles may be fought in different ways. As a user of magic, Hearth approaches conflict with runes rather than with a sword. While a Valhalla warrior may last longer on the battlefield, Hearth can perform amazing feats of magic that are out of an einherjar’s reach. Hearth’s deafness also allows him to battle in a unique way. In Chapter 62, Fenris’s manipulation enrages Magnus into attacking, but Hearth, unable to hear Fenris’s taunts, remains free of the wolf’s control and stops Magnus. Here, Hearth’s disability becomes an asset. He cannot hear Fenris and does not need to fight on the wolf’s terms. Instead, something perceived as a weakness by Hearth’s family becomes a powerful weapon. Hearth’s very self allows him to fight and protect his friends.
Related Titles
By Rick Riordan
