Books: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer By Rick Riordan (2015)

“On his 16th birthday, homeless Boston orphan Magnus Chase (daughter-of-Athena Annabeth’s cousin) magically summon an ancient Norse sword, uses it against a fireball-throwing monster, drops the sword, and dies—but a girl in hijab on a flying horse grabs him and deposits him at the Hotel Valhalla for a new afterlife of perpetual preparation for Ragnarok. Turns out Ragnarok will come pretty soon unless he can retrieve the sword and somehow use it to rebind Fenris Wolf, who is about to slip the magical rope that’s kept him bound for millennia. This will take some doing.”

After the huge success of his Percy Jackson & The Olympians and its sequel series Heroes of Olympus (which I did not bother to read) Rick Riordan released the trilogy called the Kane Chronicles, which tackled Egyptian Mythology. I only read the first book in that series, The Red Pyramid and for one reason or another, never went on to read the others. Pyramid was not bad, but I saw Riordan sort of just doing a variation on a theme here. Plus, he still had difficulty creating three dimensional women characters that did not sound like guys.

But for reasons I can’t explain, I picked up his Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, which takes on Norse Mythology. Riordan does not stray too far from what’s come before, although this first book, The Sword of Summer, plays out more like an absurdist comedy than the mostly serious Percy Jackson books were.  And Magnus is a fairly likable character, smart and solves his problems rather cleverly. To balance out the blond, blue-eyed, skinny twink that is Chase, Riordan gives us a diverse supporting cast that includes a Muslim girl (who does not appear devote here, but seems happy with her future arranged marriage, which also means she and Magnus can be friends, which helps narrative because we don’t have any romantic tension between them) and a deaf elf and dark skinned dwarf.

The book is overlong by about 50 or 60 pages and that’s too bad. By the last 150 or so of this nearly 500 page book, I was ready for the story to end. And while Riordan clearly knows his mythology and expertly crafts them into his narrative, he also needs to know when to stop, because I actually felt the last third of the book was boring (if only because you already knew the ending). Much like the Kane Chronicles, I’m unsure if I want to continue onto books two and three. Maybe if I come across them in a used bookstore, I’ll grab them. But for now, I must move on.

Books: The Kane Chronicles: Book 1: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

A few days before its release date, I was working at the bookstore when this guy asked me if The Red Pyramid, was going to different that Riordan’s previous five-book series Percy Jackson and The Olympians. I like being honest with my customers, as I’ve never been one to say James Patterson is a marvelous author and should be read by everyone. He’s a hack. Plain and simple.

No, I told him, I sensed with this new series, Riordan was not going to breakout of his well established formula that served Percy Jackson so well - a parent disappears, prompting introductions to ancient characters and travels to otherworldly places. There are to be battles with evil forces and a looming deadline by which the child must complete a mission, lest society descend into chaos. That’s gist of the this book and the gist of Percy Jackson. The question should have been whether it was going to be good as that other series (despite the last book being somewhat of a disappointment with its easy ending).

And to somewhat to my surprise, he’s succeeded with this new book. Instead of one, he’s got two protagonist in this new series, a brother and sister (who are bi-racial, which I found very interesting) who’ve been separated since the death of their mother, Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, while her brother Carter has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set--has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

While I was distracted by the alternate points of view chapters between Sadie and Carter at first (while Riordan has an ear for dialogue, he needs work creating a three dimensional female hero that does not sound like a boy), the book began to flow a bit better as it progressed. Riordan still has a habit of reminding readers the plot of the book every 20 or so pages which gets annoying after a while, and has outside characters explaining things to the kids instead of them figuring it out for themselves (which was what happened a lot on the final Percy Jackson novel), but its still a highly entertaining book for kids and adults. It is by far no Harry Potter, but Rick Riordan has done his homework on myths and legends of Egypt, making it also fun and educational at the same time.

Books: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

The final book in the Riordan’s Percy Jackson series is action packed from page one to its conclusion. The majority of the novel takes place in Manhattan, as the forces of Kronos and his Titans head towards The Empire State Building and its 600th floor where Mount Olympus resides. Percy, Annabeth, Grover and the rest of the campers at Camp Half-Blood come face to face with the meaning of the prophecy that started the series and traitorous Luke’s past is finally revealed. We also learn the fates of all as the Clash of Titans comes to a close.

While I think this is the best book in the series, I also felt that Riordan made it all too easy for Percy to defeat Kronos. I sensed that Riordan painted himself into a corner with his plot -which sometimes happens when dealing with a first-person setting. It was like he knew the only way Percy could figure things out was to cram a whole lot of dreams with all the exposition. I feel, somewhat, cheated that Percy could not figure it out himself without the dreams revealing it.

Then there’s Luke. While I had hoped that the kid was just a spy in the house of Kronos, his absolution rang sort of false, and reminded me of Harry Potter again.

Still, those are small quibbles to what was a funny, often clever series that also was history lesson on Greek myths. And while this was the final volume, apparently Riordan will return to Camp Half-Blood sometime in the future.

I’ll be waiting.

Books: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth

With penultimate volume of the Olympian saga, author Rick Riordan ramps up the suspense and action, as Percy Jackson and his friends must battle more Greek monsters, meet more plot twists and prepare for what is bound to be the ultimate battle between the half-bloods and the Gods.

With Battle of the Labyrinth, Riordan continues to re-create the old Greek myths with clever, modern turns. This novel mostly focuses on Daedalus, the famed inventor who created the Labyrinth that housed the Minotaur (that Percy battled in The Lightening Thief) and who’s son Icarus, flew too close to the sun. The story is also about seeking absolution for past sins and understanding how, and why the world works the way its does. Labyrinth also continues the theme of betrayal and the cost of power with friendships.

Now on to the finale.

Books: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

Much like the Series of Unfortunate Events, the third book in the Percy Jackson series breaks little ground, as it follows the near same story structure as book 1. Still, the book is filled its silly humor, and fast paced, by-the-seat-of-your-pants action that kept kids and adults reading.

This volume heightens the parent-child issues a bit more, making the readers feel that any relationship between their Olympian god parents and the half-bloods are very difficult and often uncomfortable.

Still, while its comparisons to the Harry Potter franchise continue, its an enjoyable romp and makes me want to continue to the end.

Books: Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Sea Monsters by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson's seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep-school campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get . . . well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percy's friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed.

The second book in the series is better, and just as original and funny as The Lightning Thief. Once again, Riordan updates the Greek Myths with a wink, but is no longer bogged down by its set up, which helps us get into the action much quicker.

I'm beginning to suspect, however, that Riordan is setting things up for its later conclusion, in the sense, that I think I know where this is going. Still, much like the Harry Potter series, these stories are about friendship and trust, and dealing with an ever increasing idea that the Greek Gods are as dysfunctional as humans -especially when Percy confronts his family heritage.

Books: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

This novel chronicles the adventures of twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, who discovers he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and the Greek god Poseidon. Percy and his friends go on a quest to prevent an apocalyptic war between the Greek gods Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. The story contains a multitude of encounters with characters from Greek mythology still alive in modern times.

In this fast-paced, often funny look at the way Riordan updates the Greek mythology. Percy is sarcastic, often wry and a little bit impetuous. Still, the series has been compared to Harry Potter (and there is a small in-joke towards the end of the novel), but though Riordan borrows much from the historical mythology, the series first book does not get too bogged down in its own mythology, if you can excuse the joke.