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
BetaChapters 14-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 14 Summary: “Four Million Channels and There’s Still Nothing On Except Valkyrie Vision”
Helgi presents the replay as “Valkyrie Vision.” The first newcomer’s death plays—he saved a group of people who were trapped on a burning ship by smashing a window with a fire extinguisher. There’s some debate about whether a fire extinguisher counts as a weapon, which makes the newcomer’s Valkyrie look nervous. Warriors must die with a weapon in their hand to be worthy of Valhalla, and if a death is deemed unworthy, “the Valkyrie takes the punishment” (92).
The newcomer is deemed worthy. A vala (seer) comes forward and determines he is a son of Thor, causing a celebratory uproar across the hall. Many great warriors are children of Thor, including Gunilla. The rest of the newcomer deaths play. Each dies more heroically than the last, making Magnus nervous for his turn. One boy is a son of Odin, a welcome sign the god still moves among mortals. The chapter ends with Helgi ordering Magnus to “rise and impress us with your courage” (95).
Chapter 15 Summary: “My Blooper Video Goes Viral”
Magnus’s video plays, but it’s as if someone edited it to make him look like a failure, including not having him holding his sword at his moment of death. An argument ensues about whether Magnus’s death counts. Sam argues Magnus died bravely in combat, thereby upholding Odin’s law in spirit, and one of the thanes sarcastically thanks her for stating the obvious, referring to her as “daughter of Loki” (97). Magnus suddenly understands the tension between Gunilla and Sam. Thor and Loki are enemies, and Loki is a trickster and betrayer.
Neither the thanes nor Helgi believe Sam. Because she’s the daughter of the trickster god, they don’t let Sam tell the story from her perspective, believing anything she’ll say is lies. They will consult the seers to determine whether Magnus is worthy. Three women dressed in white come from the water. They are the Norns, controllers of mortal destinies, come to view Magnus’s fate.
Chapter 16 Summary: “Norns. Why Did It Have to Be Norns?”
The Norns read the runes, which reveal Magnus is a son of Frey and label him a mistake: “Wrongly chosen, wrongly slain” (102). Helgi deems Magnus as welcome but undetermined, and he blames Sam for mistakenly bringing Magnus to Valhalla. Sam argues Magnus is a son of Frey and his sword is vitally important, but Helgi refuses to listen. He banishes her. The last thing she tells Magnus before she disappears is: “You have to find the sword” (104).
Chapter 17 Summary: “I Did Not Ask for Biceps”
Back in his room after dinner, Magnus puzzles over his situation while looking through a picture book about Norse gods his mother used to read to him. His dad isn’t a major god, and Magnus doesn’t understand why Surt targeted him or why the sword is so important. Feeling guilty about what happened to Sam and unable to answer any of his questions, Magnus falls asleep on the grassy floor of his room beneath Yggdrasill’s branches.
Later, Magnus wakes to someone or something scrambling through the tree. The movement disappears, and he wonders if he imagined it. There’s a note from T.J. by the door inviting Magnus to join his hallmates for breakfast. Magnus almost doesn’t go but changes his mind in hopes of finding his mother or at least finding out “which afterlife she had gone to” (108).
After sleeping on the grass, Magnus wants to shower before meeting up with people. In the bathroom, he discovers his body looks completely different. He’s always been scrawny, but now he has muscles and is more filled out. The addition of muscles he didn’t ask for makes Magnus snap. He punches the wall, and his hand goes “straight through the tile, the drywall, and a two-by-four stud” (110). He leaves a fist-sized hole, but his hand and arm are unharmed. Magnus showers, dresses in Valhalla garb, complete with sword and shield, and goes to breakfast.
Chapters 14-17 Analysis
Valkyrie Vision is another modernization of Norse myth. Similar to Vista Vision (the clear widescreen technology invented by Paramount Pictures in 1954), Valkyrie Vision revolutionizes the introduction of new warriors to Valhalla. Rather than Valkyries describing battles, the denizens of Valhalla can watch a warrior’s death in colorful detail. Valkyrie Vision symbolizes both a step forward and the ranks of Valhalla. It’s implied Gunilla created the technology so she could tamper with Sam’s video of Magnus’s death to make Magnus appear unworthy and to cast blame upon Sam.
Gunilla’s editing of Magnus’s death video shows the importance of status within Valhalla and what lengths will be taken to ensure the ranks of einherjar and Valkyries remain acceptable. Similarly, the thanes use the Norns’ prophesy against Sam. Though there is no explanation for the words, the thanes assume Magnus was wrongly chosen by Sam for Valhalla and use this as the final piece of evidence to banish Sam from the Valkyries. Their use of the prophesy in this way shows how people assign meanings that further their own cause, even if there isn’t enough information to do so. In addition, the thanes hold power over who is deemed worthy, and their decision has long-lasting consequences on how a warrior is viewed by the other einherji. Their unquestioned decisions give the thanes total power over Valhalla’s hierarchy because they are seen as unchallengeable. The misinterpretation of the prophesy (both intentional and unintentional) leaves Magnus feeling confused and alone.
Related Titles
By Rick Riordan
