The Sword of Summer

Magnus’s time on the streets offers him different perspectives on right and wrong, as well as different ways of viewing the world. Did you learn anything about your own outlooks from Magnus? If so, what? If not, what about Magnus’s outlooks did you not identify with?

Do you think Loki’s multi-layered punishment for Balder’s murder is justified? Why or why not? If not, what punishment would be fitting and why?

Throughout The Sword of Summer, magic and information come with a price. What do the characters learn from either accepting or refusing to pay these prices? How do those lessons help them achieve their goals within the story? Did you learn anything from these lessons? If so, what did you learn?

Magnus encounters many gods and other figures from Norse myth throughout The Sword of Summer. Choose three of these side characters. What does each offer to Magnus’s character growth and to the story’s plot? Could any of these characters have been removed without disrupting the story? If so, which and why?

In Chapter 37, Sam says being on the World Tree is bad for one’s sanity. Why do you think the source of the worlds and all life destroys the creatures that live in its branches? What does Yggdrasil’s nature say about life and survival? What about the creatures that live in the tree? Support your ideas with evidence from the text.

There is some debate about whether nature (genetics) or nurture (environment) has a greater effect on a child’s upbringing and who they become as an adult. Consider Sam and Fenris from the angles of nature and nurture. How do you think each aspect affected their growth? Do you think Sam would have turned out differently if she were raised by Loki? What if Fenris were raised by a loving family? What choices may have brought these characters to where they are at the time of The Sword of Summer? What impact might those choices have had?

The Aesir and Vanir each have an afterlife for their honorable dead, but the dishonorable dead all go to one realm: Helheim. Why do you think this is the case? Based on the descriptions of Valhalla and Folkvanger, as well as deeds considered noble, what do you think constitutes a noble death for each afterlife? Support your position with evidence from the text.

Many characters in The Sword of Summer grapple with grief. How does their struggle affect them? What similarities and differences can be drawn from characters who handle grief in the same or different ways? What do these similarities and differences say about the power of grief and how people deal with it?