Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Paperback Boxed Set

Great quality books and box. My kid loves all things related to Percy Jackson and this series was no exception!

OK, so am I reviewing the books, or the physical shape they arrived in? Everything arrived in great shape. No issues with bent books or pages. For that I am very happy. As for the books, I have read them myself, and this was a gift to my son. I loved the books, Riordan is an inventive story teller, and isn't afraid to mix in real world issues and drama into a fantasy story. Addressing such issues as homelessness, gender identity, Islam,etc., was well done without being preachy. His imagery is very well carried out, and the stories flow well. All in all, very satisfied with the purchase, as is my son!

I have mixed feelings about this series. After having the thought stuck in my head for a while, I thought I’d write a review. (I was REALLY torn on the star rating to give it… I would have liked to go higher, because I’m enjoying it a great deal, overall. But I’m trying to base it a bit on the writing quality, and a bit in context with the other books in the surrounding series.) I’ve been enjoying Rick Riordan’s work, and am reading the first series to the girl I babysit. I’ve read Percy, Kane, more Percy, the in between books… They’re fun. It took me a bit longer to get into the Kane Chronicles than the Percy stories (admittedly, I grew up on Greek Mythology, so maybe that was just because I was more familiar and close to the base content), but I ended up liking those, too. The humor has improved the farther I’ve gone (I noticed a marked increase/improvement in the volume where the Percy/Kane characters met each other.) The characters’ personalities seem to flesh out. Now I’m on Magnus Chase. I’m maybe 2/3 through the second of three books. I had been looking forward to the Norse Mythology. And it’s been fun; I dove in way more smoothly than with the Kane series. The humor alone has gone up again; I love the easy wit the characters portray. The story is interesting to me. The way the Norse gods are portrayed felt a little uneven at first. Loki seems fairly typical of his character. Then others are in various ways ‘wacky.’ But I got used to it and like the alternative view. (I did go into the story expecting a unique take, as done in the other series, so no great shock.) I think these books are a good way for younger people to get into mythology, and also to enjoy a fun new version of the pantheons. (And it isn’t easy to find good collections of Norse myths; they’re often either overly dumbed down, or peppered with paragraphs of analysis.) That said, I am having one issue with the series. My complaint is rooted in something that I initially reacted to with pleasure. I was impressed by it, until a certain point. As a precursor, it’s possible that the issue stood out to me more after having read all the other books, and hence comparing them. But it still feels off. One of the reviews on the jacket of the second book claims “…cast that is effortlessly diverse…” Well, I more than agree with the ‘diverse’ part, and appreciate it. Effortless… Not so much. The main characters include, just to start, deaf, black, muslim, gay, homeless, rich, people from various countries, and further in, transgender/gender fluid… (BEFORE ANY COMMENTS ARE MADE, I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH ANY OF THOSE, NOR WITH ANY OF THEM GETTING REPRESENTATION! THAT IS NOT THE POINT I’M MAKING!) It’s not as though there was NO diversity in his previous books, but there certainly wasn’t this contrived/affected...

Excited to start jumping into the series after I finish the Percy books but read them a while back and Rick Riordan’s mythology archs never disappoint. My only small gripe is that the outside boxes for the book set usually come with small tears or dings on the corners. Maybe it wouldn’t have been an issue if it wasn’t mailed in just a bubble envelope and instead was put into a box but the quality of the reading isn’t affected. It’s still a great series and I urge anyone with even the smallest interest in mythology and fantasy to pick up this series as well as all of his others.

Thank you Rick Roirdan! Percy Jackson and the following books were the key to unlocking my 9 year olds love for reading! He’s 10 now and working his way through all the books. He has the highest AR points in his grade!