The Sword of Summer

Magnus Chase has lived on the streets of Boston for two years, ever since the night his mother told him to run. He survives by his wits, staying one step ahead of the police and truant officers, his only goal to remain invisible. But on his sixteenth birthday, that all changes. He is tracked down by an uncle he barely knows, a man his mother warned him was dangerous, who reveals an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. The Viking myths are true, the gods of Asgard are preparing for war, and monsters are stirring for doomsday. When an attack by a fire giant forces Magnus to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, he makes a fatal decision.

For Magnus Chase, death is only the beginning. His heroic choice lands him in Hotel Valhalla, an afterlife for warriors who died bravely in battle. Here, he discovers that he is an einherjar, one of Odin's chosen soldiers, destined to train for Ragnarok. To prevent the end of the world, Magnus must embark on a quest across the Nine Worlds to find a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years: the Sword of Summer. Aided by a Valkyrie, a deaf elf, and a fashion-conscious dwarf, Magnus must confront gods, giants, and mythical beasts to find the sword before it falls into the wrong hands and unleashes an unstoppable evil.