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.
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BetaChapter 71-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 71 Summary: “We Burn a Swan Boat, Which I’m Pretty Sure Is Illegal”
The funeral for the fallen Valkyries is held in the Boston Public Garden. The bodies are set aboard a swan boat that’s been converted into a pyre. Einherjar and Valkyries pay their respects, and the boat is set aflame.
The rest of the gathered return to Valhalla, leaving Magnus, Sam, Blitz, and Hearth in the park. The group is going their separate ways for a bit, and though he knows it isn’t forever, Magnus still feels like he’s losing them. Sam asks what Magnus is going to do next. He says he has “to keep a promise” and goes to meet with Annabeth (484).
Chapter 72 Summary: “I Lose a Bet”
Magnus and Annabeth spread Magnus’s mother’s ashes at a pond where they used to go camping. Magnus remembers Frey’s advice to confide in Annabeth, but he hesitates to do so because he wants to protect her and because he likes how normal things feel with Annabeth. They agree to try to be less crazy than their parents with a handshake and promise: “Here’s to being less messed up” (487).
Magnus invites Annabeth to lunch to share their stories. Annabeth bets “my life is weirder” (488). Magnus counters it isn’t, and the two go to lunch, the chapter ending before either tells their story.
Epilogue Summary
The Epilogue follows Randolph. He returns to his townhouse, where he finds Loki in his office. Randolph made a deal with Loki: Help him start Ragnarok in return for getting his dead wife and daughter back. Randolph failed and expects Loki to kill him, but Loki doesn’t because Randolph “might still be useful” (490).
Loki leaves a hand-shaped scar on Randolph’s face as a reminder of his failure. There is more to Loki’s plan, and there are other weapons that could trigger Ragnarok. He picks up a necklace with a hammer charm, and the book ends with Loki telling Randolph, “you and I are going to have lots of fun” (491).
Chapter 71-Epilogue Analysis
Gunilla’s transformation into a swan in Chapter 53 foreshadows her swan-boat pyre. The swan boats are a tourist attraction in Boston and run along the lagoon in the Boston Public Garden. They get their name from the suggestion in 1877 that a swan be constructed to cover where the captain peddled the boat. The pyre represents the Norse practice of burning deceased warriors. They believed the drifting smoke would help fallen warriors find their afterlife. It is never made clear whether Valkyries go to Valhalla as einherjar.
Chapter 72 completes the integration of The Sword of Summer with the Percy Jackson story world. After spreading Magnus’s mother’s ashes, Magnus and Annabeth decide to share their stories over lunch. Since he lost their bet over whose life is stranger, we can infer Annabeth shared much of the events that take place in both the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and Heroes of Olympus series.
The Epilogue provides information about Randolph and sets up the sequel, The Hammer of Thor. Randolph works with Loki to bring about Ragnarok but does so unwillingly. Loki has some kind of hold over Randolph’s wife and child, but the exact terms of Loki and Randolph’s agreement are not clear. It is possible Loki orchestrated Randolph’s shipwreck to forward his own agenda. The hammer necklace represents Thor’s hammer. The weapon is still missing at the end of The Sword of Summer, and Loki hunts for it. The sword was not the only method of bringing Ragnarok about, and Loki still manipulates events from his prison.
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By Rick Riordan
