The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Paranormal Fantasy adventure with mythology

Subjects: adventure, fantasy, gods, magic, mythology, Norse mythology, paranormal, summer, supernatural, Valkyries, gods and goddesses, Massachusetts, humor

Setting: Boston, Massachusetts, and the world of Norse Mythology, Valhalla, and the Nine Worlds

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, past tense: Magnus Chase

Age/Grade Level: Teen, maybe younger, middle school and up?

Length: 459 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $19.99

Publisher: Hyperion

Summary/ product description: “Thor's hammer is missing again. The thunder god has a disturbing habit of misplacing his weapon--the mightiest force in the Nine Worlds. But this time the hammer isn't just lost, it has fallen into enemy hands. If Magnus Chase and his friends can't retrieve the hammer quickly, the mortal worlds will be defenseless against an onslaught of giants. Ragnarok will begin. The Nine Worlds will burn. Unfortunately, the only person who can broker a deal for the hammer's return is the gods' worst enemy, Loki--and the price he wants is very high.”

My Review:  The Hammer of Thor is the hilarious and fun sequel to the Sword of Summer in Rick Riordan’s Magnus Chase series. Like all of Rick’s YA and MG books, it takes mythology and puts it in modern day and add funny twists. In this sequel, Thor’s hammer was stolen, likely by giants since they’re the ones who’ve done it in the past, and Thor’s wants Magnus and his friends to get it back.

Magnus is the demi-god son of the Norse god Frey and cousin of Annabeth, daughter of Athena, from the Percy Jackson series. His friends are Samirah, a muslim girl who moonlights as a Valkyrie, retrieving souls of fallen heroes. There’s Blitzen, a drawf with a great fashion sense and Hearthstone, a deaf elf with an affinity for rune-stone magic. There’s the einherji, the fallen heroes that live on the same floor as Magnus: T.J, Halfborn, and Mallory. They gain a new ally who’s an einherji too named Alex. Alex is a child of Loki like Samirah, but Alex is a gender-fluid argr, and usually a girl, but sometimes has very male days. Alex shape-shifts into animal often, but doesn’t have control of when she’s male or female. It’s very confusing.

They go on a journey through the nine worlds. They have to find a special sword and the stone that sharpens the blade. They travel from Midgard to Alfheim, Jotunheim, and Asgard. It’s a dangerous quest full of perils like angry elves, bowling giants, and gods who take selfies with a phablet using a sword as a selfie-stick. It’s a fun thrill-ride and never boring, but it took me a while to get through this book. It’s not fast-paced because you have to really work to picture some of the silly stuff that happens, and sometimes it get wordy. I really enjoyed it, but I was pretty busy and it took me two weeks to finish this.

If you have read and enjoyed Loki’s Wolves, Odin’s Ravens, and Thor’s Serpent by Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr, then I highly recommend this book. Also fans of the Thor movies, or anything myth-related. Norse Mythology is hot and different from the Greek stuff. This book is fun and you will learn about Norse Mythology, even if Rick has twisted it a little.

Cover Art Review: Great illustration! Very typical of Rick Riordan books.

The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Paranormal Fantasy adventure with mythology

Subjects: adventure, fantasy, gods, magic, mythology, Norse mythology, paranormal, summer, supernatural, Valkyries, gods and goddesses, Massachusetts, humor

Setting: Boston, Massachusetts, and the world of Norse Mythology, Valhalla

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, past tense: Magnus Chase

Age/Grade Level: Teen, maybe younger, middle school and up?

Length: 491 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $19.99

Publisher: Hyperion

Summary/ product description: “Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .”

My Review:  It’s been a while since I’ve read any Rick Riordan books. I never got past the first The Lost Hero. Reading this book was a real treat. It’s funny and exciting and pure entertainment. It’s very much like his other books, written in first person this time. Magnus is a little like Percy, but he’s Annabeth’s cousin. When I started this book I didn’t know that, and then Annabeth shows up. I forgot her last name was Chase too. I almost didn’t read this book because I didn’t read the Heroes of Olympus series, but thankfully there’s no spoiler to that series in this book. You can read The Sword of Summer without having read any other Rick Riordan book.

Magnus is a pretty interesting character. He lived on the streets of Boston for about 2 years, he ends up in Valhalla after dying, and finds out he’s a demi-god. He can heal people. He has to track down the sword of summer, which he lost in the river when he died. The character Sam is interesting too. She’s half-middle eastern and wears a green head scarf (hijab). Her father is Loki, but she’s not like him. She’s also a Valkyrie and has a double life. She’s got a normal school life at home, living with her grand parents.

There’s also Magnus’s dwarf and elf friends. Blitz has a crazy sense of fashion. Hearth is deaf and Magnus speaks to him in sign language. What a great group of characters. Rick’s so great at developing characters. Even characters with smaller roles are very unique and developed. Like, did you know that Thor is a TV addict and watched Arrow and the Walking Dead? That’s pretty cool. And there’s a sea goddess named Ran who like to collect junk?

This book has so many ridiculous surprises, it’s unbelievable. It’s so unrealistic and nonsensical, but I love it. I like the idea of that Gods being up on modern society and technology. It’s cool, but then apparently giants text and dwarves listen to Taylor Swift. There’s some weird stuff that makes this feel like a parody movie. This story is 491 pages long. If I didn’t have school and work I would have probably finished it in 2 days. Fast reader maybe in 1 day. There are no dull moments. It’s bam, bam, BAM! Non-stop awesomeness. You will not want to put this book down. It will feel as if your hands are glued to the book and your eye stuck open.

If you have read and enjoyed Loki’s Wolves, Odin’s Ravens, and Thor’s Serpent by Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr, then I highly recommend this book. Also fans of the Thor movies, or anything myth-related. Norse Mythology is hot and different from the Greek stuff. This book is fun and you will learn about Norse Mythology, even it Rick has twisted it a little.

Cover Art Review: Great illustration! Very typical of Rick Riordan books.

Thor’s Serpents by K.L. Armstrong & M.A. Marr

Series: The Blackwell Pages (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Paranormal/Fantasy/Adventure

Subjects: gods, magic, mythology, Norse mythology, supernatural, werewolves

Setting: South Dakota

POV/Tense: 3rd person POV, past tense, rotating between Matt, Fen, Laurie and Owen

Age/Grade Level: Middle Grade, 11+

Length: 361 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.00

Publisher: Hachette: Little, Brown

Summary/ product description: “For fans of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the thrilling conclusion to The Blackwell Pages, written by New York Times bestselling YA authors, K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr.

Thirteen-year-olds Matt, Laurie, and Fen have beaten near-impossible odds to assemble their fellow descendants of the Norse Gods and complete epic quests. Their biggest challenge lies ahead: battling the fierce monsters working to bring about the apocalypse.

But when they learn that Matt must fight the Midgard Serpent alone and Fen and Laurie are pulled in other directions, the friends realize they can't take every step of this journey together. Matt, Laurie, and Fen will each have to fight their own battles to survive, to be true to themselves, and to one another - with nothing less than the fate of the world hanging in the balance.”

My Review:  Thor’s Serpents is the finale to the Blackwell Pages by Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr. It’s pretty epic and great for fans of Rick Riordan’s books. It’s may be a Middle Grade series, but it can be enjoyed by all ages. The main characters are 12, 13 or 14 years-old. The writing is clean, and written from the 3^rd person perspective. There’s lots of magic, mayhem and monsters. It’s fun and exciting.

Ragnarok is coming and Matt, Fen and Laurie have no idea how to stop it. It’s their fate as the god’s champions, but they want to stop it. Fen’s trapped with being the alpha of the Raiders wolf pack. Laurie is Loki’s Champion, and Matt is Thor’s. The power goes out in Rapid City and Mara descend on its citizens. Flaming giants attack in Mitchell, and another rooster crows. Stuff’s going down.

The characters are interesting and unique from each other. Since it’s 3^rd person, we don’t get much incite into them, but we know Matt’s an athlete/geek, Fen’s a troublemaker, and Laurie’s smart. The character that I found the most interesting in personality was Reyna. She’s hilarious and her and Matt like each other. She’s acts all tough and sassy. Baldwin’s also cool. He also apparently watches Myth Busters, which I found awesome. Owen’s strange, but he’s got an eye patch. 

The best part of this book was that it’s was set in South Dakota. Most of the places mentioned I’ve been too or past. I never heard of the Journey Museum, or been in the Corn Palace, but I’m very familiar with the Badlands. I’ve been there three times (twice in one trip). I’ve been to Rapid city and the Black Hills (camped in Custer State Park). I’ve been to Deadwood, Mt. Rushmore, and Reptile Gardens. This series is set in summertime and it showcases tourist attractions as setting. Blackwell may not be a real town, but more other places mentioned are real. The authors must have vacationed there and decided to set the series there.

If you’re a fan of mythology, Rick Riordan’s book or the Thor Marvel movies, then check out this series. It’s great for middle schoolers, maybe 5^th graders too. Don’t feel ashamed if you’re a high schooler, collage student or adult. Read this series and enjoy it!

Cover Art Review: Lovely illustrations from a skilled artist. I think it’s a digital painting.