2016; 434 pages. Book 2 (out of 3) in the “Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard” series. New Author? : No. Genres: Fantasy; YA; Norse Mythology. Overall Rating: 8½*/10.
The Norse god Thor has lost his hammer. He doesn’t seem all that concerned about
it. What a doofus.
Rumor has it that Thrym, the
king of the Jotun (that means “Giants” for you
non-Viking readers) has it and has hid it somewhere. Since Thrym’s an Earth giant, it could be
buried miles underground anywhere, and is probably even beyond the reach of any of
the Norse gods.
But Thrym’s a reasonable
Jotun; he's willing to make a deal for returning the sword, assuming he does
indeed know where it is. His price: he wants the
hand of Samirah “Sam” al-Abbas in marriage.
She’s a Valkyrie who can shapeshift, but is already betrothed to someone
else and whom she loves deeply.
What’s the big deal with Thor’s hammer, anyway?
Well, if the giants find out
that Thor has lost his hammer, they’ll attack the Norse deities. It will be the beginning of something called
Ragnarok, and the outcome is already known.
Odin, Thor, and the rest of the Norse gods are doomed to being slain. In other words, it would be the End of the
World.
Come on, Sam. It’s time for you to take one for the team.
What’s To Like...
Magnus Chase – The
Hammer of Thor is the second book in Rick Riordan’s “Gods of Asgard” trilogy. I read Book One (it is reviewed here),
but that was seven years ago. So Book
Two was essentially a standalone tale for me, and which wasn't a problem.
The target audience is YA
(Young Adult) but grown-ups will enjoy it equally well.
What starts out as a simple task—get Thor’s hammer back—quickly becomes
a complicated affair. The main baddie is
the trickster god Loki, the god of Mischief, who, despite being imprisoned for
the past thousand years, is quite capable of wreaking havoc upon humans, giants, and
fellow gods alike.
There are critters galore to
meet and greet, including Valkyries, talking goats, elves, dwarves, and dragons (“lindworms”), many of which can shape-shift. Rick Riordan deftly blends a whole bunch of
Norse mythology into the tale, which I thoroughly enjoyed. He also includes a very useful Glossary in
the back of the book for referencing any gods, giants, and mythological items and places
you’re unfamiliar with. Bookmark it, you’ll
be using it a lot.
The story is told in the
first-person POV—Magnus’s. The
story starts out set in Cape Cod, but for the most part we travel around the
realms of the Nordic pantheon. Each chapter
has a clever title which gives you a hint at what’s coming. ASL (American
Sign Language) also is used, since one of the characters is a
deaf-mute. I presume the ASL signals used
are accurate. It was kewl seeing Taco Bell and the TV shows Gilligan’s Island and Cheers get mentioned, albeit briefly.
The ending is suitably
exciting and double-edged. The mission
to recover Thor’s hammer is resolved, but the annoying issue with Loki is left hanging. I presume that’s what Book
Three, The Ship of the Dead, addresses.
Excerpts...
I took a sip. Without doubt, it was the best stuff I’d ever
had—with the sweetness of honey, the richness of chocolate, and the coolness of
glacier ice, yet it tasted unlike any of those.
It filled my stomach more satisfyingly than a three-course meal. The jolt it gave me made the mead of Valhalla
seem like a knock-off brand of energy drink.
Suddenly, the living room was tinged with
kaleidoscopic light. I gazed outside at
the well-manicured lawn, the sculptured hedgerows, the garden topiaries. I wanted to pull off my sunglasses, break
through the window, and go skipping merrily through Alfheim until the sun
burned my eyes out.
I realized Mr. Alderman was watching me,
waiting to see how I handled the elfish goofy juice. (pg. 171)
“As I see it, there are two options going
forward to thwart Loki. First option: I
kill you all and take the Skofnung Sword, thus preventing it from falling into
Loki’s hands.”
Sam’s hand crept to her ax. “I’m not liking option one.”
The giant shrugged. “Well, it’s simple, effective, and relatively
foolproof. It doesn’t get you the hammer
back, but as I said, I don’t care about that.
My main concern is keeping Loki in captivity. If he gets free, he starts Ragnarok right now,
and I, for one, am not ready. We have
ladies’ night at the bowling alley on Friday.
Doomsday would completely mess that up.” (pg. 328)
Kewlest New Word ...
Gamalost (n.) : a traditional, highly pungent
Norwegian cheese.
Ratings…
Amazon: 4.7*/5, based on 16,343 ratings
and 1,445 reviews.
Goodreads: 4.29*/5,
based on 134,665
ratings and 8,875 reviews.
The thing about
gods is, you can’t really slap them when they’re acting stupid. (pg. 406)
Magnus
Chase – The Hammer of Thor is a YA novel; therefore it is not surprising
that there are zero cusswords and zero adult situations in it. The closest we get to profanity is the phrase
“go to Helheim”, which I thought was quite innovative.
Be aware that one of the
characters is described as “gender fluid and
transgender”. This leads to
some amusing situations; sometimes she’s a she, sometimes he’s a he. Wikipedia gives some insight into Rick
Riordan’s reason for having a trans character in the story. Homophobes should probably give this book a
pass.
The only bit of nitpicking I can come up
with is the lack of a “Cast of Characters”
section. I’m not sure which ones are
recurring and which ones are new. Of
course, it would help if I don’t wait another seven years to read Book Three.
But I quibble. Magnus Chase – The Hammer of Thor was
an enjoyable read for me, even though I’m not the target audience. The pacing is fast, there’s lots of action,
and wit abounds. YA readers and adults
will be equally entertained.
8½ Stars. One last thing. Magnus Chase is revealed to be left-handed. At one point he remembers a frantic scene where his second-grade teacher tapes his left hand to the desk in an effort to force him to learn to write right-handed. I, too, am a leftie. I never went through this sort of experience, but my brother, a lefty nine-years older than me, was subjected to this sort of conversion therapy.
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