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4 stars! This review will be spoiler-free, but if you have not read book one, there will be spoilers for Sword of Summer!
Synopsis:
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: Hammer of Thor (woah that’s a mouthful!) is book too in the Norse mythology based series written by Rick Riordan. Thor’s hammer is missing... again. And this specific weapon is one of the most powerful weapons in the Nine Worlds and is generally used for holding back giant armies. Not big armies, but GIANT armies, armies of giants! This time the hammer has fallen into enemy hands and it’s Magnus’s quest to find it with the help of the crew: Sam, Blitz, Hearthstone, Floor 19, and a new character named Sam Fierro. If they can’t retrieve the hammer, Ragnarok will ensure thus putting the The Nine Worlds in danger. Unfortunately, the only person who can point Magnus and crew in the right direction and make a deal with the enemies who have stollen the hammer is Loki. Knowing the God of lies only does things for his own gain, everyone knows that if Loki is trying to “help” the price must be high.
Thoughts:
Rick Riordan doesn’t fail in impressing me with every single one of his novels. Hammer of Thor was so much fun! As book two, I did expect a little more from it than what I got, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. I thought the cast of characters was diverse in book one, but it is even more diverse now as well as being diverse in the types of relationships we see or are hinted at. I love that we have a gender-fluid character! The things we learn from her/him are so great! And I found that the romantic relationships never take away from the forefront issue of finding Thor’s hammer, even though one of those relationships were threatened. There is kind of a "problem solving" feel of this book rather than just a plain ‘ol journey to find a hammer. The characters are faced with obstacles that both require brains and brute force, which is a nice mix. Then throughout the book, we have more exploration of Norse mythology (which I’m very much lacking knowledge in) and the Nine Worlds. We even get some backgrounds on new Gods that you meet. So far I’ve learned that Alfheim is full of a-holes. Oh and that ending was epic, it was madness, and it was such a cliffhanger (for me at least because of people mentioned and I want said person mentioned to appear like now). On top of all these great things, there were some things that did bother me. I felt like often the characters went on tangents? Or had a lot of unnecessary “pop culture” commentary/allusions/I don’t know what to call them? I also did not quite like the pacing of this story. It’s fun and it’s adventurous and I’m sure if the slump was talking to me, but I thought the plot of this book developed much more slowly and long-winded than other Riordan books. Lastly, on a petty note, I’m incredibly sad we didn’t get a full low down on the conversation that happened between Magnus and Annabeth that was supposed to happen transitioning form book one to book two. Other than those few annoyances, I still liked Hammer of Thor and of course, will finish this series!
Plot:
Uncle Rick you did it with the diversity in this book! Diversity is highly apparent in most of Rick’s recent releases, but especially in this book and I absolutely love it. This book addresses gender fluidity as if it’s something normal and I love that. Alex Fierro knows who he/she is when she wants to be and the fact that she is even a shapeshifter being a daughter of Loki makes it even more fitting. Then you have Samirah who is Muslim, wears a hijab, and follows Allah while still being able to worship the Norse Gods as well. Then similarly to how Percy had a satyr in his group, for Magnus we have an elf and a dwarf. Not only that, but a dwarf that likes fashion and an elf that likes to perform magic. Both totally go against their own “societal norms,” but they weren’t afraid to venture out of their comfort zones to do what they love and I think that sends a great message out to the younger kids that would enjoy reading Rick Riordan’s books.
Another good lesson I thought that Riordan pulled off in this book was that no matter how crappy your family is to you, you can’t forget them or hate them, you just have to love them. Alfheim was emotionally brutal to experience because you totally side with Magnus's feeling the whole time. Or at least I did. I just wanted to protect baby Hearthstone. I can't wait for Hearthstone to just get super super powerful.
Now to talk about the actual plot: I thought this one was more slow than others. Maybe because this wasn't a suspenseful threatening adventure, I thought it was paced much slower than other Riordan books.
My favorite scene was probably how Jotunheim went down. That was where the most "problem-solving-ness" happened. On top of that, it was really where the book started to pick up speed. So when you get there, you'll know what I mean.
During the aggressive fighting scenes however, those were generally both very action filled and hilarious. I just wish more of them were dragged out. Thankfully the final battle of the story was exactly that making the ending SO SO SO good. I loved the ending of this book. It left an exciting premise for book three to pick up on! Ah! THE NAME DROPS.
Characters:
Magnus is literally always screaming. He is always the one who is most nervous, scared, or worried about the missions and it’s the funniest thing. I’m glad we have a main character that isn’t afraid to show that he’s scared, but he doesn’t let his fear get to him.
Sam is crazy. School, piloting class, Valkyrie work, saving the world, being engaged, what is this girl not doing? I think she stresses herself way too much and it’s definitely making her not only more vulnerable, but kinda a victim to her own emotions. I hope she recovers.
Blitz and Hearth are my favorite side characters. Blitz is the realist and probably the one that I relate to the most because I’m not only short, but a realistic pessimist similarly to this fashion forward dwarven cousin of Magnus.
Hearthstone is the character that I just want to bundle up in a big blanket and cuddle for days because he just needs some love.
Alex is the upcoming character that I can see myself loving. The HINTS THOUGH. I hope they come true. When you read the book, you know what hints I’m talking about.
Randall and Mr. Alderman can be grouped in the category of parents or parent-types that just suck.
Overall:
RICK RIORDAN GRASPED ME INTO BOOK THREE WITH ONE LINE. THE LAST LINE. AND IM DYING. I NEED IT NOW. AND I CAN’T SAY WHY BECAUSE SPOILERS, BUT JUST KNOW I WILL BE SCREAMING WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON IT.