Title: The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2)Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Fantasy
Pages: 471
Rating: 4.5 stars
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Thor's hammer is missing (again), and of course the only people able to retrieve it are Magnus and his companions. However, there's more to this mission than originally meets the eye. With a deadline fast approaching that, if missed, would result in the wedding of Sam, and possibly the end of the world, it's a mad race to the hammer.
Ahhhhh okay emotions. If you read the first book, The Sword of Summer, this book was EVEN better. Yes, you did hear me correctly. Even better. Of course, I wasn't the biggest fan of the first book to begin with. I mean, it was good, but it wasn't anything mind blowing. However, this book? This book was amazing.
Firstly, it was really funny. I was laughing. Out loud. Possibly at 1:00 in the morning. But drowsiness aside- the book was really humorous! As I said in my earlier review, I enjoyed Rick's writing style before Heroes of Olympus better, and this book really does mirror that style.
I'm also going to mention the chapter titles. Because these chapter titles give me life.
Another noteworthy aspect of the book was the characters. Actually, the characters might be my favorite part of the book. Rick Riordan has successfully shattered the norms of middle grade- and fiction in general- by supplying the most diverse cast of characters I've ever seen in one story. Carrying over from the first book, we have a deaf character speaking with ASL, a Muslim girl, and new to this book, a genderfluid character! I think it's fantastic that Rick has introduced a genderfluid character, especially since younger kids will get to see that through the eyes of Magnus, who is super accepting and has a good way of looking at things. It'll help kids understand the gender spectrum a bit more, helping it become something not so alienated.
Mooooving on to the. freaking. plot. which. has. left. me. dying. for. book. three.
I need it now.
We go through the nine worlds with Magnus on this epic quest for Thor's hammer, and then all of a sudden there's this tiny sliver of a crossover between the Norse world and the Greek world. But of course. Rick has saved this for the third book, which doesn't come out until next year. I won't survive. Also, I believe this is going to be a trilogy, which makes me very sad. Partially because I want more of these beautiful covers on my shelf.
Can I also add that I loved the pop culture references? They just add to the light-heartedness of the story. I think it'll be funny in the future when those references aren't as relevant, but adult-me will understand them all as she re-reads everything. (Possibly in my personal library with my three cats?)
Anyway, I really hope you decide to pick this series up. I very much so enjoyed it, and I can't wait for the third book!
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