Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Book 2 The Hammer of Thor

If you enjoyed Percy Jackson's sense of humour than you will love Magnus. He is witty, funny and chalk full of pop culture references. All of these attributes making him an ideal and wonderful narrator.

To digress, "The hammer of Thor," is even better than "the sword of summer" introducing more characters and consequences that bring these teens closer to ragnarok. Unlike the first novel in this series we get to dive right into the action, skipping all of the world building and information dumping. By doing so it makes this book easy to pick up and hard to put down.

If you liked the adventures and shenanigans these characters got into last time than you will devour this book. I highly recommend it and think any Rick Riordan fan would be happy to add this book to their collection.

Also if you have read this book, isn't Alex awesome! :-)

This is an outstanding book that you no matter what have to read. The blot was extremely entertaining to read and the characters were well described, you could tell that Rickriorden really put his best efforts into writing this book. I must add this two one of the best books that I have ever read. If you are into gods and mythology with a lot of suspense and drama then this will fit your likings to perfection.

AAHHHHHH!
My kid is 8. to say that he loves these books would be a huge understatement! This book was super.
This book dealt with some adult ish topics - transgender, beat 'em up/kill 'em kind of situations - nothing too crazy. My short dude is pretty mature for his age (when he isn't making fart noises) I wouldn't say that every 8 year old can wrap their minds around some of the themes of these books but books worms and word lovers alike will enjoy this one
Our book came quickly and was in awesome condition.

I read this partially just for Alex- seeing nonbinary representation in a series that's always been so important to me, and has gotten me through my childhood and now adulthood in ways nothing else has, kind of rocked my world. Rick Riordan is an amazing person, and a wonderful writer.

I already knew going into this book there would be a good chance I would like it... it's rick riordan so duh! I loved this book! I love the type of characters rock introduces and makes this series different from the other that I've read. (Percy Jackson) I was so sad to find out this was only going to be a trilogy. Very excited for the next book!!

Great read and very entertaining. I go this for my son who is a Rick Riordan fan and has read all his mythological based books. This series utilizes the Norse gods to provide the backdrop and theme. My son literally would not put it down and read it from cover to cover. He really likes the characters and their interactions as well as the flow of the book and the trails and tribulations the characters face. As mentioned, wouldn't put it down and he cannot wait for the next book in the series.

Overall, well developed characters which are easy to like/dislike based on the story and the material flows very well. A very entertaining and enjoyable read which will get read again as my son eagerly awaits the next book in the series.

I routinely provide feedback on products I try so that other shoppers and friends may avoid some of the not so good choices on products they are looking for while avoiding the bad products. I have found this to be an effective and quality product which is nice and performed as promised by the seller. Please, if you find this review to be helpful to you be sure to hit YES. Thank you and happy shopping!

This installment is top notch in so many different ways. It is a great stand alone story, packed full of action action and humor. It is also an excellent second chapter to the overall story of the Magnus Chase series. Much to my delight, the final chapter answered a lot of questions regarding how and when the Magnus Chase story line and the Camp Half Blood story lines interlock.

I have read almost all of Riordan's books. I have been a fan of his but this one fell flat for me.

It seemed like the author didn't try to make it a good read or was in too much of a hurry to meet his deadline to make it very good.

Still as clever as the best of the Riordan series, this fun adventure more than makes up for the Trials of Apollo in my mind. It can be a bit preachy at times about Alex and Sam, but it's worth it for the all around fun. Can't wait for the next one after the way the end is set up!

In my opinion, this is Riordan still at the top of his game. The writing is crisp, the sequel picks up the storyline
and really moves it along nicely. A number of characters get fleshed out, and the new addition, Alex, is
handled well. I gather much of the hostility displayed has to do with Alex being gender-fluid. Now,
possibly this subject is a bit much for the suggested age range. But it is treated intelligently, and
no, Riordan is not being preachy or PC. I'm an Orthodox Catholic, but I'm aware that, throughout
history, transgender individuals have existed openly in many cultures. There's nothing shocking
about it, and, as I've said, Riordan handles the subject intelligently.

A wonderful second installment of the Magnus Chase series.

Rick does a wonderful job of bringing Mythology to life, and with his introduction of Alex Fierro, continues his inclusive streak, seen with the likes of LGBT Character Nico di Angelo; Muslim Co-Star of the book Samira al-Abbas, and the Persons of Color seen throughout "The Kane Chronicles".

Rick Riordan has had my reading attention for the past few years, and his books are easy to read, fun, and, most of all, well written.

It was really really really good. I love the different varieties of characters, especially Alex (love the sarcasm). Although not my favorite book that Rick Riordan has written (that place in my heart is being held by pretty much all the original Percy Jackson books), I absolutely loved it. And for the first time I wasn't upset when the book was finished even though it ended on a cliff hanger. I'm just really excited for the next one and I can't wait for Magnus to FINALLY meet Percy.

Being a fan of Rick's other series, my eleven year old son was actually I'm nervous to start reading this book and this series. He did not think it would be as good as the other. Lo and behold, once he got into this book, he found it it was just like Rick's other books and he is very excited. He is definitely looking forward to Continuing the series! He absolutely loves learning about history through these books!

It was a little dull, it could have been sharper. It was rather slow paced. Overall though it was good. I hope the next book involves Percy and Annabeth a lot more (or just their world in general). I was really expecting that in this book since it kind of hinted that before, but it didn't and that was a dissapointment.

This book...
*shaking my head wordlessly*
I shouldn't be surprised I loved it as much as I did. this is a Rick Riordan's book, after all. But before reading it, I was terrified of reading this book.

Long story short, I had some major issues with the first book in the Magnus Chase trilogy.
I still ended up enjoying it, but the shock of not absolutely loving it was just too hard for me to handle.

So when it came to anticipating The Hammer of Thor, I was cautiously excited. I readied myself for the possibility I wouldn't love it.
And then...
OH GOD, I LOVED THIS BOOK!

It was incredible and beautifully done.
Rick Riordan... you're amazing!

If you, like me, had your issues with The Sword of Summer, worry not! For this book will take it all away.

In this book you may (or may not) find:

A gender fluid shapeshifter who is also a love interest.
A goat killer assassin.
A talking sword that loves to sing.
A wedding.
A psychotic god trying to escape
Overall craziness
Some fun times.
Some hard times
Some sad times
Some awesome times.
Some times in general.

See?
Isn't this reason enough to read this book?
No need to thank me as long as you read it.

And now that we got the ones of you who haven't read it covered, let's talk spoilers!

*Full Review (with spoilers)*

This book, you guys...
This book.

'Just like the good old days: marching together into the unknown, searching for missing magical weapons, and risking painful death. I've missed my buddies!'

Magnus Chase:

Oh, Magnus. I loved him so much.
This time, he really stood on his own. He didn't feel like a pale copy of Percy anymore. He was Magnus Chase, the brave healer with the talking sword.

While Magnus does know how to fight, I loved that Rick didn't make him an all capable warrior or an expert in sword fighting.
Our protagonist is more of a healer than a fighter, and I found that I liked it just fine.

Samirah al-Abbas (a.k.a. Sam):

Our fierce Muslim Valkyrie.
She, as well, didn't feel like a pale copy of Annabeth anymore.
She dealt with so much in this book (possibly more than anyone), but she pulled through. As hard as things got, she didn't give up.
Sam is a strong female protagonist and I admire her capabilities.

Hearthstone (a.k.a Hearth):

I just love this elf so much! I want to give him a hug and tell him everything is going to be okay.

Blitzen:

Ah, I like this draft.
I'm so glad he's not dead.

Amir:

We finally got some Amir time in this book!
And it was so good. Aside from him almost freaking out to the death, that is.
This guy deserves a medal. He's willing to do anything - anything - if it means staying with Sam. So cute.
Also, I'm starting to see why Sam loves him so much.

Alex Fierro:

All hail Alex Fierro!
The awesomest and craziest shapeshifter alive (ergg... well, depends on your definition of "alive").
For the risk of repeating myself: I just loved her SO MUCH.
Him too.
Yeah, sorry, I'm still a bit Magnus-confused at how this works.
But as she was, for most of the book, a she, I'm going to refer to her as a she for now.

Don't you just love how effortlessly Rick combines diversity into his books?
He does it like he does magic.

I also somehow became a hardcore shipper of Magnus & Alex over the course of this book. I can't imagine them not together. Just like Amir & Sam, the two of them are meant to be.

I'm definitely not scared of the third book anymore. Also not of the second book in the Apollo series.
Rick Riordan is officially back and I just want more more more!

"First we need advice," I said. "About sailing across magical waters, fighting weird sea monsters, and not dying at the hands of a bunch of angry aquatic gods. Strangely enough, I know just the person to talk to."
"Your cousin," Sam guessed.
"Yeah," I said. "Annabeth."

Annabeth smiled. "I don't know the ocean very well, but my boyfriend does. I think it's time you met Percy."

*Dying of squealing*
Magnus and Percy meeting?
Percy making another appearance?
This is going to be:
Just...
So...
EPIC.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone. People are whinning and whinning that oh this book is so pc because it's the first book series they've read that includes a transgender character who isn't a joke. The classic "she's a he your gay hahahaha." Moment so many of these transphobic people associate with me and others like us. Yes this book Is for children, rightfully so aswell. Because transgender people exist. We aren't some shush shush behind the doors topic. We're in your schools, we're in your restruants, we're in your bathrooms. Children can be transgender and that's perfectly acceptable. Now this book has no focus on trans rights or anything. I simple wanted to rant because of the huge amount of negative reviews based soley on a character who didn't have much of a appearence besides a few scenes.

I love Norse mythology. I don't feel like it given enough attention. People usually gravitate toward Greek or roman stories. This book brings the magic of Norse mythology to life. It stayed true to the stories while creating a new one :)

Its getting very hard to find an author that doesn't fill their books with foul language or other completely inappropriate subject matter. I really do appreciate it. Please don't cave to the smut promoters.

The Hammer of Thor takes place several weeks after the events of The Sword of Summer, and it is advisable to read the first book beforehand.
I'll try not to spoil too much of the actual plot, but I'll say how I liked it, as well as what's to come.
This book is very good and follows the Riordan formula quite well. Magnus Chase has become one of my favorite series by Rick, and I wasn't expecting to like the series itself so much. The book starts off a bit slow, but quickly righted itself by bringing back several characters from the first book, as well as a new transgender character (Yay, more diversity!). It had quite a few recognizable parallels to the first book. Annabeth even makes an appearance, although she has slightly less "page time" this go round-she appears only at the end, but has key info for the next book. Rick leaves us wanting more by the end of the book, though we know partly what to expect: he lays most things for next book out neatly. However, there are still questions to be answered. Book 3 (The end) is called The Ship of the Dead and releases on October 3, 2017. You can bet I'll be buying it-we may be seeing a certain son of Poseidon sooner than we thought...

I’m very disappointed with this item. First it arrived with the back cover damaged but I decided to ignore sicnce I was interested in the book it self, however, while I was reading it I noticed the book was missing around 30 pages. It jumped from page 88 to page 121

I'm still working on the book but so far loving it! One of my favorite things about Riordon's books is he's not afraid to include LGBT characters. Especially concerning that his main reader base is adolescents, a time when they are really discovering those aspects of themselves, having positive characters like this they can relate to and identify with is so important.

Representation is great. People need to know that not everyone is the same and that people can have different opinions and values. However the way that Riordan did it cheapened the book's plot. It's as if the new character has no substance other than their identity. However it was a great read and I am excited for the next book.

I liked this story better than the 1st one. The story/writing was more cohesive, but in all fairness, the 1st one was just marginally less cohesive than his other works. Rick Riordan's writing is still amazing and i find this story to be more encompassing and less melodramatic than the 1st. I am very happy that Rick Riordan is bold enough to enter in such dynamic characters and an 'argr.' It says a lot about the real world and Riordan as a person, i appreciate that. i look forward to the 1st 3rd installment.

Love Rick Riodan books, I've read them all. This was the first one that I couldn't get through. I think the mark was missed and the characters introduced in this book didn't live up to his previous character. Sorry Rick, but this wasn't your best work. Keep at it though.

This book was much better than the last. It kept drawing me in. I put it down to take care of other things but had to seek in what I could whenever I could. Sleep was impossible. My imagination just wouldn't take a break. How were they going to solve this problem or get out of that situation? Now that I finished I am craving the next book. Come on Mr. Riordan please hurry with the next book. In the mean time I am going to catch up on my sleep.

When I first read it, it didn't seem that good, but honestly, I was wrong. Read it again and realized how good it was. While he will never be Percy Jackson, he comes very close, and has a great personality of his own.
PROS-
Diverse Characters!
(Not everyone is white and "typical", WOW!)
Includes MAIN Characters who are:
-Transgender
-Gender Fluid
-Muslim
-African American
-Deaf
-And tons more

Warning- If you are an extremely butt hurt human and don't want your kids reading about characters who aren't white, cisgender, and straight, then this is still the book for you

I am 21, and I still love these books. While this series isn't his best, it is definitely worth getting.

As a bleeding-heart liberal, I appreciate his attempt(s) at diversity of ethnicity, race, nationality, and sexuality. When I saw a some of a the reviews, I rolled my eyes quite a bit at all the "waaah PC culture" stuff. But after reading these books, even I think he went a little overboard. I mean, what's-her-face wearing a hijab, whatever, it's her choice. But the thing where everyone is totally cool with her not being allowed to go anywhere without a guy? That's some sexist religious zealot nonsense right there.

The writing is good and the story is better. The author however has a very different political ideology than I do. Normally this is not a problem. But the author really saturates the story and adds unneeded situations specifically to grandstand his viewpoint. I read sci-fi for enjoyment, not to be preached at. If you agree with his extreme ideology, you will likely enjoy the book far more than I could. You may even like it more because of it.

Rick Riordan is one of those authors that it's pretty useless taking the time to write or read a review of anything he releases. Anything he writes is pure gold, and you're going to have a blast reading it.

THIS IS MORE A RANT THAN A REVIEW, I purchased this book and several others in the series for my wife to put in her classroom library this summer. She was thrilled. A student just recently brought it to my wife's attention that the book is missing pages 89-120. Disappointing for student. Disappointing for my wife who had just helped this student find a series that he actually liked to read. Disappointing to me that this was discovered after the return period had expired...and it appears that we have no recourse.

As a huge fan of the Percy Jackson story arch, I was pretty excited for this series. The first book was pretty good, I enjoyed it thoroughly (though not as much as Percy). This book, however, was different.

There wasn't a lot of specific problems, but it was more of one whole problem. I felt as though the story line was pretty predictable. I wasn't surprised in this book, there were no "wow" moments like there were in his other series, and it did not hold my attention for very long.

The part I had the most trouble with, is when he would go on about the gender fluid character. It is fine to put "diversity" in stories, but when you go through 3 chapters of him explaining and explaining about how this one character is weird/special due to their gender bored me to death. He unnecessarily made a huge deal out of it. I understand what he's trying to do, but this was not the time nor the place nor the how to do it. It took me several weeks to push through this one part.

Other than that, the book was decent.

Love Rick Riodan books, I've read them all. This was the first one that I couldn't get through. I think the mark was missed and the characters introduced in this book didn't live up to his previous character. Sorry Rick, but this wasn't your best work. Keep at it though.

This book was much better than the last. It kept drawing me in. I put it down to take care of other things but had to seek in what I could whenever I could. Sleep was impossible. My imagination just wouldn't take a break. How were they going to solve this problem or get out of that situation? Now that I finished I am craving the next book. Come on Mr. Riordan please hurry with the next book. In the mean time I am going to catch up on my sleep.

When I first read it, it didn't seem that good, but honestly, I was wrong. Read it again and realized how good it was. While he will never be Percy Jackson, he comes very close, and has a great personality of his own.
PROS-
Diverse Characters!
(Not everyone is white and "typical", WOW!)
Includes MAIN Characters who are:
-Transgender
-Gender Fluid
-Muslim
-African American
-Deaf
-And tons more

Warning- If you are an extremely butt hurt human and don't want your kids reading about characters who aren't white, cisgender, and straight, then this is still the book for you

I am 21, and I still love these books. While this series isn't his best, it is definitely worth getting.

As a bleeding-heart liberal, I appreciate his attempt(s) at diversity of ethnicity, race, nationality, and sexuality. When I saw a some of a the reviews, I rolled my eyes quite a bit at all the "waaah PC culture" stuff. But after reading these books, even I think he went a little overboard. I mean, what's-her-face wearing a hijab, whatever, it's her choice. But the thing where everyone is totally cool with her not being allowed to go anywhere without a guy? That's some sexist religious zealot nonsense right there.

The writing is good and the story is better. The author however has a very different political ideology than I do. Normally this is not a problem. But the author really saturates the story and adds unneeded situations specifically to grandstand his viewpoint. I read sci-fi for enjoyment, not to be preached at. If you agree with his extreme ideology, you will likely enjoy the book far more than I could. You may even like it more because of it.

Rick Riordan is one of those authors that it's pretty useless taking the time to write or read a review of anything he releases. Anything he writes is pure gold, and you're going to have a blast reading it.

THIS IS MORE A RANT THAN A REVIEW, I purchased this book and several others in the series for my wife to put in her classroom library this summer. She was thrilled. A student just recently brought it to my wife's attention that the book is missing pages 89-120. Disappointing for student. Disappointing for my wife who had just helped this student find a series that he actually liked to read. Disappointing to me that this was discovered after the return period had expired...and it appears that we have no recourse.

As a huge fan of the Percy Jackson story arch, I was pretty excited for this series. The first book was pretty good, I enjoyed it thoroughly (though not as much as Percy). This book, however, was different.

There wasn't a lot of specific problems, but it was more of one whole problem. I felt as though the story line was pretty predictable. I wasn't surprised in this book, there were no "wow" moments like there were in his other series, and it did not hold my attention for very long.

The part I had the most trouble with, is when he would go on about the gender fluid character. It is fine to put "diversity" in stories, but when you go through 3 chapters of him explaining and explaining about how this one character is weird/special due to their gender bored me to death. He unnecessarily made a huge deal out of it. I understand what he's trying to do, but this was not the time nor the place nor the how to do it. It took me several weeks to push through this one part.

Other than that, the book was decent.

Would of gave it a five but it seems to me theirs alot of political stuff in here I could of done with out I just want to enjoy a book and get away from the politics I see on TV everyday and get tired of but other then that it was a good read I always enjoy a Rick Riordan book one of my favorite authors

It took a long time for me to finish this book because I kept losing interest. When it finally picked up pace at the end, I enjoyed it more. This series is not as good as Percy Jackson & The Olympians, but it's okay. I really appreciate that Mr. Riordan seems to be trying to include characters in his books with qualities most books (especially those geared toward children/teens/young adults) don't address. I do wish he would chill out with the pop culture references, though. I feel like a lot of references in this book will be outdated before very long.

Although many people may complain about Rick Riordan's writing, I find that I don't particularly mind his largely character driven plots. The introduction of a new main character, Alex, made the story even more interesting, and now Alex might be my favorite character—what's not to love about sweater vests, gender-fluidity, and pottery? To be honest, I thoroughly enjoyed this book because of all the characters. We get some backstory on one of the characters, some getting to know other characters, et cetera. The plot was, as always, fast paced and full of action, just like Riordan's many other books. Needless to say, I can't wait for the next book.

I would like to start by saying, that I am a huge Rick Riordan fan. I have read almost all of his works, and have enjoyed them thoroughly. However I was quite disturbed to find him bringing up such sensitive/controversial subjects in this book. I found it a little deceptive for him to release so many tame books prior, as to let parents trust him as an author. Only to slide the topic of transgender/ gender fluidity into the middle of the series. Overall I enjoyed the book, but lost respect for one of my favorite authors.

This book was a good book I really enjoy it I was kinda disappointed that they didn't fight loki and I can't wait to see Magnus chase meets Percy Jackson in the third book the ship of the dead I can't wait until next year

I am a fan of Rick Riordan and have enjoyed his books for years, but I am disappointed that he is tending towards the gay lifestyle in his books as of late. It causes me to want put the book down and leave that and any others alone because I don't want to read about that aspect of people lives real or imaginary.

You all know what I am going to say... MORE BOOKS!!!! Fantastical! That's not even a word and I'm describing it that way. It's a new-word-worthy book! The descriptions are amazing, and I REALLY hope another book comes out in 2 seconds. Great job, Rick, and keep on writing!!!

Annabeth and Percy are going to be in the next Magnus book?! I can't wait! I can't tell you how much I enjoy these books. Funny thing is, I never have to re-read one of his books to refresh my memory, I remember exactly where it left off. I reread them because they're enjoyable. I liked the introduction of Sam's sister/brother Alex. Can't wait till next year.

My son is kind of a die hard Rick Riordan fan. But he was pretty disappointed in some of the aspects of the book that he felt were placed there just to be politically correct/relevant. He still enjoyed the book, but felt like the political messages felt a little heavy handed--like the shape-shifter who could be whatever gender he/she wanted and felt he/she was different at different times. My son just didn't dig the overt political themes--he felt they stuck out and interfered with the story a bit. .

I have read Rick's other books and I can honestly say this book is just as funny and interesting as all of his other ones. The diverse characters in this book make it all worthwhile. The fact that Rick can encompass characters with such different backgrounds without compromising any elements of the story and also not be awkward with explaining why the topics are important are some of the reasons I think books like these are critical. Young adults feeling misplaced in society may read these books and find themselves in one of the characters, which is why the diverse cast is so vital. Rick truly tries to write a character for everyone and in this way he shows that, yes, everyone can be a hero and they don't have to be dubbed "perfect" by society to be one.

Have bought this series for my sister, book by book each year, because she asked for them. She read the first 30 pages and quit. I tried reading it since I paid for it. I got 100 pages in and then bought Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology. I read Neil's version in 3 days.

I'm an avid follower of all Riordan's books. The way he brings mythology to life and weaves with wonderful sarcasm tickles me. That being said I was disappointed in this book. I understand that Loki can change between sexes and that his children off the same but this book focused on political correction and not fantasy. I normally can finish a RR book in 3- 4 hours but this one I couldn't. I took me a week because I found I just didn't want to listen to his politics. I want a fantasy book to take me away from the world's problems, not shove them down my throat. The political correctness detracted from what could've been another winner. Please Mr Riordan go back to the wotty, action packed books you had before and leave your politics at home.

This book fell into the trap of believing it was supposed to try and address social issues rather than strictly be entertaining. The plot was decent if not completely original to this book. The timetable given for the quest is stereotypical of the genre. The one thing that I do appreciate is the author's attempt to interleaved this work and his other mythological works.

When Riordan first started writing books, I loved all of them. But now, they are getting worse and fast. With Nico being gay and now Alex "switching gender". Look, all I'm saying is I don't like how Rick is shoving his beliefs into his books.

Regardless of how you feel about a person's sexual preference... Not sure you want it introduced in detail to your middle grader with no warning. I have purchased every one of Rick Riordan's books for my son up until now. But my son brought this to my attention and was upset and uncomfortable with how it was presented. And I had already pre-ordered the third. This is also an issue in the second Apollo book as well. So beware. This author has completely lost all credibility with me for taking that kind of license with my child. Not cool.

Fairly formulaic Riordan, but too much effort attempting to sell his audience on the politically correct social justice warrior viewpoint. Unnecessary, interfering with the entertainment value, and therefore unfortunate.

I'm a huge fan of Rick Riordan's books. The first Magnus Chase book filled me excitement for a Norse series as I love the that period in history. The first book was great. The second book is so pathetic I couldn't finish it. I find this so disappointing from one of my favorite authors. I don't like having political or religious agenda pushed down my throat regardless what religion it is or if the political views are dem/rep. When I read a book, I read it for the entertainment value. If I wanted politics I would have read the news. What bothers me about this series is the bait and switch. The first book starts out good and gets you excited for the series and then the second book turns into a preachy author driven agenda.

Message to Rick Riordan: I don't mind a diversity of roles and religions characters in a book as long as they are part of the story and not pushy agenda. There is no need to get preachy and over emphasize issues and keep going over the same points over and over again, causing a potentially good story to be ruined. Also, I'm sure you are well aware of the age of your intended audience. It is important to allow individuals to form their own views/opinions and not try and sway children one way or the other through writing.
Final Note to the Author: I'm a big fan, but please, bring back the same agenda-free writing that made me fall in love with the Percy Jackson series.

Let me start by saying I read some of the 1-star reviews and - I get it. I understand where they are coming from and I can appreciate their concerns/complaints. But, damn, did I personally love this book.

The characters we grew to love in book one all returned, with the addition of some new faces. I don't find any of these characters annoying or contrived - yes, they bear a resemblance to characters we've seen in other books, but for some reason, with Riordan's books, this just doesn't bother me. I've said before that there is a very obvious formula he follows, and writing techniques/devices he repeats OFTEN, but you know, I can't find it in me to be annoyed. I like his style of writing and his character voices, so it just doesn't bother me that these stories all feel so similar.

This book itself is just as exciting as any other Riordan YA novel, full of adventures, sassy characters, and mysteries needing unraveling. Magnus and the gang (Sam, Blitz, and Hearth) are on a mission to retrieve and return Thor's hammer (which may or may not be missing...I don't want to spoil anything...). Side quests, personal drama, and danger ensue. And giants - lots of giants.

Why all the controversy? This book deals pretty heavily with LGBT topics. These topics are discussed relatively in depth (for a mainstream YA novel) and repeatedly throughout the novel (in someone who becomes a main character). As a parent, I don't know - maybe I WOULD'T want my young teen reading about these things too young (please note - I am very supportive of the LGBT community, I'm just playing Devil's advocate I guess). Maybe I would appreciate some disclaimer somewhere so I knew what was going to be discussed and could talk about it with my child ahead of time.

However, maybe that's the point. Kids out there are struggling with these things (gender identity, homosexuality) and often are too afraid to talk to anyone about it, or feel ashamed of their feelings/identities. If they see these things in a book (especially such a mainstream book), well that's good, obviously. But if it comes with a big disclaimer slapped on it that says "HEY, THIS BOOK DEALS WITH SOMETHING WEIRD AND UNUSUAL", I feel like that defeats the purpose, doesn't it? It makes that person feel like there's something wrong with them and they need to wear a disclaimer, or apologize for who they are. Yeah, it's being talked about, but not without some warning and apology.

I think if a patent is going to be concerned about their child reading about certain topics, maybe do a little research before the kid reads it. Check reviews (especially the 1-star reviews - see why other people don't like it and, if you agree, don't let your kid read it), read book synopses, flip through the actual book yourself.

As for me, well I really enjoyed this book AND the LGBT content. I love seeing these topics discussed, and in such a normal, accepting way. I think Riordan is bold and daring to do what he did in this book, and I, for one, applaud him for it. In today's world, I think these things need to be normalized.

If you are curious as to what LGBT topic is discussed in this book, scroll down.

***MINOR SPOILER BELOW***

(SPOILER FOR REAL - the issue at hand is gender fluidity.)

The book itself is great! My son and I really enjoyed the first audiobook in the series. We listen to audiobooks on the hour long commute to his school each day, and both really enjoy Rick Riordan.

What can I tell you? If you see any audiobook narrated by Kieran Culkin, then you should attempt to avoid it, unless you’re stuck with his narration as part of a series that you’ve been enjoying. Hopefully the book is worth his truly horrible voice acting ability.

You know how Audible titles allow you to speed up playback? Well, there is no need to do so with Kieran Culkin reading. It’s like he showed up at the studio to do the reading without ever having read the book, and then attempted to read it as fast as was humanly possible so he could grab his check, and then go spend it on hookers and more blow like his older brother...

Different voices for the different characters? He barely tries, and slips out of them constantly. Different accents, especially ones actually referenced in the book? Nope, he didn’t bother. Dramatic pauses? What are those? Speaking in anything but a speed reading monotone? Not going to happen. There are lots of characters in Riordan’s books, and it’s going to suck trying to figure out who the heck is speaking.

Seriously, it’s that bad. What don’t understand is why the director of this project didn’t fire and replace him after the first 1-2 chapters. How could they have let this go on for the entire damned book?

The takeaway? Be prepared for audiobook mediocrity with this title. Stay away from audiobooks narrated by Kieran Culkin like the carry an incurable plague!

As much as I love the Percy Jackson series, I think Magnus might be my favorite character that Rick Riordan has written. I mean, he's just such a sarcastic little jerk, I love him! Also, I love the chapter titles in this series, they always give me a good chuckle!

I really love the inclusion of Sam and how it sheds a positive light on a teen with an arranged marriage. In the West we think this is so weird and oppressive, but to Sam who has loved her intended her whole life, she is excited to one day marry. Sam is also just a great character, and I live for her rolling her eyes at Magnus. I love their friendship, and I'm glad that is all it is! Yay for male and female positive platonic friendship!

I also love the inclusion of Alex, another child of Loki who is gender fluid and shape shifts to whatever form they want to. I like that we see Magnus at first just not really understanding this, but being pretty open to understanding who Alex is. Magnus puts his foot in his mouth a few times, but I generally think it's because he's learning and trying to understand everything that is happening in his life...or rather afterlife. I am really glad that Riordan seems to have a commitment to diversity. Being a cishet white woman I have NO idea if Alex is an accurate representation of this type of marginalized person, and I would be really interested to hear what transgender or gender fluid teens think about Alex.

This book is pretty heavy on Loki being Loki and just wanting to cause chaos. He is Loki after all, and he really likes to ruin Magnus' day. What I love about these series, and it's pretty prevalent in this book is that it's just a traditional quest story. That's it! But I love quest stories! There's a hero that's given a task, but he has to go through a series of tests before he completes his quest. I love these type of stories. I especially love these in books for young people, because when you are a kid school and life can really feel like a battlefield. I think the things that Magnus and his friends go through can parallel what we go through in the real world. These might just seem like silly little quest books, but I think they are so much more.

If you liked the first book in this new series, I don't think you will be disappointed. I'm pretty interested to see where this series is heading. Good news is that the third book just came out too!

I usually love these kind of books, but UGH! The hit you over the head with today's crappy situation just sucks to read. So glad I didn't encourage my kids to read this. Hope people read the reviews first. I already cancel the preorder I had for book 3

I'm about 20% in. I love mythology and I have read the majority of his other series. As an adult, I think this book is fine. But since it is marketed to children, I can't say it is appropriate. He portrays certain belief systems as ignorant or antiquated and other beliefs as correct, loving, or modern. Parents beware if you are allowing your young children to read this book. But I suppose if it falls in line with your particular worldview, you are fine ;)

I intend to finish the book and update this review if there was something I missed. I don't anticipate it though. I also don't anticipate purchasing any more Riordan novels.

It's hard to not love books by Rick Riordan. Who else can make mythology so accessible and silly at the same time?

I've particularly enjoyed the Magnus Chase series because, as a mythology enthusiast, I really don't know much about the Norse culture. I mean, in school we all eventually learn about the Greeks, the Romans, and the Egyptians, but other less "influential" cultures tend to get ignored. So this is a great way for kids to learn about a mythology they might not otherwise. And, as in all of Riordan's books, everything has been updated to the 21st century for maximum engagement. Even as an adult I find myself frequently laughing out loud, something I rarely do when reading ANY series.

While The Sword of Summer tackled some philosophical issues at a very kid-friendly level, The Hammer of Thor kept things more simple. Instead Riordan seems to be moving his books in a diversity direction. Honestly, when the gender fluid Alex was first introduced in this novel, I kind of rolled by eyes because it's almost getting excessive, and it seemed so unnecessary. I mean, first a Muslim girl who wears a hijab, a deaf dwarf, and a metrosexual elf, and now in one book he has to throw in an main character declaring himself atheist AND a gender fluid character? It's a little much. But as the book went on the gender fluidity really merged with the mythology and culture very seamlessly, as well as really helping me, a grown woman, understand a person I knew essentially nothing about before just a little better. While I hope he doesn't throw in any more diversity characters in the coming books (really, one book series can only handle so much), I thought it was marvelously done in a way I would have no qualms about giving my children to read.

While the Magnus Chase series is, in my opinion, kind of a lower quality copy of the original Percy Jackson series, there can be no doubt that they are fun to read. I would definitely enjoy the books better if they were my first Riordan series. But at the end of the day they are good fun, and that's really what I'm looking for in an action/adventure series. I highly recommend The Hammer of Thor to anyone looking for a little action and a few good laughs.

The Hammer of Thor takes readers back to the universe of gods and monsters as imagined by Rick Riordan through the lens of Magnus Chase. Anyone familiar with Riordan’s work knows his books are written for a relatively young demographic, but in the same way Harry Potter grew with its original audience, Riordan’s novels now feature young adult protagonists and deal with social issues some argue are inappropriate for books whose general audience sits at an impressionable age. As the title suggests, however, the main crux of this story is the quest to reclaim the lost hammer of Thor, Mjolnir.

Which is lost in the miasma of Riordan’s political agenda. What affected me most about this story, as has been the case with all of Riordan’s novels, is the sense of grandeur that’s gained from putting the hero in a world that’s too fantastical to possibly be reality. As Riordan’s career moves forward, he seems to be taking more and more leeway in this respect, both in how he conveys the universal reality that connects most of his books and in how much humor and seriousness he pushes into them. It’s correct, in my opinion, to say ‘heavy-handed’ when talking about his humor, as he seasons his writing with reckless abandon, but the seriousness (and in this book’s case, social issues) is ham-fisted as best.

It’s important to discuss social issues, and kids and young adults are going to talk about them more and more as they apply to themselves and people they know. But Riordan does nothing to open discussion. He presents one side of a few topics (those sides stem from progressive ideologies), and the hero is unfamiliar with them before he encounters them within the context of the novel. What Magnus learns about gender fluidity, for example, is correct from an ideological standpoint; the problem stems from the gender-fluid character literally being a shapeshifter.

While it makes sense to anyone familiar with the topic that it doesn’t work that way in real life, Riordan goes on to say the character ‘passes’ as either gender, which broaches the tangential topic of transgenderism. This could be viewed as alienating to real trans-people, who don’t all pass as their intended genders, and illustrates an arguably un-based idea of what transgenderism is. Regardless, I would be fine with Riordan trying to tackle topics like this, but Riordan does it, as I said, in a ham-fisted way. He apparently doesn’t trust the reader to hold onto the idea that the mentioned character is gender-fluid; nearly every time that character is present, it’s brought up. His politicized slant killed the pacing of the book.

Oh, and did you know that Sam is Muslim? You will by the end of the book.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s really cool that he wanted to include these topics as subject matter in his universe. Islam is a religion of our world; it’s not surprising that someone in his book is a part of it. And Norse mythology is full of stories about Loki and his children changing genders. There is no problem with these topics inherent to themselves, and there’s no problem with writers writing about them. What Riordan has done, however, is fill what should have been a middle-grade fiction novel with political agenda. In doing so, he didn’t necessarily fail on either front, but he still left the book weaker than it would have been if he had parsed out the part he doesn’t get paid for and stuck to what he does well: writing a funny, light-hearted story.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say Riordan ‘missed the mark’ or something equally nonsensical. What can be said about this novel is that it stays as true as it can to its predecessors while falling short in ways that have nothing to do with its story, which is wholly within Riordan’s wheelhouse.

I enjoyed it, despite its shortcomings, because I enjoy the universe and characters Riordan has created and the style of writing he’s developed. It would do him well to return to a form of storytelling that’s more (but not completely) devoid of highly politicized topics.

Just like all of Riordan’s novels that are penultimate in their storylines, the stakes in The Hammer of Thor get ratcheted to heady proportions. We all know the hero must succeed in the final novel, and Riordan will get us there. The third leg, no doubt, will be every bit as tall as his stories need to be.

Second in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard mythic urban fantasy series and revolving around Magnus and his friends in Boston.

In 2017, The Hammer of Thor won the Stonewall Book Award for Children's Literature and was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Middle Grade & Children's.

My Take
I always enjoy anything fantasy, and when Riordan combines this with all of Magnus' snark, well, I'm in heaven, lol.

This first-person point-of-view is from Magnus' perspective and uses Alex's introduction to Valhalla to explore issues of gender fluidity and transgender issues. I thought Riordan did a nice job of explaining it simply enough for me to understand it and could be a useful story for kids who are gender fluid — or for parents who need to understand! I do like Riordan's inclusiveness *grin*. One of the characters is deaf and uses ASL, so a character deaf kids can identify with.

Another theme…or should I say "caution"?…is the need to explore the fine print of a contract and thoroughly understand a culture's customs — talk about a ticking-clock scenario! Man, are Magnus and company in for some hard decisions with that marriage contract. A quickie is that golden rule of not judging a book by its cover.

Plot coupons are rife with some help from the deus ex machina plot device. Riordan includes the villain speech, some convoluted dream sequences that combine with flashforwards, some crippling flashbacks for Magnus and Hearth (his is something of a frame story), a plot voucher arrows into Otis and intrigues Magnus, and of course, the incluing that helps us understand this world of Magnus'.

I do enjoy Riordan's depiction of Thor and his "need" for TV. I do want Thor's man cave, lol. Then there's Heimdall's obsession with selfies. I just never would've thought a Norse god could be so besotted with it! As for wights, a.k.a., ghouls, with their parliamentary order, ROFL. They're all great ways to "comment" upon our modern world.

There are plots within twisty plots — on both the author's and Loki's sides. That Riordan is an overachiever, lol, and you'll appreciate and be amazed at how Riordan ties it all together. Damn, that boy must've been plotting this out forever!

Side Note: In The Heroes of Olympus, the evil Roman emperors are back, a god fell to earth as a human, and communication for the demigods has been messed up.

Hoo, boy. Things are gonna get interesting in #3 with that surprise ending! It's that last line of the story…oh, yeah…

The Story
The giants are rumbling and Thor's hammer is missing. Again. If the giants get wind of it, they'll invade Midgard.

It's a deadline our heroes can't miss and will require Samirha to wed a hideous being…unless they can figure a way out!

The Characters
Magnus Chase is no longer homeless. Of course, he's no longer alive either. These days, he's an einherji living at the Hotel Valhalla with Jack, the Sumarbrander (the Sword of Summer). His dad is Frey who fell in love with Magnus' mom, Natalie. Uncle Randolph was Natalie's big brother with a fascination for archeology. Randolph lost his family: Caroline and his daughters, Aubrey and Emma. Annabeth Chase (The Heroes of Olympus series) is his cousin; her mother is Athena who fell in love with Frederick.

Hearthstone, a deaf elf who does magic with runestones, and Blitzen, a fashion-conscious dwarf, were his fellow homeless. Turns out they were guarding him.

Samirah al-Abbas Bint Loki, a Muslim Valkyrie, is a child of Loki. Jid and Bibi are her grandparents. Ahmad Ibn Fadlan Ibn al-Abbas is a distant forefather of Samirah's who had traveled with the Vikings. Amir Fadlan is her betrothed; his family runs falafel restaurants, Fadlan's Falafel. Abdel Fadlan is his father. And just the thought of a falafel is making me hungry. Barry Al-Jabbar is her flight instructor.

Hotel Valhalla is…
…for the einherji, dead heroes who are waiting for Ragnörok. While they wait, they engage in daily battles. For EVERYthing. It's the Norse variation on the comic book death plot device. Magnus lives on Floor 19 and his shield mates include Thomas "T.J." Jefferson, Jr., the Irish Mallory Keen, Halfborn Gunderson (a berserker), and the latest, a shapeshifting child of Loki, Alex Fierro, who is an argr — gender fluid (doesn't know from day-to-day which sex she'll be) and transgender; she likes the garrote.

Helgi is the hotel manager. Hunding is the bellhop and Helgi's "prisoner". Saehrimnir is the feast beast. There is a thanes table that includes: Jim Bowie, Crispus Attucks, and Ernie Pyle. Charlie Flanigan loves to get shot in the head. Big Lou prefers decapitation. Dragon Thursday is when the lindworms show up for battle, including Grimwolf, who is one of the ancient ones.

Other afterlife "heavens" are Folkvanger and Niflheim; Hel is, well, Hell.

Alfheim is…
…one of the Nine Worlds and is the elf homeworld. And are they ever racist jerks!?! Alderman is Hearth's raging a-hole of a dad. Andiron is the older brother who died; Greta had been their mother. Inge is a hulder and servant. The Makepieces are middle class elves. Sunspot and Wildflower are a couple of racist elf cops. They'll be eatin' crow, jerks. Turns out Frey is their patron god. The Careful One, Andvari, is an ancient elf with a whole lotta treasure including the cursed Fafnir's Ring. Noøkks are security water sprites, a.k.a., nixies, very bad news.

D.I.C.E. stands for Dwarven Infantry Corps of Engineers.

The Norse Gods
The Æsir are gods of war and the Vanir are gods of nature. Thor is the god of thunder with his signature tool, his hammer, Mjolnir (a.k.a., Mee-Mee), which is always getting lost. Otis (call me…Otis…) and Marvin are the goats who pull his chariot and whom Thor eats every night. Sif, a goddess of the earth and growing things, is Thor's wife. Uller is her son by her first husband. Bilskirnir, Bright Crack, is their home palace. Odin, the All-Father, is their leader. Huginn and Muninn are ravens, Thought and Memory. Tyr is the god of bravery and personal combat; Frey is Magnus' dad and the god of summer and fertility; Mimir is the disembodied god head who runs an inter-world pachinko racket; and, Heimdall, a son of Odin and nine mothers, is the god who guards Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard, and is the guardian of the marriage bed. He can hear and see into all Nine Worlds and is obsessed with selfies. The horn he carries is Gjallar; it also functions as a Phablet of Doomsday. Vidar, a.k.a., the Silent One, is the god of vengeance. GRRM is the God Rapid Response Mobilization team, god SWAT. Ran is a sea goddess they had trouble with in The Sword of Summer , 1.

Loki is the god of mischief…and not the nice kind. That's why he's chained up with venom dripping into his face. Unfortunately he has other skills. Fenris Wolf is one of his children. The long-suffering Sigyn is his wife. Naglfar is the Ship of Nails. No. Not the kind you use a hammer on.

Jotunheim is…
…the world of giants. Thrym is the son of Thrym who is the son of Thrym (this last is the legendary earth giant king). Thrynga is his conniving sister. They live in their version of the Cheers bar. Utgard-Loki, Loki of the Outlands, is a sorcerer giant and king of the mountain giants. The bowlers include Tiny, Hugo, and Herg and Blerg (the Turkey Bowlers team) and humiliation is the name of the game.

Gellir, prince of the Danes, son of Thorkel, is a draugr, the chief wight, who carries the notorious Skofnung Sword with his own wight bodyguards who insist on the Thing…CRACK. Me. Up. Pee before reading. Arvid and Knut like to knit, and Dagfinn likes to be secretary. The Skofnung Stone is a companion piece to the sword.

Midgard is earth. Yggdrasil is the World Tree, the highway to the Nine Worlds. Ratatosk is the squirrel who takes messages up and down Yggdrasil. Draugr are Norse zombies. Miss Mengler had been a nasty, rigid second-grade teacher; Mr. Gent had been his shop teacher. Stanley is an eight-legged, flying horse; Sleipnir was the original one.

The Cover and Title
The cover is colorful with its electric green highlighting Thor's face on one side of the relic? and Loki's on the other. Yellow and orange lightning flares are shooting out below them, and Magnus, in jean jacket and jeans, holds his glowing Sumarbrander and stands atop a snow-covered, deep blue mountain ridge. The author's name is in red at the top against a deep green smoky background. The series information (I HATE that Riordan always emphasizes the series name and not the title of the book!!) is HUGE and in metallic silver. The title is very tiny at the very bottom of the cover, also in silver.

The title is the whole point, The Hammer of Thor.

Rick Riordan introduces a character that addresses the gender issues of today and how it should be in a funny and unique way. Thor's character is ridiculous in a funny way. The ending excites Percy Jackson fans and the story was well written in the Rick Riordan way. If you love Norse mythology and Rick Riordan, READ.

Being a senior in high school, is starting to make me feel old. When I talk about things that the sophomores and freshmen have never heard about. But reading Magnus Chase also makes me feel old, in a different way. It makes me feel more mature as the plots and characters are still interesting, just a little less complex and a little less engaging. That being said, it does not make the book bad, I am just realizing that they are no longer for me. This is the second book in the relatively new Magnus Chase series about the Norse gods. Magnus has finally started adjusting to his new life in Valhalla, but as always the gods never seem to be able to do anything themselves, so Magnus and his friends need to step in to help. I really like the diverse characters that are part of the book as well as, not only is Rick Riordan including diverse characters but he is following up on their cultures and practices to give a full sense of the characters identity. This is a great book for middle school students and anyone interested in Norse Mythology.

Just like his other books and the first Gods of Asgards books, I was smiling as I reached the end of this book. The Hammer of Thor is a spectacular sequel to The Sword of Summer and is further proof of Riordan’s prowess when it comes to mythology. Although it’s obvious that he recycled some stuff from his previous books, The Hammer of Thor and The Sword of Summer were still enjoyable reads that I breezed through them in a very short amount of time. I finished this book in a day while doing household chores and the usual fix of online gaming.

What made The Hammer of Thor different from the rest of his books was not the plot (as I’ve said earlier, there were some plot elements from previous books that were regurgitated in here somewhere) but rather, its cast of characters. Very diverse without making me feel like Riordan was just deliberately pushing it for the sake of ya know, fulfilling the #WeNeedMoreDiverseBooks. And I must tell you that this book introduced us to a brand new main character named Alex Fierro. To say that he/she became a new favorite character would be an understatement. Some spoilers here so read at your own risk. Alex Fierro is the shapeshifting daughter/son of Loki and an unnamed mortal man. Alex Fierro is gender fluid so there are days that he/she identifies as male and other days as otherwise. I liked the fact that she/he already owned her sexuality in this book and that she/he is very straightforward and firm about it. Well, you probably know where I’m going with this one but please, Gods of Asgards, let the Magnus-Alex Fierro ship sail and have their HEA at the end of the series.

So aside from falling in love with the Magnus-Alex ship and adoring the other quirky characters (from Thor to Heimdall to Prince Gellir and his merry band of 12 berserkers to Otis, I can’t even…), I’m also pleased that The Hammer of Thor contained the trademark Riordan humor …an assurance that everything is going great. The pop culture references were just can-you-excuse-me-while-I-laugh-my-heart-out funny?

Oh well, there are so many things to love about this book although as I’ve said, you might encounter some déjà vu issues with the plot. But as for me, it didn’t bother me that much because there are so many things about The Hammer of Thor that made up for that.

Overall, a worthy sequel and certainly a keeper. Now, off to wait for the sequel of The Hidden Oracle.

I think that I’ve decided that Norse Mythology is maybe my least favorite of all the mythologies I’ve learned anything about. This isn’t the first series I’ve read that when it delved into the Norse Mythology I didn’t get excited about it I think it is a Norse thing with the world tree, different realms, rainbow bridge, gods, giants, ogres, Valhalla, Ragnarok and much much more. Sometime it just feels like too much maybe.

Rick Riordan is a fantastic writer. He tells very engaging stories with some pretty cool twists to them. This one is no different than that. It has all the humor, one liners and situational comedy that I expect from one of his book and yet…..I am not enjoying this series as much as his others. Maybe it is just he lack of Percy Jackson or maybe it is the added in cultural lessons. *shrugs* I’m just not sure.

This has so extra things in there for a Middle Grade to YA book that I guess if you are an uptight kind of parent you might want to be made aware of. I’m totally fine with these things being in there but if I had a kid around the age of 11-15 I’d be prepared for some discussion maybe.

First there is a teenage betrothal. Sam has been betrothed to Amir since they were babies practically. They are Muslim and so some of the book time is spent on their unusual (compared to an American Teenager) relationship and the upcoming marriage they will have in about 2 years. The good news is that they are actually in love so it isn’t like her family is forcing her to marry someone she has never met or hates. Still I really don’t have a lot of expertise in this area and so I have no idea if culturally speaking this is representative or let’s get our panties all bunched up over. I’m just mentioning it.

Second and this is where I’m sure some parents got peeved and Mr. Riordan got letters (good and bad) is he has a transgendered teen in this book. It works and is book appropriate because it is Loki’s child and so he/she is a shapeshifter and very gender fluid due to the nature his/her parent. Alex is the first transgendered teen to make it into anything I’ve read at this level. It is done well, it is never really preachy or anything and hey this is the world we live in. But that said I’m sure some parents will not be expecting to see that in an MG/YA book.

***“Look, some people prefer they,’ Alex said. ‘They’re non-binary or mid-spectrum or whatever. If they want you to use they, then that’s what you should do. But for me, personally, I don’t want to use the same pronouns all the time, because that’s not me. I change a lot. That’s sort of the point. When I’m she, I’m she. When I’m he, I’m he. I’m not they. Get it?’
‘If I say no, will you hurt me?’
‘No.’
‘Then no, not really.’
She shrugged. ‘You don’t have to get it. Just, you know, a little respect.’
‘For the girl with the very sharp wire? No problem.’***

I’m glad that RR went this direction with a character in his book and it totally makes sense to the story since Loki can also be male and female as well. Still heads up.

Third there is some discussion about homelessness since Magnus and Alex were both homeless from time to time. Again this isn’t something normally in a contemporary UF MG/YA book. But again some magical people in this world don’t really fit in well and are sorta looked upon as mentally ill so I think the homeless/troubled teen follows this line of thought.

Okay so enough stretching how much social messaging we can fit into one book series. The crux of the story is about trying to get Thor’s Hammer back since he lost it sometime in the last book. The problem isn’t so much that it is lost but about who took it. It seems someone stole it and made a deal with Loki to trade Thor’s Hammer for the hand of Sam (the previously mentioned betrothed to someone person) in marriage. So they need to find a way to get the Hammer back without marrying of their friend to a fate worse than death.

It is a fun and fast paced story full of lots of little adventures leading into the big showdown. Still it is all Norse Mythology and so while some of it is pretty cool I just miss the Greeks and Romans.

But, there is hope since at the end of this it is discovered that we might need a little help from my favorite Greek demi-god Percy in the next book.

***“Annabeth smiled. “I don’t know the ocean very well, but my boyfriend does. I think it’s time you met Percy.”***

I think what I’m saying is that is you haven’t read the Percy Jackson series then go read that first and then add this on after you finish those 10 books. Don’t let those movies fool you they were about a 1/10 as awesome as the books were. Unless Norse Mythology is totally your thing and you are the opposite of me and think that Greek and Roman mythology is less cool than Norse Mythology

Audio Note: I didn't enjoy the narrator at all. (The original Percy Jackson series 1-5) audio narration is fantastic and this one is sub par for me.

Another excellent book from Rick Riordan. While the tone of all of his mythology books have a similar tone (mildly snarky, heavily pop culture-y, with rimshot style humor), the Magnus Chase series feels just a little bit different - more aware of the real world and issues affecting both his characters and readers.
"...and the Gods of Asgard" hits the ground running and does a great job of bringing any new readers up to date quickly without any plodding "Last time, on Magnus Chase" narration. As with all series', the character roster is getting big, quickly. This naturally means that some of the side characters from The Sword of Summer get even less time in the spotlight, but they're present and show up just enough to remind us they're not forgotten. Overall, it's a quick read that's just so darn hard to put down.
As far as the social issues woven into the story - I would point readers in the direction of the source material (Norse Mythology). While Rick puts his own spin on absolutely everything, all of the main elements come directly from myths, stories, epic poems, and even historical records: Skofnung, the giant Thrym, Andvari's ring, and all the rest). And he's been doing this in all of the previous series' (Percy Jackson, et al).
So if you like humor, pop culture, mythology, and maybe even learning a new bit of information - do yourself a favor and pick this up.

this review includes no spoilers for either the sword of summer or the hammer of thor.

so i read this book while listening to the audiobook (as it's something i'm trying to get into). i read (/listened?) to this book in less than a day and thoroughly enjoyed it. although i liked it, i think having listened to it did impact my final thoughts on the book.

i finished the sword of summer the day before reading the hammer of thor and can confidently say that this book is way better. the sword of summer had so many pointless bits that felt so irrelevant to the actual plot and seemed to drag on forever. the hammer of thor, however, didn't go through every little thing. the events (those little quest points?) actually felt necessary to the story.

the plot was also a lot better in this book as a whole. the first one didn't seem that great and i didn't feel the urgency as with this one. in the hammer of thor, the ending actually felt real. anyway, even though i was listening to the audiobook whilst reading it, i definitely noticed how fast paced it was (whereas the sword of summer was rather slow).

one of the most important things in riordan's books is his increasing amount of diverse characters. rick riordan continues to amaze me with his inclusion and the research he's done to get the rep right. he doesn't hide away and pretend to not notice the calls for diversity, he embraces it head on.

i thought the sword of summer was great for including a muslim character and a deaf guy. the hammer of thor includes a new character, alex, who's transgender and genderfluid. honestly, i was so surprised. i think this is the first book i've read including a transgender and genderfluid character. and riordan used alternating she/he pronouns throughout the book, depending on how alex identified at that time.

i love how hearth wasn't pushed aside as some background character because he couldn't hear. i love how magnus and blitz learned sign language so they could communicate, and how the others eventually learned it too. i love how hearth isn't "magically cured" even when he's offered a chance to. he may be disabled, but that doesn't make him any less of a hero.

you can include a talking sword, why not diverse characters too?

i loved how there was no (hardly any) romance in this book. it's one thing i can always count on from rick riordan. i want to be able to read a book and not have an annoying romantic subplot get in the way. although, i won't be mad if magnus and alex become a thing. (it's kinda hinted at with all the stares and jaw drops).

i never actually mentioned this, but i love magnus and his humour. where the trials of apollo was so similar to percy in terms of humor, magnus is different. you can tell he's his own character.

anyway, i really enjoyed this book. admittedly, not as much as i'd have hoped to but it was still good.

[this review was originally posted on goodreads on 1/11/17] it's absolutely no surprise that i loved this as i will generally fangirl every single thing rick riordan writes but oh MY GOD! he is just killing it lately. like can we talk about how amazing it is to have a genderfluid protagonist in a popular middle grade children's book? and the whole thing was handled so well and explained in a very straightforward manner, which i really appreciated. there's none of that 'oh well i don't like ~labels~ but...' kind of stuff you get in most books where the author wants the representation points without putting any effort into it. and oh god alex is just the best, like definitely my new favorite character for this series. [also i think magnus has a little crush and i really hope that goes somewhere!].

if i wanted to be super nitpicky i would say that i don't particularly like loki as this like ~pure evil~ antagonist, but rick never really switches things up wrt which gods are 'good' and 'bad'. it's just that i have read a LOT of norse mythology fiction and loki is the ...well, hero is not the right word but at least anti-hero or protagonist of all of them [i have a bit of a loki obsession] so it's very weird for me to read something where loki is the 100% bad guy but it's such a great series and i appreciate that the children of loki are heroes so it's just something i'll have to get used to.

Loved the Percy Jackson books (have read them multiple times) and really enjoyed the 1st Magnus Chase book. However, the 2nd book is so full of needless political agenda pushing and buzz words I cannot even finish it and I'm sorry I wasted my money on it. I am not reading mythology themed books to be lectured about the author's political views. Our lives are political enough at this point without having our escapes used as propaganda to further an agenda. Pretty sure I will never buy another of his books

While I appreciate Riordan's snarky humor and simplified explanations of various cultures' pantheon of gods, it seems that his rollicking good adventures have been put on the back burner to kowtow to political correctness and a liberal agenda. I try my hardest to read the majority of books that I put on my classroom shelves, but I'm hesitant to put this one on the shelf for fear of push back from my more conservative parents. Maybe I'll put it behind the first few books he wrote and hope that no one notices. Stick to story telling, Sir and stop trying to indoctrinate young readers.

Liked the first book a lot - this book seemed to be more focused on getting in the PC comments than in telling a story - especially in the middle of the book with a bit about the CITGO sign in Boston where it all fell apart - after a long discussion about sexuality, religions, and other topics that did nothing to advance the plot, the action just kind of fell apart (SPOILERS) - after this scene the group goes Bowling for Answers and then goes off to a Giant Wedding at Cheers - even the not so surprising ending doesn't feel like something that forces the book to be continued: it's not so much a "cliffhanger" moment as an "I decided to stop writing" moment

My kids have loved the Percy Jackson series of books and were looking forward to reading about Norse mythology. It's unfortunate that Riordan had to bring politics into his books for young readers. I could get past the reference to the Muslim character being terrorized for her religion in school in the first book, but a transgendered kid? No thanks. Magnus talked about most homeless teens being gender fluid and kicked out by their homophobic parents. I don't need my 10 year old reading about this stuff from a book that's supposed to be about Norse mythology.

Rick's a talented author. I've always enjoyed his books, but I'm an old fashioned kind of guy, and I don't really care to read about transgender, homosexuality or any other progressive stuff. Folks can do as they choose, which is what I'm doing. Me and my kids put the book down. Did not finish it and we won't be buying any more of his books.

Fairly formulaic Riordan, but too much effort attempting to sell his audience on the politically correct social justice warrior viewpoint. Unnecessary, interfering with the entertainment value, and therefore unfortunate.

I'm a huge fan of Rick Riordan's books. The first Magnus Chase book filled me excitement for a Norse series as I love the that period in history. The first book was great. The second book is so pathetic I couldn't finish it. I find this so disappointing from one of my favorite authors. I don't like having political or religious agenda pushed down my throat regardless what religion it is or if the political views are dem/rep. When I read a book, I read it for the entertainment value. If I wanted politics I would have read the news. What bothers me about this series is the bait and switch. The first book starts out good and gets you excited for the series and then the second book turns into a preachy author driven agenda.

Message to Rick Riordan: I don't mind a diversity of roles and religions characters in a book as long as they are part of the story and not pushy agenda. There is no need to get preachy and over emphasize issues and keep going over the same points over and over again, causing a potentially good story to be ruined. Also, I'm sure you are well aware of the age of your intended audience. It is important to allow individuals to form their own views/opinions and not try and sway children one way or the other through writing.
Final Note to the Author: I'm a big fan, but please, bring back the same agenda-free writing that made me fall in love with the Percy Jackson series.

Let me start by saying I read some of the 1-star reviews and - I get it. I understand where they are coming from and I can appreciate their concerns/complaints. But, damn, did I personally love this book.

The characters we grew to love in book one all returned, with the addition of some new faces. I don't find any of these characters annoying or contrived - yes, they bear a resemblance to characters we've seen in other books, but for some reason, with Riordan's books, this just doesn't bother me. I've said before that there is a very obvious formula he follows, and writing techniques/devices he repeats OFTEN, but you know, I can't find it in me to be annoyed. I like his style of writing and his character voices, so it just doesn't bother me that these stories all feel so similar.

This book itself is just as exciting as any other Riordan YA novel, full of adventures, sassy characters, and mysteries needing unraveling. Magnus and the gang (Sam, Blitz, and Hearth) are on a mission to retrieve and return Thor's hammer (which may or may not be missing...I don't want to spoil anything...). Side quests, personal drama, and danger ensue. And giants - lots of giants.

Why all the controversy? This book deals pretty heavily with LGBT topics. These topics are discussed relatively in depth (for a mainstream YA novel) and repeatedly throughout the novel (in someone who becomes a main character). As a parent, I don't know - maybe I WOULD'T want my young teen reading about these things too young (please note - I am very supportive of the LGBT community, I'm just playing Devil's advocate I guess). Maybe I would appreciate some disclaimer somewhere so I knew what was going to be discussed and could talk about it with my child ahead of time.

However, maybe that's the point. Kids out there are struggling with these things (gender identity, homosexuality) and often are too afraid to talk to anyone about it, or feel ashamed of their feelings/identities. If they see these things in a book (especially such a mainstream book), well that's good, obviously. But if it comes with a big disclaimer slapped on it that says "HEY, THIS BOOK DEALS WITH SOMETHING WEIRD AND UNUSUAL", I feel like that defeats the purpose, doesn't it? It makes that person feel like there's something wrong with them and they need to wear a disclaimer, or apologize for who they are. Yeah, it's being talked about, but not without some warning and apology.

I think if a patent is going to be concerned about their child reading about certain topics, maybe do a little research before the kid reads it. Check reviews (especially the 1-star reviews - see why other people don't like it and, if you agree, don't let your kid read it), read book synopses, flip through the actual book yourself.

As for me, well I really enjoyed this book AND the LGBT content. I love seeing these topics discussed, and in such a normal, accepting way. I think Riordan is bold and daring to do what he did in this book, and I, for one, applaud him for it. In today's world, I think these things need to be normalized.

If you are curious as to what LGBT topic is discussed in this book, scroll down.

***MINOR SPOILER BELOW***

(SPOILER FOR REAL - the issue at hand is gender fluidity.)

The book itself is great! My son and I really enjoyed the first audiobook in the series. We listen to audiobooks on the hour long commute to his school each day, and both really enjoy Rick Riordan.

What can I tell you? If you see any audiobook narrated by Kieran Culkin, then you should attempt to avoid it, unless you’re stuck with his narration as part of a series that you’ve been enjoying. Hopefully the book is worth his truly horrible voice acting ability.

You know how Audible titles allow you to speed up playback? Well, there is no need to do so with Kieran Culkin reading. It’s like he showed up at the studio to do the reading without ever having read the book, and then attempted to read it as fast as was humanly possible so he could grab his check, and then go spend it on hookers and more blow like his older brother...

Different voices for the different characters? He barely tries, and slips out of them constantly. Different accents, especially ones actually referenced in the book? Nope, he didn’t bother. Dramatic pauses? What are those? Speaking in anything but a speed reading monotone? Not going to happen. There are lots of characters in Riordan’s books, and it’s going to suck trying to figure out who the heck is speaking.

Seriously, it’s that bad. What don’t understand is why the director of this project didn’t fire and replace him after the first 1-2 chapters. How could they have let this go on for the entire damned book?

The takeaway? Be prepared for audiobook mediocrity with this title. Stay away from audiobooks narrated by Kieran Culkin like the carry an incurable plague!

As much as I love the Percy Jackson series, I think Magnus might be my favorite character that Rick Riordan has written. I mean, he's just such a sarcastic little jerk, I love him! Also, I love the chapter titles in this series, they always give me a good chuckle!

I really love the inclusion of Sam and how it sheds a positive light on a teen with an arranged marriage. In the West we think this is so weird and oppressive, but to Sam who has loved her intended her whole life, she is excited to one day marry. Sam is also just a great character, and I live for her rolling her eyes at Magnus. I love their friendship, and I'm glad that is all it is! Yay for male and female positive platonic friendship!

I also love the inclusion of Alex, another child of Loki who is gender fluid and shape shifts to whatever form they want to. I like that we see Magnus at first just not really understanding this, but being pretty open to understanding who Alex is. Magnus puts his foot in his mouth a few times, but I generally think it's because he's learning and trying to understand everything that is happening in his life...or rather afterlife. I am really glad that Riordan seems to have a commitment to diversity. Being a cishet white woman I have NO idea if Alex is an accurate representation of this type of marginalized person, and I would be really interested to hear what transgender or gender fluid teens think about Alex.

This book is pretty heavy on Loki being Loki and just wanting to cause chaos. He is Loki after all, and he really likes to ruin Magnus' day. What I love about these series, and it's pretty prevalent in this book is that it's just a traditional quest story. That's it! But I love quest stories! There's a hero that's given a task, but he has to go through a series of tests before he completes his quest. I love these type of stories. I especially love these in books for young people, because when you are a kid school and life can really feel like a battlefield. I think the things that Magnus and his friends go through can parallel what we go through in the real world. These might just seem like silly little quest books, but I think they are so much more.

If you liked the first book in this new series, I don't think you will be disappointed. I'm pretty interested to see where this series is heading. Good news is that the third book just came out too!

I usually love these kind of books, but UGH! The hit you over the head with today's crappy situation just sucks to read. So glad I didn't encourage my kids to read this. Hope people read the reviews first. I already cancel the preorder I had for book 3

I'm about 20% in. I love mythology and I have read the majority of his other series. As an adult, I think this book is fine. But since it is marketed to children, I can't say it is appropriate. He portrays certain belief systems as ignorant or antiquated and other beliefs as correct, loving, or modern. Parents beware if you are allowing your young children to read this book. But I suppose if it falls in line with your particular worldview, you are fine ;)

I intend to finish the book and update this review if there was something I missed. I don't anticipate it though. I also don't anticipate purchasing any more Riordan novels.

It's hard to not love books by Rick Riordan. Who else can make mythology so accessible and silly at the same time?

I've particularly enjoyed the Magnus Chase series because, as a mythology enthusiast, I really don't know much about the Norse culture. I mean, in school we all eventually learn about the Greeks, the Romans, and the Egyptians, but other less "influential" cultures tend to get ignored. So this is a great way for kids to learn about a mythology they might not otherwise. And, as in all of Riordan's books, everything has been updated to the 21st century for maximum engagement. Even as an adult I find myself frequently laughing out loud, something I rarely do when reading ANY series.

While The Sword of Summer tackled some philosophical issues at a very kid-friendly level, The Hammer of Thor kept things more simple. Instead Riordan seems to be moving his books in a diversity direction. Honestly, when the gender fluid Alex was first introduced in this novel, I kind of rolled by eyes because it's almost getting excessive, and it seemed so unnecessary. I mean, first a Muslim girl who wears a hijab, a deaf dwarf, and a metrosexual elf, and now in one book he has to throw in an main character declaring himself atheist AND a gender fluid character? It's a little much. But as the book went on the gender fluidity really merged with the mythology and culture very seamlessly, as well as really helping me, a grown woman, understand a person I knew essentially nothing about before just a little better. While I hope he doesn't throw in any more diversity characters in the coming books (really, one book series can only handle so much), I thought it was marvelously done in a way I would have no qualms about giving my children to read.

While the Magnus Chase series is, in my opinion, kind of a lower quality copy of the original Percy Jackson series, there can be no doubt that they are fun to read. I would definitely enjoy the books better if they were my first Riordan series. But at the end of the day they are good fun, and that's really what I'm looking for in an action/adventure series. I highly recommend The Hammer of Thor to anyone looking for a little action and a few good laughs.

The Hammer of Thor takes readers back to the universe of gods and monsters as imagined by Rick Riordan through the lens of Magnus Chase. Anyone familiar with Riordan’s work knows his books are written for a relatively young demographic, but in the same way Harry Potter grew with its original audience, Riordan’s novels now feature young adult protagonists and deal with social issues some argue are inappropriate for books whose general audience sits at an impressionable age. As the title suggests, however, the main crux of this story is the quest to reclaim the lost hammer of Thor, Mjolnir.

Which is lost in the miasma of Riordan’s political agenda. What affected me most about this story, as has been the case with all of Riordan’s novels, is the sense of grandeur that’s gained from putting the hero in a world that’s too fantastical to possibly be reality. As Riordan’s career moves forward, he seems to be taking more and more leeway in this respect, both in how he conveys the universal reality that connects most of his books and in how much humor and seriousness he pushes into them. It’s correct, in my opinion, to say ‘heavy-handed’ when talking about his humor, as he seasons his writing with reckless abandon, but the seriousness (and in this book’s case, social issues) is ham-fisted as best.

It’s important to discuss social issues, and kids and young adults are going to talk about them more and more as they apply to themselves and people they know. But Riordan does nothing to open discussion. He presents one side of a few topics (those sides stem from progressive ideologies), and the hero is unfamiliar with them before he encounters them within the context of the novel. What Magnus learns about gender fluidity, for example, is correct from an ideological standpoint; the problem stems from the gender-fluid character literally being a shapeshifter.

While it makes sense to anyone familiar with the topic that it doesn’t work that way in real life, Riordan goes on to say the character ‘passes’ as either gender, which broaches the tangential topic of transgenderism. This could be viewed as alienating to real trans-people, who don’t all pass as their intended genders, and illustrates an arguably un-based idea of what transgenderism is. Regardless, I would be fine with Riordan trying to tackle topics like this, but Riordan does it, as I said, in a ham-fisted way. He apparently doesn’t trust the reader to hold onto the idea that the mentioned character is gender-fluid; nearly every time that character is present, it’s brought up. His politicized slant killed the pacing of the book.

Oh, and did you know that Sam is Muslim? You will by the end of the book.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s really cool that he wanted to include these topics as subject matter in his universe. Islam is a religion of our world; it’s not surprising that someone in his book is a part of it. And Norse mythology is full of stories about Loki and his children changing genders. There is no problem with these topics inherent to themselves, and there’s no problem with writers writing about them. What Riordan has done, however, is fill what should have been a middle-grade fiction novel with political agenda. In doing so, he didn’t necessarily fail on either front, but he still left the book weaker than it would have been if he had parsed out the part he doesn’t get paid for and stuck to what he does well: writing a funny, light-hearted story.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say Riordan ‘missed the mark’ or something equally nonsensical. What can be said about this novel is that it stays as true as it can to its predecessors while falling short in ways that have nothing to do with its story, which is wholly within Riordan’s wheelhouse.

I enjoyed it, despite its shortcomings, because I enjoy the universe and characters Riordan has created and the style of writing he’s developed. It would do him well to return to a form of storytelling that’s more (but not completely) devoid of highly politicized topics.

Just like all of Riordan’s novels that are penultimate in their storylines, the stakes in The Hammer of Thor get ratcheted to heady proportions. We all know the hero must succeed in the final novel, and Riordan will get us there. The third leg, no doubt, will be every bit as tall as his stories need to be.

Second in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard mythic urban fantasy series and revolving around Magnus and his friends in Boston.

In 2017, The Hammer of Thor won the Stonewall Book Award for Children's Literature and was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Middle Grade & Children's.

My Take
I always enjoy anything fantasy, and when Riordan combines this with all of Magnus' snark, well, I'm in heaven, lol.

This first-person point-of-view is from Magnus' perspective and uses Alex's introduction to Valhalla to explore issues of gender fluidity and transgender issues. I thought Riordan did a nice job of explaining it simply enough for me to understand it and could be a useful story for kids who are gender fluid — or for parents who need to understand! I do like Riordan's inclusiveness *grin*. One of the characters is deaf and uses ASL, so a character deaf kids can identify with.

Another theme…or should I say "caution"?…is the need to explore the fine print of a contract and thoroughly understand a culture's customs — talk about a ticking-clock scenario! Man, are Magnus and company in for some hard decisions with that marriage contract. A quickie is that golden rule of not judging a book by its cover.

Plot coupons are rife with some help from the deus ex machina plot device. Riordan includes the villain speech, some convoluted dream sequences that combine with flashforwards, some crippling flashbacks for Magnus and Hearth (his is something of a frame story), a plot voucher arrows into Otis and intrigues Magnus, and of course, the incluing that helps us understand this world of Magnus'.

I do enjoy Riordan's depiction of Thor and his "need" for TV. I do want Thor's man cave, lol. Then there's Heimdall's obsession with selfies. I just never would've thought a Norse god could be so besotted with it! As for wights, a.k.a., ghouls, with their parliamentary order, ROFL. They're all great ways to "comment" upon our modern world.

There are plots within twisty plots — on both the author's and Loki's sides. That Riordan is an overachiever, lol, and you'll appreciate and be amazed at how Riordan ties it all together. Damn, that boy must've been plotting this out forever!

Side Note: In The Heroes of Olympus, the evil Roman emperors are back, a god fell to earth as a human, and communication for the demigods has been messed up.

Hoo, boy. Things are gonna get interesting in #3 with that surprise ending! It's that last line of the story…oh, yeah…

The Story
The giants are rumbling and Thor's hammer is missing. Again. If the giants get wind of it, they'll invade Midgard.

It's a deadline our heroes can't miss and will require Samirha to wed a hideous being…unless they can figure a way out!

The Characters
Magnus Chase is no longer homeless. Of course, he's no longer alive either. These days, he's an einherji living at the Hotel Valhalla with Jack, the Sumarbrander (the Sword of Summer). His dad is Frey who fell in love with Magnus' mom, Natalie. Uncle Randolph was Natalie's big brother with a fascination for archeology. Randolph lost his family: Caroline and his daughters, Aubrey and Emma. Annabeth Chase (The Heroes of Olympus series) is his cousin; her mother is Athena who fell in love with Frederick.

Hearthstone, a deaf elf who does magic with runestones, and Blitzen, a fashion-conscious dwarf, were his fellow homeless. Turns out they were guarding him.

Samirah al-Abbas Bint Loki, a Muslim Valkyrie, is a child of Loki. Jid and Bibi are her grandparents. Ahmad Ibn Fadlan Ibn al-Abbas is a distant forefather of Samirah's who had traveled with the Vikings. Amir Fadlan is her betrothed; his family runs falafel restaurants, Fadlan's Falafel. Abdel Fadlan is his father. And just the thought of a falafel is making me hungry. Barry Al-Jabbar is her flight instructor.

Hotel Valhalla is…
…for the einherji, dead heroes who are waiting for Ragnörok. While they wait, they engage in daily battles. For EVERYthing. It's the Norse variation on the comic book death plot device. Magnus lives on Floor 19 and his shield mates include Thomas "T.J." Jefferson, Jr., the Irish Mallory Keen, Halfborn Gunderson (a berserker), and the latest, a shapeshifting child of Loki, Alex Fierro, who is an argr — gender fluid (doesn't know from day-to-day which sex she'll be) and transgender; she likes the garrote.

Helgi is the hotel manager. Hunding is the bellhop and Helgi's "prisoner". Saehrimnir is the feast beast. There is a thanes table that includes: Jim Bowie, Crispus Attucks, and Ernie Pyle. Charlie Flanigan loves to get shot in the head. Big Lou prefers decapitation. Dragon Thursday is when the lindworms show up for battle, including Grimwolf, who is one of the ancient ones.

Other afterlife "heavens" are Folkvanger and Niflheim; Hel is, well, Hell.

Alfheim is…
…one of the Nine Worlds and is the elf homeworld. And are they ever racist jerks!?! Alderman is Hearth's raging a-hole of a dad. Andiron is the older brother who died; Greta had been their mother. Inge is a hulder and servant. The Makepieces are middle class elves. Sunspot and Wildflower are a couple of racist elf cops. They'll be eatin' crow, jerks. Turns out Frey is their patron god. The Careful One, Andvari, is an ancient elf with a whole lotta treasure including the cursed Fafnir's Ring. Noøkks are security water sprites, a.k.a., nixies, very bad news.

D.I.C.E. stands for Dwarven Infantry Corps of Engineers.

The Norse Gods
The Æsir are gods of war and the Vanir are gods of nature. Thor is the god of thunder with his signature tool, his hammer, Mjolnir (a.k.a., Mee-Mee), which is always getting lost. Otis (call me…Otis…) and Marvin are the goats who pull his chariot and whom Thor eats every night. Sif, a goddess of the earth and growing things, is Thor's wife. Uller is her son by her first husband. Bilskirnir, Bright Crack, is their home palace. Odin, the All-Father, is their leader. Huginn and Muninn are ravens, Thought and Memory. Tyr is the god of bravery and personal combat; Frey is Magnus' dad and the god of summer and fertility; Mimir is the disembodied god head who runs an inter-world pachinko racket; and, Heimdall, a son of Odin and nine mothers, is the god who guards Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard, and is the guardian of the marriage bed. He can hear and see into all Nine Worlds and is obsessed with selfies. The horn he carries is Gjallar; it also functions as a Phablet of Doomsday. Vidar, a.k.a., the Silent One, is the god of vengeance. GRRM is the God Rapid Response Mobilization team, god SWAT. Ran is a sea goddess they had trouble with in The Sword of Summer , 1.

Loki is the god of mischief…and not the nice kind. That's why he's chained up with venom dripping into his face. Unfortunately he has other skills. Fenris Wolf is one of his children. The long-suffering Sigyn is his wife. Naglfar is the Ship of Nails. No. Not the kind you use a hammer on.

Jotunheim is…
…the world of giants. Thrym is the son of Thrym who is the son of Thrym (this last is the legendary earth giant king). Thrynga is his conniving sister. They live in their version of the Cheers bar. Utgard-Loki, Loki of the Outlands, is a sorcerer giant and king of the mountain giants. The bowlers include Tiny, Hugo, and Herg and Blerg (the Turkey Bowlers team) and humiliation is the name of the game.

Gellir, prince of the Danes, son of Thorkel, is a draugr, the chief wight, who carries the notorious Skofnung Sword with his own wight bodyguards who insist on the Thing…CRACK. Me. Up. Pee before reading. Arvid and Knut like to knit, and Dagfinn likes to be secretary. The Skofnung Stone is a companion piece to the sword.

Midgard is earth. Yggdrasil is the World Tree, the highway to the Nine Worlds. Ratatosk is the squirrel who takes messages up and down Yggdrasil. Draugr are Norse zombies. Miss Mengler had been a nasty, rigid second-grade teacher; Mr. Gent had been his shop teacher. Stanley is an eight-legged, flying horse; Sleipnir was the original one.

The Cover and Title
The cover is colorful with its electric green highlighting Thor's face on one side of the relic? and Loki's on the other. Yellow and orange lightning flares are shooting out below them, and Magnus, in jean jacket and jeans, holds his glowing Sumarbrander and stands atop a snow-covered, deep blue mountain ridge. The author's name is in red at the top against a deep green smoky background. The series information (I HATE that Riordan always emphasizes the series name and not the title of the book!!) is HUGE and in metallic silver. The title is very tiny at the very bottom of the cover, also in silver.

The title is the whole point, The Hammer of Thor.

Being a senior in high school, is starting to make me feel old. When I talk about things that the sophomores and freshmen have never heard about. But reading Magnus Chase also makes me feel old, in a different way. It makes me feel more mature as the plots and characters are still interesting, just a little less complex and a little less engaging. That being said, it does not make the book bad, I am just realizing that they are no longer for me. This is the second book in the relatively new Magnus Chase series about the Norse gods. Magnus has finally started adjusting to his new life in Valhalla, but as always the gods never seem to be able to do anything themselves, so Magnus and his friends need to step in to help. I really like the diverse characters that are part of the book as well as, not only is Rick Riordan including diverse characters but he is following up on their cultures and practices to give a full sense of the characters identity. This is a great book for middle school students and anyone interested in Norse Mythology.

Just like his other books and the first Gods of Asgards books, I was smiling as I reached the end of this book. The Hammer of Thor is a spectacular sequel to The Sword of Summer and is further proof of Riordan’s prowess when it comes to mythology. Although it’s obvious that he recycled some stuff from his previous books, The Hammer of Thor and The Sword of Summer were still enjoyable reads that I breezed through them in a very short amount of time. I finished this book in a day while doing household chores and the usual fix of online gaming.

What made The Hammer of Thor different from the rest of his books was not the plot (as I’ve said earlier, there were some plot elements from previous books that were regurgitated in here somewhere) but rather, its cast of characters. Very diverse without making me feel like Riordan was just deliberately pushing it for the sake of ya know, fulfilling the #WeNeedMoreDiverseBooks. And I must tell you that this book introduced us to a brand new main character named Alex Fierro. To say that he/she became a new favorite character would be an understatement. Some spoilers here so read at your own risk. Alex Fierro is the shapeshifting daughter/son of Loki and an unnamed mortal man. Alex Fierro is gender fluid so there are days that he/she identifies as male and other days as otherwise. I liked the fact that she/he already owned her sexuality in this book and that she/he is very straightforward and firm about it. Well, you probably know where I’m going with this one but please, Gods of Asgards, let the Magnus-Alex Fierro ship sail and have their HEA at the end of the series.

So aside from falling in love with the Magnus-Alex ship and adoring the other quirky characters (from Thor to Heimdall to Prince Gellir and his merry band of 12 berserkers to Otis, I can’t even…), I’m also pleased that The Hammer of Thor contained the trademark Riordan humor …an assurance that everything is going great. The pop culture references were just can-you-excuse-me-while-I-laugh-my-heart-out funny?

Oh well, there are so many things to love about this book although as I’ve said, you might encounter some déjà vu issues with the plot. But as for me, it didn’t bother me that much because there are so many things about The Hammer of Thor that made up for that.

Overall, a worthy sequel and certainly a keeper. Now, off to wait for the sequel of The Hidden Oracle.

I think that I’ve decided that Norse Mythology is maybe my least favorite of all the mythologies I’ve learned anything about. This isn’t the first series I’ve read that when it delved into the Norse Mythology I didn’t get excited about it I think it is a Norse thing with the world tree, different realms, rainbow bridge, gods, giants, ogres, Valhalla, Ragnarok and much much more. Sometime it just feels like too much maybe.

Rick Riordan is a fantastic writer. He tells very engaging stories with some pretty cool twists to them. This one is no different than that. It has all the humor, one liners and situational comedy that I expect from one of his book and yet…..I am not enjoying this series as much as his others. Maybe it is just he lack of Percy Jackson or maybe it is the added in cultural lessons. *shrugs* I’m just not sure.

This has so extra things in there for a Middle Grade to YA book that I guess if you are an uptight kind of parent you might want to be made aware of. I’m totally fine with these things being in there but if I had a kid around the age of 11-15 I’d be prepared for some discussion maybe.

First there is a teenage betrothal. Sam has been betrothed to Amir since they were babies practically. They are Muslim and so some of the book time is spent on their unusual (compared to an American Teenager) relationship and the upcoming marriage they will have in about 2 years. The good news is that they are actually in love so it isn’t like her family is forcing her to marry someone she has never met or hates. Still I really don’t have a lot of expertise in this area and so I have no idea if culturally speaking this is representative or let’s get our panties all bunched up over. I’m just mentioning it.

Second and this is where I’m sure some parents got peeved and Mr. Riordan got letters (good and bad) is he has a transgendered teen in this book. It works and is book appropriate because it is Loki’s child and so he/she is a shapeshifter and very gender fluid due to the nature his/her parent. Alex is the first transgendered teen to make it into anything I’ve read at this level. It is done well, it is never really preachy or anything and hey this is the world we live in. But that said I’m sure some parents will not be expecting to see that in an MG/YA book.

***“Look, some people prefer they,’ Alex said. ‘They’re non-binary or mid-spectrum or whatever. If they want you to use they, then that’s what you should do. But for me, personally, I don’t want to use the same pronouns all the time, because that’s not me. I change a lot. That’s sort of the point. When I’m she, I’m she. When I’m he, I’m he. I’m not they. Get it?’
‘If I say no, will you hurt me?’
‘No.’
‘Then no, not really.’
She shrugged. ‘You don’t have to get it. Just, you know, a little respect.’
‘For the girl with the very sharp wire? No problem.’***

I’m glad that RR went this direction with a character in his book and it totally makes sense to the story since Loki can also be male and female as well. Still heads up.

Third there is some discussion about homelessness since Magnus and Alex were both homeless from time to time. Again this isn’t something normally in a contemporary UF MG/YA book. But again some magical people in this world don’t really fit in well and are sorta looked upon as mentally ill so I think the homeless/troubled teen follows this line of thought.

Okay so enough stretching how much social messaging we can fit into one book series. The crux of the story is about trying to get Thor’s Hammer back since he lost it sometime in the last book. The problem isn’t so much that it is lost but about who took it. It seems someone stole it and made a deal with Loki to trade Thor’s Hammer for the hand of Sam (the previously mentioned betrothed to someone person) in marriage. So they need to find a way to get the Hammer back without marrying of their friend to a fate worse than death.

It is a fun and fast paced story full of lots of little adventures leading into the big showdown. Still it is all Norse Mythology and so while some of it is pretty cool I just miss the Greeks and Romans.

But, there is hope since at the end of this it is discovered that we might need a little help from my favorite Greek demi-god Percy in the next book.

***“Annabeth smiled. “I don’t know the ocean very well, but my boyfriend does. I think it’s time you met Percy.”***

I think what I’m saying is that is you haven’t read the Percy Jackson series then go read that first and then add this on after you finish those 10 books. Don’t let those movies fool you they were about a 1/10 as awesome as the books were. Unless Norse Mythology is totally your thing and you are the opposite of me and think that Greek and Roman mythology is less cool than Norse Mythology

Audio Note: I didn't enjoy the narrator at all. (The original Percy Jackson series 1-5) audio narration is fantastic and this one is sub par for me.

Another excellent book from Rick Riordan. While the tone of all of his mythology books have a similar tone (mildly snarky, heavily pop culture-y, with rimshot style humor), the Magnus Chase series feels just a little bit different - more aware of the real world and issues affecting both his characters and readers.
"...and the Gods of Asgard" hits the ground running and does a great job of bringing any new readers up to date quickly without any plodding "Last time, on Magnus Chase" narration. As with all series', the character roster is getting big, quickly. This naturally means that some of the side characters from The Sword of Summer get even less time in the spotlight, but they're present and show up just enough to remind us they're not forgotten. Overall, it's a quick read that's just so darn hard to put down.
As far as the social issues woven into the story - I would point readers in the direction of the source material (Norse Mythology). While Rick puts his own spin on absolutely everything, all of the main elements come directly from myths, stories, epic poems, and even historical records: Skofnung, the giant Thrym, Andvari's ring, and all the rest). And he's been doing this in all of the previous series' (Percy Jackson, et al).
So if you like humor, pop culture, mythology, and maybe even learning a new bit of information - do yourself a favor and pick this up.

this review includes no spoilers for either the sword of summer or the hammer of thor.

so i read this book while listening to the audiobook (as it's something i'm trying to get into). i read (/listened?) to this book in less than a day and thoroughly enjoyed it. although i liked it, i think having listened to it did impact my final thoughts on the book.

i finished the sword of summer the day before reading the hammer of thor and can confidently say that this book is way better. the sword of summer had so many pointless bits that felt so irrelevant to the actual plot and seemed to drag on forever. the hammer of thor, however, didn't go through every little thing. the events (those little quest points?) actually felt necessary to the story.

the plot was also a lot better in this book as a whole. the first one didn't seem that great and i didn't feel the urgency as with this one. in the hammer of thor, the ending actually felt real. anyway, even though i was listening to the audiobook whilst reading it, i definitely noticed how fast paced it was (whereas the sword of summer was rather slow).

one of the most important things in riordan's books is his increasing amount of diverse characters. rick riordan continues to amaze me with his inclusion and the research he's done to get the rep right. he doesn't hide away and pretend to not notice the calls for diversity, he embraces it head on.

i thought the sword of summer was great for including a muslim character and a deaf guy. the hammer of thor includes a new character, alex, who's transgender and genderfluid. honestly, i was so surprised. i think this is the first book i've read including a transgender and genderfluid character. and riordan used alternating she/he pronouns throughout the book, depending on how alex identified at that time.

i love how hearth wasn't pushed aside as some background character because he couldn't hear. i love how magnus and blitz learned sign language so they could communicate, and how the others eventually learned it too. i love how hearth isn't "magically cured" even when he's offered a chance to. he may be disabled, but that doesn't make him any less of a hero.

you can include a talking sword, why not diverse characters too?

i loved how there was no (hardly any) romance in this book. it's one thing i can always count on from rick riordan. i want to be able to read a book and not have an annoying romantic subplot get in the way. although, i won't be mad if magnus and alex become a thing. (it's kinda hinted at with all the stares and jaw drops).

i never actually mentioned this, but i love magnus and his humour. where the trials of apollo was so similar to percy in terms of humor, magnus is different. you can tell he's his own character.

anyway, i really enjoyed this book. admittedly, not as much as i'd have hoped to but it was still good.

[this review was originally posted on goodreads on 1/11/17] it's absolutely no surprise that i loved this as i will generally fangirl every single thing rick riordan writes but oh MY GOD! he is just killing it lately. like can we talk about how amazing it is to have a genderfluid protagonist in a popular middle grade children's book? and the whole thing was handled so well and explained in a very straightforward manner, which i really appreciated. there's none of that 'oh well i don't like ~labels~ but...' kind of stuff you get in most books where the author wants the representation points without putting any effort into it. and oh god alex is just the best, like definitely my new favorite character for this series. [also i think magnus has a little crush and i really hope that goes somewhere!].

if i wanted to be super nitpicky i would say that i don't particularly like loki as this like ~pure evil~ antagonist, but rick never really switches things up wrt which gods are 'good' and 'bad'. it's just that i have read a LOT of norse mythology fiction and loki is the ...well, hero is not the right word but at least anti-hero or protagonist of all of them [i have a bit of a loki obsession] so it's very weird for me to read something where loki is the 100% bad guy but it's such a great series and i appreciate that the children of loki are heroes so it's just something i'll have to get used to.

When writing a character that has some social differences it is fine to bring those differences up organically. Leo from heroes of Olympus is a good example as he sprinkles some Spanish where it makes sense like when talking about his family, since he would speak to them in Spanish. But when you have a trans character and in every scene you bring up the fact that they are trans and gender fluid it kills the pacing and just makes you think not this crap again. When the trans character is mentioned you can just skip the rest of the paragraph as it won't add anything new and is just reminding you that she is different.

Once again I was disappointed by Magnus Chase. This book picks up a few months after the first one ends. It started off pretty well, and I almost thought that this book would be a little more clear with it's plot and not have so many sub-plots. Not that I don't enjoy a good sub-plot, it's just that the first one had so many I began to loose sight of what the main point actually was.
But yet again, our heroes jump through world after world completing a series of tasks that make reading the book a bit tedious. It almost feels as if Riordan tried to stuff as many Norse stories as he could into one book, and forgot to refine it when he was finished. I would have been much happier with a Percy Jackson sized book that had a killer plot and not quite so much going on.
It also felt like this was a repeat of the first Magnus Chase. The same events happened with slight variations, and I found it pretty hard to keep focused on what was going on. It took me a lot longer than it should have to get through this one.
It could be that I've outgrown this type of story (which is sad to think about), but the more likely scenario is that by pumping out the volume of books that he is, the quality of Riordan's writing is beginning to slip.
I know that review seemed kind of harsh, considering I am giving this book three hearts, but I feel like it all needed to be said. On a happier note, the book did have some funny and unique parts, and I still love the diversity and individuality of each of the characters.
So, The Hammer of Thor gets three out of five hearts from me.

My daughter (13) and I recently finished the second book in the Magnus Chase series, and, like all Rick Riordan books, it did not disappoint.

We have now read all the novels that are currently in print, and they have all been full of adventure and humor. They are a great introduction to mythology as well because the novels remain pretty faithful to the original stories.

However, the most important thing about these series is that they are inclusive. Despite some negative comments on this issue, Riordan has not shied away from including heroes and heroines from all walks of life. In this series alone there are characters who are or were deaf, Muslim, gender-fluid, homeless, and African-American--and that is only scratching the surface, really.

The other important thing about this series--like the others--is that it is about teamwork. The characters are always stronger when they cast aside their differences and work together. They argue and bicker, but they always have each others' backs. And that is a vital lesson in today's world.

If I have one complaint, it's that there is yet to be a female lead character in his series. There are plenty of awesome girls in his worlds, and they take charge and do plenty of rescuing, but they have yet to be the star.

I listen to audio books in the car with my kids. This is our favorite series by Rick Riordan. My kids are in the preteen and young teen range. The book is funny, the characters are relatable, and dialogue amusing. The only real complaint about the book was the side trips did drag down the main storyline.

Regarding some reviews that object to the inclusion of a generous fluid character and a strong Muslim woman character, most characters in preteen and teen fiction are not gender fluid and not all Muslim women are oppressed. I appreciate the inclusion of characters who are different without having to read after school special kind of books. We read about male and female characters and Christian characters in almost all teen and preteen literature, the default assumption is that characters should be and are gender normative and Christian, even in books about pagan gods.

Rick Riordan's always lead to conversations with my kids. Sometimes, it's about foreshadowing, plot development, and the fatal flaw of the main antagonist. Sometimes, it's about mortality, what happens to your soul when you die, or how come Blitzen is obsessed with fashion. Yes, this book led to conversations about people who are transgender, different religions, police interactions with the homeless, and our family values and my kids own emerging values and political opinions (that don't always mesh with mine or their father's). Frankly, I prefer my children have open and sometimes difficult and painfully embarrassing conversations with me.

This series feels very forced, like he's trying to include everything at once to be politically correct all in one series. Usually his books are excellent, but this series has reached its end. Don't bother with this.

Another entertaining and surprisingly educational adventure from Rick Riordan. I am LOVING the amount of diversity in this series and how fairly everyone gets treated, and (possible minor spoiler alert) I might actually die of happiness if Magnus gets a gender fluid love interest. The story itself wasn't particularly a standout one in the sea of Riordan books, but it still held its own and definitely kept my attention throughout. I'm also really enjoying exploring the Nine Worlds and seeing the ups and downs (well...mostly downs...) of all of them and seeing how the traditional Norse stories are evolved to fit with today.

My biggest complaint was that some of the jokes felt a little forced, definitely not as naturally sarcastic as we're used to from him. Magnus is a great character with excellent dry humor, but some of the one-liners felt shoehorned in and barely earned a chuckle. Still a great story, excellent book two in a series, can't wait for the next one!

Rick Riordan doesn't disappoint in this second installment of the Magnus Chase series. The plot moves at a fast pace, the humor is evident and once again, I learned something. I never knew very much about the Norse pantheon but through these books I am learning.

And kudos to Rick for introducing new character, Alex Fierro, who is 'gender fluid'. Her presence in the story adds a lot and isn't gratuitious as she does have a direct connect to an element of Norse mythology. My only true disappointment is knowing that this series is only three books long. I really hope that Riordan continues to utilize Magnus Chase, Alex Fierro and Samarah Al-Abbas in future series. These are characters to rival the beloved ones from the Percy Jackson series.

I definitely enjoyed this book way more than the first one. I mean, don't get me wrong, I haven't found a Riordan book that I haven't liked, but I did think that the first Magnus Chase book dragged on a bit.

This being said, I think Riordan learned from the first one, because this one was significantly shorter. I think it definitely lent itself better to the story. It didn't feel so much as a forced march, but a fast-paced race straight into danger. That, and I preferred the narrator in this novel better than the first one. He seemed to have more feeling in his voice, which was definitely appreciated. The previous one seemed to hold little emotion in his voice, but Kieran Culkin was definitely a better choice.

All of my favorite characters from the first book are back in some capacity or another - some are incapacitated early on. But then we've added a whole new character, and I absolutely love them! Alex is a gender fluid daughter of Loki. She's sassy and smart, strong and tough - much like her half-sister Sam. I am in love with those two so much!

I have to say, I wasn't overly impressed with where Riordan was going with the series, but with the addition of this new character and the shortened novel, I think he's got it back on track. His novels are always kind of light on the front end, but towards the end of the series, their is so much there that you can't help but fall in love. I see this series being no different.

And we might be seeing some favorites from the Hero's of Olympus series, so I'm definitely pumped!

I loved this book. It's a great sequel to the first book of the series and another masterpiece by Riordan. It has a great plot continuing the series. At the end, it blends the Trials of Apollo into the mix. It's very well written and full of the humor that every book written by Rick Riordan has. It's filled with twists and turns that will make you gasp in shock and scream, "WHY RICK, WHY?!". As usual, it ends on a fantastic cliffhanger that makes you want to scream when you have to wait for the next book to come out. I really enjoyed this book and I'm sure you won't regret reading it.

I'm a huge fan of Riordan's Percy Jackson series, so I started this one as well. The first book was great, but I had trouble gettign through this, the second book in the series. It was slow. It did pick up near the end, thankfully. And the ending was perfect (especially the very last line of the book). That last line is the only reason I'll be reading book #3.

If you love this new series, then grab this book and go for it. If you're new to Riordan's works, I'd personally read the Percy Jackson books first (they are my favorite and I found them a lot faster-paced).

Written by my 11 year old son: I really liked how the author made took Norse mythology and created a hilarious story using creative characters. I also like how the author took very different characters and made them a team that seems unstoppable. One thing that I did not like is how the author only writes in one character's perspective instead of all of them. Other than that this book is amazing and I recommend to any 5th and 6th graders.

I thought the book was good. Very descriptive. The book is based off of Viking Gods or Norse Gods. The beginning didn't really make much sense but it eventually did in chapter two. The book goes fast but in a good way, an entertaining sort of way. You'll start reading and it seems as if the clock had skipped a few minutes. The book has shorter chapters which helps you stay focused, it makes you feel that you can finish because there isn't that much reading in the next chapter or the next or the next. Here is a brief sample of the story...

The book begins with Magnus Chase at a small and local coffee shop. He's waiting for his friend Sam. (Samirah) Sam is what is called a valkyrie. But before she can get there Magnus's goat friend (Remember... Norse Gods, there are talking animals. Sometimes animals put clothes on and walk around) Otis was meeting up with them too. Otis is upset because Thor has had his hammer stolen by earth giants. The only way to get the hammer is to find a blade called the Skofnung Sword. To get to it you'll need to fight zombie guards. But before Otis can finish he is impaled by a throwing knife. (But being a goat of Thor he and his brother Marvin can be resurrected as many times necessary.) Sam had left so she could reap a soul so she could bring it to Vallaha. Vallaha is like "hotel" for the people who have died in heroic ways. Magnus has a physical body but he is dead too. That is how he got into Vallaha.

But the soul Sam had reaped was actually her brother/sister named Alex Fierro. The reason I said both is because Alex is gender fluid. This means one day Alex may be male and the next he may be female, though she likes female better. But Alex is also a shape shifter, so she can take form of any living thing. But before they leave to get the Skofnung Sword Magnus meets up with his friends Blitzen (the dwarf) and Hearthstone (the elf). Together they retrieve Thor's hammer and defeat the earth giants and their king.

I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys books about gods, action, suspense, and twists. I would however not recommend this book to a younger kid. the reason is there is brutality, death and blood, and the gender fluid. I feel this way because I'm not sure a younger kid would understand what gender fluid is and they might hurt themselves or worse thinking they can resurrect themselves. That would be a problem for many people.

Much like the first one I enjoyed this book. It was action-packed and a great page-turner with also well-developed characters as Riordan is known for. I'm glad he included a transgender character and I hope to see more of that another mainstream books. I won't give away the ending but I think the cross pollination of Mythos will be interesting extension going foward. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes action adventure fantasy novels especially young adults. I feel at this series and much like Riordan's other books appeal to that audience well, dealing well with teenagers characters.

Not quite as good as Riordan's Percy Jackson series, but then the Greek gods are far more interesting than Norse ones. Magnus's friend Sam needs his help. She's being forced to marry a giant to get Thor's hammer back. Now Magnus and his friends must figure out how to save Sam and get Thor's hammer back before the giants attack Asgard. At the same time, they also need to keep Loki from escaping his prison. The thing I liked best about this book is that Riordan has started loosely tying this in with his other series. I can't wait to see Magnus meet Percy Jackson.

I love how with every book, he tries to challenge himself to be more inclusive and to write more diverse characters. The Magnus Chase books will never take the place of my beloved Percy Jackson books, but they are thoroughly enjoyable. One of my favorite Norse myths has a big role in the second Magnus Chase book, and it was executed wonderfully. I am fascinated by Riordan's characterization of Sigyn, the wife of Loki, and I hope we get to read more of her in future books.

So let’s start this review with something that needs to be said. This book is the second part of the Magnus Chase series, written by Rick Riordan. So if you’re here without reading the first book, I suggest you read that one first. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, the review part of this paragraph. This book is a fun read, as was the last book. The book revolves around a shocking revelation by one of the main characters, and how the rest try and stop the event from happening. I am being purposefully vague because I don’t want to spoil the book.

Rick Riordan has done it again, he has created another spectacular book. I have been reading his books for the past ten years, and with every new book that he writes he continues to amaze me. I especially appreciate that with every new installment of each of his series that he continues to expand the diversity of his cast of characters, and seeing all of the characters of different races, religions, sexual and gender identities, is fantastic. The representation in his books is spectacular, and I think it is something that is incredibly valuable for readers of all ages, especially the younger readers. I hope that the vast diversity in his books can help promote an attitude of increased acceptance with in younger readers that they will carry with them throughout their lives. So I would like to say thank you to Rick for creating a stunning book that has the potential to influence the next generation of readers, and thank you for providing representation for all of us.
I also always have enjoyed the delightful humor and fantastic writing and character development which help to make all of these books excellent.

This book is more of a meh to me. I am liking the mythological gods less and less. I just don't understand why Thor loses his hammer so much and I really don't get why Heimdall's character is so shallow.

On the bright side, the author does give us a view of the tension with a Muslim woman being recruited to be a Valkyrie and the impact it has on her life. I really enjoyed the further development of Sam and her relationship with her fiance. I'm not sure I like Loki's latest child as too much time seemed to be spend on her sexuality and not enough on her as a person. But, I guess this will develop in the coming books.

What the books are lacking is development of the other characters that support Magnus in Valhalla. I would like to know more about them and not just the stereotypical information.

In closing, I have to say that my enjoyment factor of this series compared to the Greek and Roman gods series is just not there. I just don't find the same tension or sense of urgency to stop the predetermined event of Ragnarok. I will say the bright spot for me is Magnus' elven and dwarven friends. The development that is happening with these characters is really good. However, it is doubtful that I will continue to read the series.

I'm a 22 adult male and I've been reading Riordan's mythology books since I was 13. There's a lot of people complaining about the inclusion of a gender fluid character, as well as homosexual characters in his other books. I see "forcing it down my throat" used quite a bit especially. People being concerned also cite that the books are geared at teenagers and this content is inappropriate, and I'd have to disagree. Shielding your kids from things like this sets them up to be unprepared for the real world, and potentially insensitive to things they don't understand. You can't tell your kids they can be whatever they want to be, and then act like non-binary relationships are the only thing that exists. Considering that there are many many teenagers realizing that they don't fit into the gender norms, it's good to have an understanding that they exist and that it's not something to be discriminatory towards. You want people to understand your kids, you should do the same to educate and help your kids understand others. At no point does this book force this down your throat, but instead tries to get you to sympathize and understand the gender fluid character. You read about how awful and unfair they get treated. Even if you don't understand you can at least try to respect them. It's an important thing to have. I was pretty insensitive growing up, because I was told things like that weren't normal, even though I was bullied and people thought I wasn't normal. So for those of you who want your kids to be open minded, I recommend reading this book and seeing how you kids interprete it. Have a conversation. This book is wonderful, as are all his books.

Overall, this is a great book. It has lovable characters, humor, and action. This is Riordan's best series so far.

What I Liked
The great writing style. Rick's writing is different from the other writers, and you can tell. Here, he took a theme, and went wild. The result was a great book.
The introduction to more characters. NOTE: SPOILER ALERT
You get to meet more gods, like Hemindall, who plays a crucial part in leading the team to Ugtard-Loki. You also get to meet Alex, who plays a big role in the book. Besides, who wouldn't love a trans-gender shape-shifter? You also get to learn more about Amir, Sam's boyfriend.
The material for the ultimate crossover story. Seriously, look at the facts. Camp Half-Blood is right next door to the Twenty - First Nome. A greek demigod is the cousin of a norse one. You can tell, Riordrian is building up for a massive crossover. Book three is probably going to be a big Percy Jackson / Magnus Chase crossover story.
What I Didn't Like
Not much. Like I said, it's a great book overall.

NOTE : I would recommend this book to ages 10+, because there are multiple references to decatitation, violent death, swearing, and trans-genders.

The book Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard, The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan is the second book in its series. Rick Riordan is the author of many other books like the lighting Thief and The Lost Hero. The book is a fantasy book like almost every book Rick has written.
The story is told from the perspective of Magnus Chase a son an Asgardian god Frey. His Friends Hearthstone, Blitzen, Samirah, Alex, and himself go on an adventure to retrieve the god Thor’s hammer from somewhere in the nine worlds, but the god Loki has other plans for them.
The author is able to develop a good story that is able to keep you hooked. There is a lot of plot twists that make you never want to put the book down again until you finish it. This book has a similar plot of Lord of The Rings by them going out on a quest across far lands. The theme of the book is thrill-seeking “‘Guys!’ Blitzen yelled form mount Bowling Bad. ‘Come take a look!”.
Overall I give this book a 9 out of 10 stars because it has a very different story then the normal book because it has Gods from Asgard and their children. This is a fantastic read for all audiences over the age of 12, and anyone who loves to learn about gods of Asgard but also loves a serious plot with some funny mixed in.

I LOVED this.

Magnus is such a precious little cinnamon roll. I love him so much.

Alex is my new favorite character. It was so refreshing to see a gender fluid/transgender character. I think I may have a crush on Alex because she/he is just that awesome.

Overall, I loved everything about this. It was funny. I loved the pop culture references. The story was good. I can't wait for the next book.

Rick Riordan introduces a character that addresses the gender issues of today and how it should be in a funny and unique way. Thor's character is ridiculous in a funny way. The ending excites Percy Jackson fans and the story was well written in the Rick Riordan way. If you love Norse mythology and Rick Riordan, READ.

Not too far into the book and I'm disturbed by what seems to be an agenda. With talk of a luau being cultural appropriation and other obvious soapbox issues, it's us distracting from the story. I'm not sure if I will be able to finish the book and I won't be giving it to my kids to read.

Riordan proves once again that he is intricately aware of the social and political worlds that his readers exist within. The attention and detail and heart he put into the character of Samirah and her cultural and religious background really shines through in this book, more then it did in the first one. And Alex Fierro was important to me in ways I can't properly articulate. This author never ceases to amaze. He knows the world is changing. His books may follow a similar formula and brand of humour, but each new series illustrates that he sees the world, he sees how it's growing, he sees his readership for what it is and not what it's expected to be, and he allows his characters to reflect that diversity. Honestly? I've always loved his books, but this made me love HIM.

This book really did follow up the first book well, but I felt that the book had built up a lot of side story, that they did not go on from, and It built up Amir knowing about everything, and being able to see all the monsters, but then straight after, and the very end it had built up Magnus meeting Percy. also the storyline in this book was okay, but the book's story was so diverted, you did not know what they were facing until they faced it. But this book's main story was so good, and the fight/ trade with loki was also very great. But also the beginning I felt could have a little bit more story, otherwise the beginning was also very engaging, and more than enough to get you through the book. So In short the book was good, and engaging, but it is out shadowed by the series's previous book

Thank you Mr. Riordan, for not dissapointing. Although I was not sure in the beggining, but everything else was perfect.
WARNING: INCREDIBLEY AWESOME SPOILERS AHEAD!
Okay, the book starts with a goat assasination by a man/thing in a wolf mask who SPOLIER ALEDT is Big Boy. After that back in Valhalla, a new (gender fluid) einhajri, a child of Loki (I feel like that should be in all caps or have a dramatic affect) named Alex is brought in to Vallhalla. Now for those of you who have read the Minecraft Book series Diary of Steve the noob, the character of Alex is similar to the character of Alex. Basically your average tomboy, Alex is a tough funny and sarcastic girl whos life was ruined by her mom Loki (Yes, Mom) Anywho, The next bit involves Evil Randolph (Suprised, anyone?) Blitzen injured with aa mortal wound inflicting object (Or as Jack puts it, One hot lady sword, learning about Blitzens past and meeting the god of selfie sticks, Heimdall. There are somee awkward and funny moments for Sam and Amir, and Im glad Magnus finally has something resembling a love intrest.
AND NOW, THE SPOILER YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR:
WE GET MAGNUS CHASE AND PERCY JACKSON IN A THREE HOUR BOOK TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(Insert victory dance)
(Oh and Loki gets freed, no biggie)
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLOOOOOOOOOOOOO

THANK YOU Rick Riordan
Madison Jo Esrey

I purchased this book and at first I wasn't sure what review I would give it. But soon, I was hooked. I think it was beautify written and will be a classic... When it's old enough to count as one.
There are no grammatical errors whatsoever. I think the characters are halarious, however I belive it is best suited for teens. The content may be too gruesome for younger readers, especially the scenes where it describes Loki's punishment.
Overall, however, I wouldgive it a great rating. Just don't read it over dinner (you'll choke laughing.)

I just preread the first 2 Magnus Chase books by Rick Riordan. ... So If you are okay with a "children's book " dealing with themes of gender fluidity, Muslim religion, arranged Muslim marriages with a 16 year old girl and athiesum. This is the book series for you. It was Disney's I thought it was okay. But, uhm nope, not for my preteen. The thing is I see a lot of my 7th graders reading this and until this week would have been fine recommending it because I had read the Percy Jackson series to my kids and it was okay. I want to teach my children about sensitive topics they do not need to read it in a fantasy novel.

A surprising number of people have written one-star reviews for Magnus Chase: The Hammer of Thor. Tellingly, all these reviews harp on the same thing—or, the same sort of thing and this is what I want to discuss in this review.
First, there seems to be a general annoyance at what these people call an “agenda”. This is a ridiculous accusation—all the best children’s literature has an agenda: Narnia is a Christian meditation, His Dark Materials is about spiritual Humanism, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tells us that adults corrupt the youth, The Chocolate War is about speaking truth to corruption. (I could go on.) Magnus Chase, befitting of its time, is about the power of diversity. The people reading this book, perhaps, are expecting more ‘Percy Jackson’ where everyone, pretty much, is a white American. I wonder; did they go on to read The Heroes of Olympus which includes main characters who are Latino, Chinese, and, in the final pages, gay? Novels with out a so-called agenda are weak and thin; they will not last through the generations. Here, I’m thinking Babysitter’s Club and the wealth of trashy vampire YA that have infected the selves. These readers (or; parents of readers) are not looking for novels, they’re looking for unchallenging entertainment.
But they do go on: Another whining critique is that the author spends too much time talking about (explaining) the thoughts and actions of a devout Muslim and a unrepentantly gender-fluid teenager. These are new characters for modern western (children’s) literature and they need some explaining. Roirden spends pages explaining Norse mythology. How is this any different? Did they (the parents of readers) notice how often Magnus describes his homelessness? Or Loki’s story? Or the working of Valhalla? Readers read to discover things we never thought about and we demand an explanation. Introducing a gender-fluid character raises many questions in readers (especially Roirden’s demographic), many of which are answered in these pages. Of special note: The scene where Magnus (an atheist) stands guard while Sam prays is a thoughtful passage and this is were the smart parent will begin a conversation about the nature of God and religion.
Finally: Again and again in these one-star reviews, there is a strong objection to the afore mentioned characters (Samirah al-Abbas and Alex Fierro). I can only sigh and quietly say—your children go to school with Muslims, they probably know at least one child with same-sex parents, they will befriend a trans person at some point in their lives. This is how the world is and how the world is becoming. Reading a sensitive understanding of the world-as-it-is will only create kind people. There is nothing you can do. The world has shifted again and it’s not going back. (Isn’t it funny how no one complains about the pages spent on describing the trials of the deaf character?)
Like the best YA novelists, Roirden’s work is about family: both the family you are born to (which is never completely happy) and the one you make. In the final wash, we all want to find our place in the world and Rick Roiden presents us with a fully contemporary world.

I honestly have to say the Magnus Chase series is starting to quickly become my favorite thing ever and might even surpass my love of the original Percy Jackson series. Why you ask? Well, quite frankly it's the representation. A lot of people are complaining this is pushing an agenda or it's getting political and I'm sitting here like- no???? It's really not??? It's representing people who actually exist like Muslims and Transgender people as actual characters who suffer from negative outlash from people that don't understand them (or don't want to even try understanding them). And even then it's a part of their character and who they've come to be in this story. It's character building and giving representation to seriously unrepresented groups. And it's presented to a younger audience in a perfect way. I wouldn't hesitate to give this to any kid to read.

At one point people were saying Rick Riordan's series were a great gateway into learning about mythology. And now I say they're a great gateway into learning about the people who are too often thrown into the background or kicked down because they don't fit this ugly mold we've been building around the human race. Riordan is one of the few popular authors I've seen that's bothered to take this on and show how the mold can be broken. We need more authors like this and if Riordan keeps writing excellent stories like these I will forever support his books.

Will Rick ever write a book that doesn't blow my mind?? It's been eight years since I started reading Percy Jackson and I haven't been disappointed since! Every part of this book was incredible. The action/adventure stuff was very fun and perfectly paced, and balanced really well with the more dramatic/character development stuff. As usual, every character was unique and well written, and I'm obsessed with the diversity of the crew! Alex especially was an amazing addition and I was so so so pleasantly surprised to find *spoiler alert?* a well-written, canonically gender-fluid character in a "kid's" book! (I say kid's in quotations only because I believe it's a great read for anyone.) Of course, our old favorite are back too and none of them are left in the dust. If I go on much longer I'm going to start ranting/spoiling so I'll just say that this book was fantastic and would be an excellent addition to any bookshelf. Can't wait until the next one!

This book was an amazing mix of Norse mythology, adventure, and romance (I especially liked the romance)! There are no words to explain how much I loved this trilogy (hoping for it to become a series. Hint. Hint.) Percy Jackson is marvelous and breathtaking. The Oracle's of Apollo keeps you on the edge of your seat. Kane Chronicles leaves you wanting more and more (seriously I couldn't put the book down!) So I guarantee you... this and all the Magnus Chase, Percy Jackson, Kane, and Apollo books will leave you breathless, on the edge of your seat, and wanting more!

This is by far my favorite book out of all of rick riordans books. The funniest thing about this book is thor wants his hammer back because he cant watch his favorite shows as well on his makeshift weapon ,which is a staff, because the resolution is poor. I mean who in the world can think of something that funny? Apparently Rick Roirdan can. Thank you agian for making this book.

Riordan has decided that it is now his responsibility to comment and push his lifestyle adgenda thru his books. For some this will be a 5 star thing, they may call it brave, but I find it annoying and will not be reading any more of his books. I have read all his stuff. Nick was fine because he was a very well developed character, but just throwing out bi-sexual, trans and gay characters for the hell of it just points to pandering. I'm giving this 2 stars because the book isnt horrible and I enjoyed the snarky first person narrative.

I wish Riordan had just written a story like he did with the other books. Instead, he made too big a point of expressing his view on current themes. It frustrates me when writers try to ram their world views down the readers' throats rather than just tell a story and let things take their course along the way. It made me feel like Riordan is just as aggressive towards the readers regarding his views as some of the characters are towards their peers.

Authors & TV shows often give wholesome first books or first seasons so parents drop their guards. Then they begin the overt indoctrination. They use 2nd books and/or seasons to propagandize their progressive agendas. BE HONEST. If you intend to indoctrinate children...Be honest.

I loved this book. Even more than the first one. There is on scene where Magnus gets decapitated which kinda made me cringe, but it was still great. I loved that we got to learn more of Hearthstone's sad history. I liked Alex, she seems cool and...ah....quite scary. I liked that Amir got into the stuff. And... I think...no, I KNOW that we will see a certain son of a sea god!!!!!!! SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait for the next book!!!

It was a fun book to read, full of action and Magic. They were twists and turns throughout the book. Some of these were amusing, well others had you sitting on the edge of your seat. I learned a lot about Norse mythology which was an added bonus.

I'm a big Rick Riordan fan, but this book was merely okay. Magnus is too much like Percy (just a slightly more bitter Percy), and Sam has the same personality as the Kane sister and as Annabeth. I miss the way Riordan used care in creating a variety of personalities in the series with Percy, Jason, Annabeth, and Piper.

I have read all the Greek/Roman books and the Kane chronicles. I thought this series was quite promising, but some of the statements regarding deities are significantly unbalanced. I can appreciate Riordan's efforts to include diverse characters (i.e. Muslim, deaf, gender fluid), but had an issue with elevating the Muslim dieties above the Norse gods. This is done a few different times through samirah and heimdall. Samirah states that she doesn't think of the Norse gods as "gods," just powerful beings created by allah. She affirms this again when talking to Amir, her betrothed. Heimdall states to Amir that he also doesn't think of themselves as gods and agrees with Samirah. Nowhere in any of the other books I've read does Riordan place a set of gods or god above any other set. Why does Islam get the preferential treatment? Granted, there many followers of allah, and it would be difficult finding someone who worshipped Greek, Roman, Egyptian, or Norse gods. But, why include Islam as the dominant religion to all and not even talk about the others (I.e. Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc)? As I stated earleir, I am glad that Riordan has diverse characters, but Samirah is too complex and receives special treatment. It's okay for her to doubt Norse gods, even though they've actually shown her real power and influence in the world, but she has to cling to her own religion as the dominant one without any basis whatsoever. It would be better to "keep it light" and just write her out of the next book. Stick to the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse gods and leave the major modern religions out of it. If you're going to include some of them, then don't elevate one above the other. Im not sure Riordan elevated Islam this time. I think it's possible that he might have received some harsh criticism from the Muslim community. I have no basis for this statement, but the statements elevating Islam above the Norse gods was out of character, no pun intended.

Second and last criticism I have is Magnus stating once again that he's atheist. This doesn't make any sense whatsoever, since he's actually interacts with gods. Maybe it's considered logical, since the Norse gods aren't really "gods". This part of Magnus is very confusing.

Anyhow, I am hoping that we can just go back to what we know and stay away from the major modern religions. If not, then I would expect Jesus will make an appearance soon.

I enjoyed this second book in the Gods of Asgard series. Like Riordan's other books, this one has lots of humor and pop culture references. He also tries to incorporate a lot of different groups of people. Sam is Muslim who wears a hijab and prays the required 5 times a day whenever possible and that is explained several times. Hearthstone is deaf and speaks using American Sign Language, which Riordan makes a point of explaining many times. Blitzen is gay and Alex is gender fluid. Magnus and his friends are on a quest to find Thor's hammer and keep Sam from being married to a giant and save the world. There is lots of action and adventure and the story is fun to read.

Nobody can deny how breathtakingly funny the first installment of the series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard was. Now the Sword of Summer will be a small success compared to the Hammer of Thor. Prepare to meet more gods, laugh over more chapter titles, and practically go insane over the greatest cliffhanger of all time. Rick Riordan is an inspired genius, you'll love the read.

Slow, disjoined at times, and now tying into the other series in a pretty blatant marketing ploy. It's a shame to see Riordan totally embrace the SJW school of literature. A good quarter of the book is related to selling various political veiws. It's less a story at times than a lecture. Other authors handle shapechangers switching sexes without a lecture and if you are going to have a strong Muslim proponent, please get their faith right. The political correctness content is sky high.

A good enough story might have covered the need to lecture, but sadly the books have become as formulaic as romance novels are. It's all the same story. Only the names change. Despite the distinctions of Norse mythology and culture, one could pop Percy in with no trouble. Sadly, this is the last Riordan I'll be reading.

Magnus Chase is still getting the hang of this undead warrior thing. He loves having enough food and friends, no longer being on the street... but part of him is upset that he can have everything and others remain homeless. Also, let's be honest, the constant battle and training leaves very little time for a social life. When his favorite Valkyrie asked him to meet her informant (the world's most depressed goat), things get crazy. We're talking dead goat, chasing assassins and getting the first lead on Thor's lost hammer.

Getting back to Valhalla he learns that much has been kept from him. Sam is being forced to marry a giant by her father Loki (now remember, she already has a love interest that she is engaged to), Hearthstone and Blitzen are in hiding, and the newest warrior is a gender-fluid shape shifter who is also a child of Loki. Have I mentioned Loki? Oh, yeah, he has big plans to get free from his imprisonment and start Ragnarok. Our heroes must find the hammer, stop a wedding, and defeat Loki.... along with several other side quests. Easy, right?

I can't even begin to explain my love for these characters. I have always been a Riordan fan and have liked each series more than the last. I love Magnus, with his humor and sarcasm. I love how much he cares about everyone, and that he isn't just naturally great at the whole hero gig. I love the supporting characters, Hearthstone and Blitzen and Sam. The depiction of the Gods, especially how Sam sees them, is great. There's always a lot of adventure and hilarity. The books leave you exhilarated and ready for the next adventure. Unfortunately I will be waiting for a year. (Also, cliffhanger... but we won't go there). All in all I loved this book. Five Stars

On the adult content scale... this book is geared toward children eight and up, so there isn't too much. There's some language and violence, neither one too over the top. I would give it a three.

I'm disappointed, but not surprised, to read that most of the one star reviews here are mostly from people whining about the inclusion of a trans character, and how they don't want/don't want their children to read about trans characters. Probably 99%+ of literature is about cisgendered people, and yet people have to throw a fit about the minuscule percentage of books that involve LGBTQIA+ characters. This character is a child of Loki; in the myths Loki and his offspring were known to be gender-fluid. It's not like he just slapped a trans character in the storyline for "no reason". And even if he had, so what? Surprisingly, people who aren't cisgendered and/or heterosexual like to see themselves represented in a book too.

As for the book itself, the reason I'm giving it a one star is because I find it to be a severe disappointment, and not because of the inclusion of, as some have referred to it, "PC crap". Riordan has always had a sort of juvenile and potty "humor" present throughout his books, but I find the Magnus Chase series to be the worst of the lot of them. I get that they're written for younger kids, but even kids I know within the targeted age group find it to be cringeworthy. This is his, what, 4th series? And yet it's the same old tired formula. I could very likely swap out characters from other books and still get very close to the same storylines found in the other series. I get it, you write books with a certain formula, you hit gold, so you keep doing it. But seriously, break the mold! Do something different plot-wise! This series is so dull, you're killing me, Riordan! I have zero interest in the next book. In fact, when this book came out, I had to find a full plot summary of the first book on the internet because I had completely forgotten both the plot and the characters. They're just....not interesting, and not that well-written.

I'd rather reread his other books than submit myself to dragging through this series any longer.

One of the most wonderfully diverse books I've ever read. As someone who is nonbinary, reading the descriptions of Alex was really affirming, and just made my ideas.
It is an amazing thing, to read a book because you enjoy the writing style and to also see yourself reflected in it. I am so used to having to separate those things out, to only see people like me in small independently published things. To large, popular series not acknowledging I exist.
Thank you, so much for this.

Great story as always from Rick Riordan. For those on here giving this book a 1 star because of "political agenda" and other crap like that...just stop! We are in a changing world and youth NEED to see themselves represented in novels! Furthermore, to think that there is not a political sub-tone to most books out there is simply stupid. Almost every book written and story told in our world contain politics and author beliefs. If it bothers you so much, maybe take the time to evaluate why it does and make peace with it. That, or simply don't read it and move on with your small mindedness!

The second book of the series is awesome! I personally love it because Annabeth and him are cousins and they talk together. Also I just had to read chapter after chapter because it just kept me going. I actually read tell three in the morning just to finish the book.This book tells how they are trying to get Thor's hammer back and how Loki is involved in it and his plan. This a thriller so if you haven't read the first book read it before you read this book.

Awesome read as always..can't wait for the adventure to continue!!!! The characters and worlds in this book are funny, quirky and deep all rolled into one. Favorite story in this book was the look into where Hearthstone came from and what he endured. Well done!!

I could not put this book down! It has been awhile since I found a book I could really get into! Part of the reason was that I adore Alex Fierro!! I have never actually read a book with a trans* character in before and as I, myself, am transgendered, it was really exciting to have such a relatable character in a book I love! Can't wait for the next book!!

Parents beware if you want your child taught to love every alt left pet project this is the book for you. When he wrote books with out the alt leff adgenda they are fun but this is just a tool to get your kid to believe in what alt left preaches this would be the book for your kid

Very good second book in the series. Tells more about the characters, and introduces the new edition of Alex, the fluid gender child of Loki. Very well done, and as always, filled with fast paced adventure, and lots of gods, and humor.

Hands down such an amazing book. There's no other author who would make learning Norse mythology so fun to learn! It has a perfect mix of serious and funny moments. The only bad one star ratings this has been given is because of its diverse cast, but that's what makes this book so much better. Each character has his/her own distinct qualities, and are extremely well developed in the series. I do recommend read the Percy Jackson series before reading this too. Alex Fierro is amazing character addition to the second book in this series.

It was a great sequel and was well done, and the trans-character was done well especially because it went with the mythology. To people who dont want their children to read about a non-cis character, grow up its 2016 people are different people dont come from a cookie cutter; if you dont like it dont read it. Also the cover is aesthetic. Thank

This book made me tear up with happiness. I absolutely *adored* ‘The Sword of Summer’ but the only thing that disappointed me about it was how it didn’t really address the fact that Loki changed genders many times in the original myths. I loved Samirah and found her an excellent character but I thought it was a big missed opportunity to have a child of Loki be a cisgender and heterosexual character because it seemed the most obvious place ever to finally introduce a transgender or genderfluid one. (Warning, spoiler ahead) Alex Fierro was everything I had hoped this series would include for a Loki affiliated character!! That it’s looking very likely that Alex is intended to be Magnus’s love interest just makes me 10000000x happier. I think Rick did a really great job on Alex too (which shows he’s really evolving with his understanding of the minorities he strives to include in his books: while Nico di Angelo is pretty much my favorite character ever, I felt there were some big misses in how he was written in his coming out scene in ‘Heroes of Olympus’, etc. With Alex I felt like Rick has gotten a much better grip on actually seeing from the lgbt+ point of view.)

I love this series so much. The humor is consistent and had me cracking up out loud throughout the entire book (just like most of his books.) I find the characters in this series some of the most likeable out of all of his works (although he writes so many likeable and relatable characters it’s a steep contest.) Blitzen and Hearthstone continued to steal my heart, I loved them from pretty much the second they showed up in ‘The Sword of Summer’ and I was really happy that this book had such a large section focusing on Hearthstone and we finally got a glimpse into his traumatic family life. I’m really really really hoping that Blitzen and Hearthstone will get together as a canon couple in book three. (Please Rick, please, please, please go there…I think my heart will break if that doesn’t happen.)

Anyway, this book was fantastic and had me staying up until 3 am because I couldn’t put it down. I’m usually more of an audio book consumer and when I read books in hardcopy it usually takes me a while to finish them. I tore through this one in about 24 hours. My only disappointment was that I now have to wait a year for the next one and that this will only be a three book series instead of a five book series.

Rick Riordan if a gift to YA literature and should be treasured. Thank you so much for all the beautiful inclusiveness and representation

Words cannot describe how much I enjoyed this book. Rick has really branched out, creating very diverse characters to reflect reality. His integration of deaf characters, gender non conforming characters, and racial and religious minorities is written beautifully. Not to mention paired with his usual wit and humor that makes Rick's writing so entertaining. His mainstream references of songs and pop culture always amuses me. If you are hesitant to purchase this book I urge you to go for it. It is a great read with new and old characters to fall in love with.

I don't like others cramming their beliefs down my throat but especially not including such things in books for youth. I know our children live in this world and must learn about alternative lifestyles but I am tired of having to deal with it at every turn. It feels like it is forced in this book just because. It added nothing but annoying commentary on a topic that adds nothing to the book. Just a waste of words that is focused on way too much. While this book is fine for adults, I would recommend parents read it first to determine if it is appropriate for their children.

My expectations for this book were not too high; the first one was great, and sequels are so rarely as good as the original. This book blew me out of the water. The characters are incredibly well written, and I really loved the diversity. The plot was engaging, and each little twist managed to catch me off guard. Would definitely recommend!

Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor was an AMAZING sequel to the first book. It starts off a few months after the end of The Sword of Summer, Magnus has gotten a hang of being an enherjar. This book introduces a genderfluid and transgender character, and it's absolutely wonderful to see Rick Riordan diversifying his series. The first book alone introduced a muslim girl, a deaf elf, and a black dwarf. His pervious series, Heroes of Olympus, had characters from all different backgrounds. It's so wonderful to see an author listening to his readers by adding these characters into his books. It's amazing to see because kids will read this book and perhaps see themselves in it. This book not only has diverse characters, but it's got great a great plot, and it ends with a twist you don't really expect atl all. Longer review to come

Let me start by saying Rick Riordan is one of my favorite authors. Percy Jackson is, by far, my favorite. I eagerly awaited the first book in this series, and I enjoyed it. This one I am having a bit of trouble getting into. The story is just not grabbing me. With that being said, I also want to address the authors growing trend of throwing in "diversity characters". I am not averse to alternative lifestyles, however themes like transgender and fluid gender are, I believe, thrown into the story in an attempt to be cutting edge, if you will. I felt that Niko being gay in the Heroes series was somewhat reaching, and now with this new character I m convinced of it. Whether your opinion is that transgenderism is a mental disorder, or the natural order of things, just tossing it into the story for cultural effect does nothing. I'm a little disappointed. I feel it cheapens the story.

Let me tell you about Rick Riordan. This man has never disappointed me with any of his books and this one was no different. From chapter one I was totally engrossed in the story, unable to put it down until I was done and now I'm desperate to find out what happens next. He does an amazing job of representing characters from all walks of life regardless of their race, gender, religion, and level of sass and makes them relateable. This book is a fantastic read and I would highly recommend it.

I have been a fan of Rick Riordans books since reading Percy Jackson and the lightening thief 8 years ago.

Since then I have read every book he wrote, Kane chronicles included, and loved them all.

Unfortunately, the Magnus Chase series doesn't follow the rest of Riotdan's work. It feels pushy, preachy, and agenda driven. In fact the main themes of the books seem to read like a summary of social issues in the news from 2016, Muslim issues, supposedly corrupt cops, homeless kids who disdain society, an angsty trans teen, and what will likely turn into a gay couple. None of these things are problems, and in fact Norse mythology has well documented cases of Loki and his children shifting genders, but none of these issues are integral to the plot either. In fact the characters spend so much time dealing with social issues the real plot seems to fall by the wayside.

Riordan has the right to write about whatever he wants in his books, but readers should be aware that this series is a significant (and disappointing) departure from prior witty adventure stories.

Let me start out by saying that I'm a huge Rick Riordan fan. However this book falls very short compared to his other ones. He gets so caught up on one character detail that he completely forgets that this book needs a plot. Very disappointing and I'm sad to say that I couldn't even complete the whole book...it was that bad.

"Just like the good old days: marching together into the unknown, searching for missing magical weapons, and risking painful death."

This book brings together everything Rick Riordan is good at. The world building is fantastic. The characters are diverse and intriguing. The storyline is entertaining. He brings in an incredibly sarcastic and funny main character and a bunch of really great side characters.

This book was a fast-paced thriller and a must read! Keep up the good work. I am a huge fan of your books. I read the Percy Jackson series, the Heros of Olympus series, the Kane Chronicles, the Magnus Chase series, and the Trails of Apollo.

There needs to be a higher rating to truly describe how much I love this book. It had amazing, realistic, 3D characters in a fun and exciting plot that engaged the reader. Rick Riordan has done it again - and ended it with a perfect hook to buy the next book.

Okay, so I admit, this book was not what i expected. Some might say it's filled with great sense of humor, but others might say that it has forced humor in places meant to be serious, and I' with the latter. In my eyes, the sarcastic comments, 'humorous sayings' look forced and out of place. Another bit about this book is that the plot isn't very an easy book tok be immersed in. There were some boring parts that I couldn't stand. But to be fair, I had high expectations, and that's what brought this disappointment. Overall, this book is not a very bad one, but not the samme as Rick Riordans oher books.

Interesting approach to a pantheon of minority character types who arrive on the after life scene pre-toughened, assured of who they are as older teenagers. No character captures the wonder of a new world of being 'undead' or knowing that powerful beings might challenge their world views of who they were when alive. It would have had a greater potential to grab more readers if that struggle were evident.

First off, I was definitely not disappointed with this book in any way. It kept me reading constantly until I was done and I laughed out loud several times. In addition, I was very much happy with all the representation in this book. Strong female characters, Muslim characters not presented in a negative light, deaf and mute characters using ASL, and not to mention the wonderfully unpredictable character that is Alex Fierro. (Psst, new otp)

I liked greek mythology before, but this made me LOOOVE greek mythology! it is about a boy that is the son of Frey trying to find Thor's hammer, but thats all im going to tell you so I don't spoil it!

Rick Riordan has always walked along this path of inclusiveness, starting with the concept of family and learning disabilities, etc in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. This next installment of Magnus Chase's story is no different.The story is engaging and the world is ever expanding. It delves deeper into personal issues that people from all walks of life, no matter the age, know all too well. And this dose of reality eases into good life lessons as well as mythology lessons. Riordan shows time and time again how easy it is to be inclusive to all walks of life, and treat them well. He expands and goes deeper than i know of any author or story realm to go, making it a truly unique experience. These stories are multi layered and that's what makes them absolutely wonderful. And hopefully this depth and fearlessness catches on, because this world needs it.

For those of you saying that LGBT+ representation in books is inappropriate and harmful for kids, let me tell you a thing. There are kids out there who have been or are being raised by LGBT+ people and are therefore exposed to it on a daily basis for pretty much their entire childhoods. And they end up just fine. So the idea that it is somehow harmful for kids to be exposed to LGBT+ people and concepts for the amount of time that it takes to read a few books is illogical. There is nothing harmful about kids being exposed to LGBT+ for any length of time. In fact, I would argue that sheltering your kids from LGBT+ representation in media is harmful. How is it okay to teach your kids that they should stay away from or reject people who are different and do no harm by being different? Pretty much everyone knows that it's important for kids to learn from a young age that they should be open-minded and accepting of others.
I applaud Rick Riordan for including minorities in his books. Even if it does not always contribute to the main plot, representation is still important. The more demographics are included, the more likely it is that readers will find a character that they can connect with so they can know they are valid and not alone. Making a difference in someone's life that way is incredible, no matter how many individuals are affected.
I can definitely say that The Hammer of Thor was just as well-constructed as I would expect from this author. There were no slow parts, and it had an excellent balance of tension, action, humor, subplots, and surprise. The fictional universe is very detailed and unique, and the major characters are interesting - all multi-dimensional, easily distinguishable, and realistically flawed. It was very easy to see when the author was attempting to make the characters appear admirable and larger than life through their actions and dialogue. It takes a great imagination to come up with intriguing and detailed story elements such as the ones displayed in this series, even if the story is based on mythology. I look forward to Rick Riordan's future works.

All of his other books were much better. This one felt all over the place, badly meshed with the first book of this series, and like he tried to dump all the new age sjw things into it at the last minute.

So I used to love Rick's work. I love the world building, the plot twists, but this book felt more like a PC, liberal indoctrination hammer to my head. Look, I love people, but this book got downright preachy, and it did not fit the plot. Just tell the story already! Transgender issues don't need to be the plot of this book. I also didn't appreciate the mention of Allah as the only god. That was the point I said, nope, we are done. These books should be fun fiction only, not "social justice PC" books.
Sorry Rick, you have lost a long time fan. No more money from this household.

My boys and I have enjoyed every book this author has written. The Red Pyramid series in particular was wonderful. The issue with this book was the frequent preaching about gender fluidity. I want my children to respect all people. This kind of politicizing just took away from the story in my opinion. We are listening to it in the car and my younger son just rolls his eyes and says here we go again when the character of Alex explains his/her gender again. Just tell the story. Kudos for making a young Muslim woman one of the heros. Her character is much more natural and when her beliefs come up it fits better into the story. Alex seems more forced. This doesn't need to be crammed down the readers throat. Surely there was a better way to fit this character into the story. Also as the author does I presume also have Christian readers it would be nice if their beliefs were included sometimes. Just a thought.

I liked his books about the olympians. It was a good plot. So I bought the Magnus Chase ones. Very disappointing. The whole purpose of this books is diversity and liberalism, no entertainment purpose. There is no plot, not really. No one should force his views on kids.

A thrilling companion to the first Magnus Chase book. Rick Riordan breaks new ground in terms of character diversity, a truly inspiring thing to see happen in a mainstream YA series. Wonderful characters, a plot that is edge-of-your-seat while remaining humorous and fun: an all-around great read.