Book Review: The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2)

Release Date: October 4, 2016
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 480 pages
Source: Purchased Book

Thor's hammer is missing again.

The thunder god has a disturbing habit of misplacing his weapon--the mightiest force in the Nine Worlds. But this time the hammer isn't just lost, it has fallen into enemy hands.

If Magnus Chase and his friends can't retrieve the hammer quickly, the mortal worlds will be defenseless against an onslaught of giants. Ragnarok will begin. The Nine Worlds will burn.

Unfortunately, the only person who can broker a deal for the hammer's return is the gods' worst enemy, Loki--and the price he wants is very high.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Magnus Chase has died, been taken to Valhalla, and stalled the Norse Apocalypse, called Ragnarok, for the time being. Now, with Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, still missing, the giants of Jotunheim are growing restless and preparing for war, the only thing that can stop them is to find the Hammer of Thor, but of course it isn't as simple as just locating the hammer. On this adventure, Magnus will make new friends, learn more about the pasts of his current ones, and with any luck save the world... again. I have to say that out of all of Riordan's protagonists Magnus is probably my favorite followed closely by the hilariously vain Apollo, and in this book he shines like never before. Now that Magnus has had some time to get acclimated to his new situation, train, and learn about what it means to be an Einherjar he's a bit more confident, but he still has a great sarcastic streak to him. Looking back over the book I tried to see if he had any really noticeable or overly significant character development, but there was nothing that conspicuously stuck out at me. Nonetheless, he's still spectacularly well-rounded character and narrator.

Romance: So Magnus doesn't really have a romance in this book, though there is some more implied romance or foreshadowing to a possible romance or I'm reading way too much into things. Anyway if what I may be reading too much into is true than Magnus does get a love interest in this book, but the romance is pretty subtle, i.e. no kissing or declarations of feelings, but (again if I'm reading the situation correctly) there's some really great chemistry that left me shipping the hopefully future couple. Romance isn't a large plot point in this series, however, it does come up here and there and one place it comes up is with Magnus's (best?) friend Sam and her betrothed, Amir. Amir has a slightly larger role to play in this story and Sam and his relationship is very compelling to read. It's easy to see how much they care for each other and even though they are a romantic pairing established prior to the start of the series, they are really easy to root for and you don't find that very often with couples who get together prior to the start of a book or series.

World-Building: Reentering the world of Norse myths I was really excited. If you've read my review of the first book in this series you know there were parts of this series' world-building that I wasn't very impressed with, i.e. there were just enough parallels to the Percy Jackson series to make me uncomfortable. The being said though I still really enjoyed this world and was excited to get back. Once again this world is steeped in Norse Mythology and this one as you may be able to guess based on the title and cover features myths about Thor and/or Loki most of all. Don't get me wrong there are shot outs to plenty of Norse tales and myths but Thor and Loki definitely take center stage. I love learning more about Norse mythology and all of the variations on tales I'd already heard. I'm by no means as knowledgeable about Norse mythology as I am with Greek or even Egyptian mythology, but I was pleasantly surprised with all of the tales I already knew.

Predictability: This book has some good, if not fantastic twists in it. Without giving too much away, or really anything if I can help it, there were a few times when I thought I knew what was going on and what would happen only for this author to throw a huge curve ball. There are of course easily predicted moments, and for the most part, it's easy to see where the story's headed with got me to notice something. This story and the story in The Sword of Summer have a lot of parallels. I'm not going to name them since I don't want to spoil anything but there are a few too many similarities between the two that, like with the first book, it made me a bit uncomfortable. Unlike with the first book, it wasn't "plot specific" details that were paralleled but the adventure itself. There were certain points in both adventures that were mirrored and once I saw the first couple it was impossible to unsee. There aren't a whole lot, but, again, like last time just enough to make me a bit uncomfortable.

Ending: Dear lord this ending was intense! Going into the final climax things were going according to plan, or well they were going the way I had expected them too, and while the ending was *mostly* predictable, there were a few moments that made up for it in the gravity of their twists. After the dust settles things are set up for the final book in this series, I'm sad that there's only one book left but Rick Riordan did throw readers a pretty big bone with one of the best, and probably most excruciating to wait, cliffhangers yet. (Excluding the one in Mark of Athena)

Rating:

I loved this new adventure in the Nine worlds! Even though the two quests have so far hit similar notes in a slightly uncomfortable and seemingly unintentional way, since I enjoyed this story so much I think I'll reserve judgment to see how this trilogy comes together.

Book Review: Thor's Serpents (The Blackwell Pages #3)

Release Date: May 19, 2016
Author: K. L. Armstrong & M. A. Marr
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Length: 368 pages
Source: Purchased Book

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

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

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

    

Review:

Protagonists: Picking up soon after the shocking, and a bit annoying ending of the previous installment, our heroes have everything they need to fight at Ragnarok, but now, with Fen trapped by wulfenkind magic to lead a pack of Raiders into a fight where they're best bet is to fight against his friends, things aren't looking so good. Matt and Laurie work to fight off monsters and find the battleground of Ragnarok before it's too late and they can't save the world. Things are looking bleak but these characters know how to get out of a tough spot. I really enjoyed how these characters interacted with the world around them, while there is still a bit of growing and developing for each of them to do, what I enjoyed most was how they were able to figure things out in a realistic way that didn't feel too much like a Deus Ex Machina, and I'll get to it in a bit, but there are a few moments that didn't work so well.

World-Building: Going into this final book Ragnarok is immanent and these final battles will begin, however, there is still much to learn about this world before we get to Ragnarok. There are characters that resurface, and origins that we have yet to see. There are many intricate things going on that all lead up to the final battle. There were a few things that did bother me, and I'm not quite sure if I even should be. Without giving too much away there are moments when certain things are hinted at, that it would have left a stronger impact if they were just flat out acknowledged otherwise they should have just been left out entirely. Granted, I could have misconstrued things or put too many dots together that weren't really there. And I know it's a middle grade novel, but some of these things can totally be handled by an average Middle Grader. Overall, I did really enjoy the revelations and new content added to this story as our time in this world was wrapping up.

Predictability: There were quite a few things that I was wrong about. First off, there was something that I thought was confirmed in the previous installment, that turned out not to be true and I just misinterpreted the information, which kind of bummed me out. Though I will say I wasn't 100% wrong, just a good 99.5%. Secondly there were a few things that I thought there was foreshadowing in this book for that I just totally missed. Don't get me wrong, there were a good bit of twists I called, it's jut that all the good ones slipped past me. And I will say that all but a few I really enjoyed being shocked by.

Ending: I've talked before about my newfound fascination with endings of standalones or series and the idealistic factor attached to it. The ending of this book is Ragnarok, and if you think that's a spoiler you're crazy, anyway since the ending is Ragnarok I expected some serious fallout and for the ending not to be too idealistic, even for a MG novel, and granted it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but there seemed to be quite a few Deus Ex Machina moments where even things that felt planned and plotted out, came off as some last minute shot to make things work out right. Like I said the ending not 100% idealistic, but it did feel like things fell a bit too much into place.

Rating:

I love this series and even this specific installment a lot, too cheery ending aside. Anyway, these authors did a fantastic job at creating a fun and adventurous tour through Norse Mythology. If you're waiting in agony for the next Rick Riordan book, whichever one that may be, give this series a try if you haven't already!

Book Review: The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)

Release Date: October 6, 2015
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 528 pages
Source: Purchased Book

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

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

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

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

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

    

Review:

Protagonist: Magnus Chase has been living on the street ever since his mom dies under horrific and confusing circumstances two years ago. He's never run to his uncle who lives in the city, due to his mother's warnings about him, and has stayed one step ahead of the police who consider him a person of interest in his mother's death. I really liked Magnus, he's such a sarcastic character that he makes even the most boring things seem funny. Over the course of the book he starts to realize just who he is and his place in this world. His character development is really pronounced it's easy to see not only that he does grow but the reasons and experiences that influence who he's becoming.

World-Building: This is the only thing about this book that disappointed me. It's not that I didn't enjoy it, because I really did, however it felt very much like Percy Jackson with a Norse coat of paint. When I read the Kane Chronicles it felt very much like a Rick Riordan series, with mythology and adventure, but it also felt wholly separate and different from the Percy Jackson series, whereas this just felt too much like it in a lot of ways. It's nothing obvious or huge, just small things that sort of add up over time to where, for me, it was undeniable. I just wish Riordan had just tried to do something more different with this trilogy.

Predictability: So despite the amount of small similarities between this series and PJO, when it came to twists and surprises this book was original. While there was quite a bit that was easy to predict, basic tropes, cliches, and whatnot there were times when I was very surprised by what happens and what was revealed. There were some pretty big twists, and while I was surprised by what happened I was never truly shocked because everything seems so right, nothing seemed out of place or as though it came out of no where, things just seemed to happen the way they were always meant to.

Ending: So the ending had quite a bit of twists and turns in it. The final climax was fantastic, characters really came into their own and used their vast array of talents to help Magnus achieve the things he needed to and possibly even more. The very end was an epilogue, written in third person that has some revelations of it's own and sets up the next book with a wicked cliffhanger.

Rating:

Wow, I never thought it would hurt this much to give a Rick Riordan book four stars, but I really felt that this book needed to become it's own thing and have a very unique formula, but instead it just felt as though Riordan used the PJO formula and tweaked it here and there, gave it a coat of Norse paint, and created this book. I still loved it to pieces but I just couldn't get over this.