The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #2)

by Rick Riordan

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.

• ISBN10: 1368000312
• ISBN13: 9781368000314
• Publish Date: 4 October 2016
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Hyperion
• Edition: Signed ed.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 480
• Language: English

Reviews

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

Binge read this in about 4 hours. Not as funny as the first one but still a really good read.

[Stephanie]

This is just what I needed after finishing Strange the Dreamer. The writing styles are so different, and the humor is so quippy in Riordan's books, that after taking a break from his writing for awhile, I learn to appreciate it even more.

Big old fan of Hearth, though. My favorite.

[thepunktheory]

I'm sure you know it by know: I simply love Rick Riordan's novels. After devouring the Percy Jackson books as well as the Heroes of Olympus series, I was super excited about his new topic: the Norse Gods. One of the main reasons I enjoy Riordan's works so much is because you learn something with each page. I had always been fascinated by Greek mythology but the Norse stuff was completely new to me. As this is the second book in the series by now I have a pretty good idea of what's going on in Asgard and I can't wait to find out more.
Moreover, there is such brilliant humor in these pages! Riordan has definitely some of the best jokes assembled in this one - and also some of the funniest chapter titles.
The story itself is hell of ride and you never know what to expect next. Riordan fills his books with amiable characters and amazing friends. It basically ties right in with the stuff we are used to coming from him!

Another amazing book by Rick Riordan that will make you laugh, cry and even teach you something!

[KitsuneBae]

This review appeared on Wayward Kitsune

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.

[Artemis]

Reviews at The Artemis Reader

I enjoyed this sequel far more than I enjoyed the first book.

Thor’s hammer is lost, Loki is up to no good and a new einherjar to figure out are just a few of the key plot points. The last is perhaps my favorite – Riordan has nothing but grace when it comes to tackling some sensitive and topical issues. Alex Fierro is possibly the best part, and in my opinion is what really made me enjoy this sequel.

Alex is a great character, a child of Loki and gender fluid. For me this was such an interesting perspective to tie into the series. Riordan impressed me with his ability to incorporate an interesting conversation on gender roles and diversity into this series about Norse mythology. She’s (since most of the time Alex is a female) kick-ass, likeable and a great foil to Magnus.

When I first picked up this series I wasn’t too impressed with the first book, I found it a little lackluster and too much of the same formula as the Percy Jackson series. Consider me a changed person, because I am looking forward to the next installment!

[tellemonstar]

Of the three different narrators for the Audible.com versions of the audiobooks, I enjoyed this narrator (yep, Maculay Culkin's brother Kieran) the most. He sound the most like how I imagined Magnus sounding in real-life, slightly sarcastic and I also enjoyed his Alex and Blitzen as well.

[ellieroth]

Ese sonido entre chillido de rata y Gato atacando ha sido bastante interesante.

And yes, IT IS TIME! (!!!!!)