Magnus Chase: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

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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.

 

2 million times better than the first one. Although that might not be fair to the first one, because I think I fell into what I like to call Riordan Burnout. I was in deep with Riordan Spiral time, and after binge reading Percy series and then Heroes of Olympians series along with the graphic novels and a few other extras….Mandy might have been a little tired out of her mythology man, Riordan when she got to the first book. But let’s say that Riordan brought it all in the second installment of this series, and I’m just so ready for book 3.

I thought this pacing was a lot better than the first. I will admit that the one crown is knocked off for the pacing parts mostly because I would get super hyped but then it would take kind of forever to get through one part and then I died out a bit. But then I would get super hyped again because Riordan brought the fun as usual. I just think it could have gone a bit faster in parts.

I really really really enjoyed all of the characters in this novel. In the first book, I really didn’t care for any of them, but I was especially harsh on Magnus and Sam. I LOVED them in this book, and Magnus was a wonderful MC. He was full of wit, he was realistic, and he brought a lot of heart. Sam was just so wonderful too. She is totally fierce and strong in so many of the ways, and her and Amir were just wonderful to see together. Hearth and Blitzen brought the fun and again SO MUCH HEART, and even though they’re not Coach Hedge, they’re fantastic sidekicks.

There were new characters introduced and some of these minor gods/new characters were hilarious and amazing. And speaking of new characters, we were introduced to Alex. Alex is just a shining, amazing addition to this cast. Alex brought the sass and so much strength to this story, but also forever showed that you can be strong and brave but also super vulnerable, too. It was brilliant characterization.

Ariel’s quite upset that she’s not here for book 3, which has promises of water in it.

Also, Riordan continues to make a brilliant cast of characters that are exceedingly diverse. Alex is gender fluid, and it was amazing to see all the moments that Riordan devoted to this. I loved every second of it, and Riordan continues to bring the wonderful diversity needed in YA.

The plot was also a lot more interesting. There was a cool flow that we got into, and I was super invested in the search for Thor’s hammer. It brought the classic Riordan humor and random events that were equal parts hilarious and weird that he excels at. It reminded me a lot of the Percy book plots that I had come to expect instead of the long drawn out story.

Overall, this was a wonderful second book to the series. Riordan brought his writing game yet again, and to me, this series is right back on track. I loved the new additions to this book, and it was such a fun ride. I was so eager to get back to this book each day, and I love my Magnus Chase crew now. Cannot wait to see where book 3 takes us! 4 crowns and an Ariel rating BECAUSE IF YOU READ THIS AND KNOW THE ENDING, YOU KNOW WHY.

What do you think? What was your favorite book of the series? What was the last second book in the series that was better than the first? Was Magnus Chase your favorite series from Riordan? Let’s discuss in the comments below!