The Hammer of Thor
2016
- serie:magnus_chase_and_the_gods_of_asgard
- viking legends
- adventure
- lgbtq young adult
- stonewall book awards
- children's fiction
- fantasy fiction
- gods, fiction
- adventure and adventurers, fiction
- norse mythology
The story
"Magnus Chase, you nearly started Ragnarok. What are you going to do next?" It's been six weeks since Magnus and his friends returned from defeating Fenris Wolf and the fire giants. Magnus has adjusted to life at the Hotel Valhalla—as much as a once-homeless and previously alive kid can. As a son of Frey, the god of summer, fertility, and health, Magnus doesn't exactly fit in with the rest of Odin's chosen warriors, but he has a few good peeps among his hallmates on floor nineteen, and he's been dutifully training for Ragnarok along with everyone else. His days have settled into a new kind of normal. But Magnus should have known there's no such thing as normal in the Nine Worlds. His friends Hearthstone and Blitzen have disappeared. A new hallmate is creating chaos. According to a very nervous goat, a certain object belonging to Thor is still missing, and the thunder god's enemies will stop at nothing to gain control of it. Time to summon Jack, the Sword of Summer, and take action. Too bad the only action Jack seems to be interested in is dates with other magical weapons. . .
What it’s like
Brisk, wisecracking Norse-myth adventure written for young readers, with a voice that stays chatty and sunny even when the stakes climb. The prose is quick and dialogue-heavy, full of short punchy chapters, jokey asides, and bright, slightly scruffy descriptions of Boston's streets, a sprawling hotel full of warriors, and the glowing weirdness of the Nine Worlds. Expect a tone of warm, low-key humor with flashes of mythic grandeur, the reading mood of a sunny afternoon on a park bench or a lazy weekend with a snack close by. Pacing is steady and fast, with frequent cliffhanger chapter breaks, and the emotional core is a young outsider finding his footing among a found family of misfits. Violence is present in the form of monster fights and battles with giants and enemies, described briskly and without gore, and the romantic and queer threads are light, sweet, and affirming. Good for middle-grade and young YA readers, and for adults who want an easy, funny, uplifting fantasy with a mythology hook.
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