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The Hammer of Thor

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The Hammer of Thor
AuthorRick Riordan
Cover artistJohn Rocco[1]
SeriesMagnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (bk 2)
GenreFantasy, Norse mythology, Young adult
PublisherDisney Hyperion
Publication date
October 4, 2016[2]
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover), audiobook, e-book
Pages528[1]
ISBN9781423160922
Preceded byThe Sword of Summer 
Followed byThe Ship of the Dead 

The Hammer of Thor is the second book in the series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by American author Rick Riordan. It was first published October 4, 2016 as a hardcover, audiobook, and ebook.[1][3] The novel takes place six weeks after the events of the preceding story, The Sword of Summer. It chronicles Magnus Chase's quest to retrieve the missing hammer of Thor and prevent Loki's rise to power.[4] It was given a Lexile score of 690L, making it appropriate for 8-13 year-olds.[5]

The novel was the winner of the 2017 Stonewall Book Award for Children's literature, an American prize honoring novels which portray LGBTQ persons or issues exceptionally well. It was awarded for its portrayal of the genderfluid character Alex Fierro, an einherjar friend of Magnus.

Development

Plot

The book opens six weeks after the close of the preceding novel, The Sword of Summer. Magnus Chase meets with Samirah al-Abbas and Otis, one of the god Thor's two goats, who informs the heroes that Thor's hammer is still lost.[6] The jötunn are beginning to suspect Thor does not have his weapon to defend Midgard and plan to invade. On Otis's advice, Sam and Magnus decide to visit a Norse barrow located in Provincetown. Magnus heads back to Hotel Valhalla to rest and prepare, where he meets Alex Fierro, Sam's newest recruit and a genderfluid child of Loki. While in Valhalla, Magnus has dream visions of Loki manipulating his Uncle Randolph. Loki also tells Magnus about a wedding between Samirah and the giant Thrym in five days, explaining that Magnus will need to bring the bride-price. Magnus, Sam, and their friends Blitzen and Hearthstone travel to the Provincetown barrow, but discover the Skofnung Sword instead of Thor's hammer. Loki appears and informs the quartet that the Sword and matching whetstone will be Sam's bride-price. They are reluctant to help Loki, and so he has Randolph Chase wound Blitzen with the Sword.

Since wounds caused by the Sword can only be healed by its whetstone, the four are forced to hunt for this Stine. Hearth, Magnus, and a petrified Blitz travel to Alfheim. There, Magnus learns that the Stone is in the possession of Hearth's father, Alderman. Alderman insists that Hearth repay a wergild he owes before he takes the Stone. Magnus and Hearthstone track down a dwarf named Andvari and force him to give them his treasure, which they use to repay Hearth's debt. With the Stone, they heal Blitzen. After escaping Alderman, who has been driven insane by Andvari's cursed ring, the trio returns to Midgard. With Alex Fierro and Sam, Magnus visits the god Heimdall to locate Utgard-Loki. Rejoining Blitz and Hearth, Magnus's quest group then travels to Utgard-Loki; after completing some tasks to prove their worth, the giant king tells them that Thrym has Thor's hammer (to be given to the bride as part of the traditional Norse wedding ritual) and helps them track him down. In order to retrieve the hammer and stop the giants' invasion of Midgard, the quest group must go through with the wedding and allow Loki to get his hands on the Skofnung Sword.

The goddess Sif arrives and transports the mortals to Asgard. They explain the situation to Sif's husband Thor, who agrees to help them trick Thrym and retrieve the hammer. Since Samirah is already betrothed, Alex volunteers to act as the bride, because at the time she is a daughter of Loki. The group travels to the cave where Loki is bound. Although they successfully find the hammer, Loki forces Randolph to use the Skofnung Sword to cut his bonds. Magnus's hallmates and a group of gods gods arrive and defeat the giants, but Loki and Randolph escape. The mortals and einherjar return to Hotel Valhalla and are told by Helgi that their next mission will be to find and attempt to recapture Loki. As Loki has gone to find the Naglfar, a boat, Magnus contacts his cousin Annabeth to ask for her boyfriend's (Percy Jackson, son of the Greek god of the ocean) help.[4][7]

Characters

Main article: List of characters in mythology novels by Rick Riordan § Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
  • Magnus Chase - son of the Norse god Frey and the mortal Natalie Chase. In The Sword of Summer, Magnus becomes an einherji and goes to live in Hotel Valhalla. He is described as looking like Kurt Cobain. He is gifted with healing powers and resistance to extreme temperatures, and works with the sword Sumarbrander.
  • Samariah "Sam" al-Abbas - daughter of Loki and a mortal doctor. She is a Valkyrie, tasked with bringing the souls of the honorable dead to Valhalla. She also performs special side missions for the god Odin. Sam is Muslim and betrothed to a teenager named Amir Fadlan. She has been living with her grandparents Jid and Bibi since the death of her mother. She currently works as a math tutor but hopes to become an aircraft pilot.
  • Alex Fierro - a genderfluid child of Loki, who was his/her mother. Throughout the novel, the character is referred to as either "he" or "she" depending on his/her current gender, rather than with a mix of pronouns. Alex enjoys pottery and uses a pottery wire-turned garrote as a weapon. She/he also shapeshifts, like his/her mother. Alex harbors a great deal of resentment towards her mortal family, who disapproved of his/her gender identity, and has been living homeless on the streets of Boston. Alex died defending a homeless man from spectral wolves; as an einherji she/he lives on the same floor as Magnus.
  • Blitzen "Blitz" - a dwarf and the son of the dwarf Bilì and the goddess Freya, making him Magnus's cousin. Blitz owns and operates a fashionwear store called "Blitzen's Best" in Boston.
  • Hearthstone "Hearth" - an alf, son of the influential elf Alderman. He is deaf-mute - a fact which his parents always resented, especially after the death of their younger son Andiron. Andiron was killed by a brunnmigi while the two boys were playing near a well; because Hearth was unable to hear the monster and thus save his brother, Alderman held him accountable for Andiron's death and forced Hearth to pay a wergild. In The Hammer of Thor, Magnus helps Hearth repay this debt. Hearthstone speaks Alf Sign Language and uses magic by casting runestones.
  • Jack (Sumarbrander) - formerly the sword of Frey, now in possession of the god's son Magnus. Sumarbrander chose the name "Jack" when Magnus took possession of him. The sword is capable of fighting, talking, and flying about on its own, but the next person to hold him experiences fatigue proportional to that of a traditional swordsman performing Jack's actions.
  • Amir Fadlan - Sam's betrothed and employee of Fadlan's Falafel. In The Hammer of Thor, Magnus and Sam explain to Amir about the Norse gods, which nearly kills him.
  • Randolph Chase - Magnus's uncle. Loki blackmails Randolph into helping him by promising to bring back the man's deceased wife and daughters. Commits suicide during this book.

Publication

The Hammer of Thor was first published as a hardcover in the U.S. on October 4, 2016 with cover illustration by John Rocco and interior rune illustrations by Michelle Gengaro-Kokmen.[1] Ebook and audiobook editions were also released on the same day.[8][3] The audiobook is read by actor Kieran Culkin and published by Listening Library.[8] Ebooks are available from most major electronic book publishers, including iBooks, Kindle Store, and Barnes and Noble.[1]

UK and Australian English-language editions in hardcover were also released October 4 by Puffin Books.[9] A second edition, this one a paperback, was released by Puffin on October 5, 2017.[9] To date, editions have also been released in Spanish, French, Chinese, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Czech, Danish, Bulgarian, Turkish, and Hebrew.[3] Although many foreign-language editions used John Rocco's cover art, a few (and the Puffin editions) have unique art by other illustrators.[3]

The book received a Lexile score of 690L, making it age- and difficulty-appropriate for the average 8-13 year-old.[5]

Info on sequel? - yes, needed

The sequel, The Ship of the Dead was released on October 3, 2017[10]. On the 29th of October, 2017, it had an average of 4.48 stars on goodreads[11].

Reception

Common Sense Media gave the book four out of five stars. They praised the continued inclusion of diverse characters as well as the storyline. However, they criticized the book for the lack of character development for Magnus.

Avoid using sources marked "questionable" unless there aren't enough others. (They may be hard to get past an AfC reviewer.)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "The Hammer of Thor". ReadRiordan.com. Read Riordan. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  2. ^ "Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 2 the Hammer of Thor". Publishers Weekly Online. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Editions of The Hammer of Thor". Goodreads Editions Viewer. Goodreads. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Riordan, Rick (2016). The Hammer of Thor. Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-4231-6092-2.
  5. ^ a b "The Hammer of Thor". Lexile Framework for Reading. MetaMetrics, Inc. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  6. ^ Riordan, Rick (2015). The Sword of Summer. Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-4231-6091-5.
  7. ^ "The Hammer of Thor". Disney Publishing Worldwide. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "The Hammer of Thor". Audible. Amazon. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor (Book 2)". Puffin Books. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  10. ^ "The Ship of the Dead – Rick Riordan". rickriordan.com. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  11. ^ "The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #3)". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
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