The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

*Warning this post may contain spoilers for the first book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods Asgard Series, The Sword of Summer.

Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #2

Publication: 4th October 2016 by Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads Description:

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. 

My thoughts:

I absoultely loved The Hammer of Thor! It was even better than Sword of Summer. No second book syndrome here! It was such a wild adventure and I had so much fun reading it!

Firstly the diversity in this book was great! I love how Rick Riordan is writing more diversely with ever book he writes! A gender fluid character is introduced in The Hammer of Thor and it was handled sensitively and in an appropriate way for middle grade readers. I really appreciated how gender fluidity and pronouns were discussed openly.

The Hammer of Thor covers a lot of topics and issues that other authors would normally shy away from. There is a big emphasis on religion and sexuality throughout the story. I love how although Sam is Muslim and Magnus is atheist they both respect each others beliefs.

The characters were just as much fun to read about as they were in The Sword of Summer. Magnus is still a little sarcastic dork and I love it. Sam is as stubborn and badass as ever. (side note: I love how there is no romance between her and Magnus they are just friends! We need more of this in books- boys and girls can be friends without it turning into a romatic relationship). And a new addition to the cast in The Hammer of Thor is Alex. Alex is a child of Loki and a freaking shape shifter! That's all I'll say. Alex is my favourite in the series!!!

The plot was fabulous. It was fast paced with lots of action. The fact that we know a lot about the world already from book 1 means we dive straight into the action. There is not as much info being thrown at the reader so it's quick to read. The plot was engaging and the short chapters made the story fly by. 

The Hammer off Tor is hilarious; like all of Riordan's books. We get to meet lots of new wacky gods. And there is a load of  pop culture references like selfies and netflixs. It was great.

And the ending!!!Oh my gods it makes me so excited for the next book!!!! I can't believe this is only a trilogy. I can't wait to see how the story wraps up.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Thanks for reading,

A :)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin