Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard the Hammer of Thor is a book about Magnus, a Norse einherji who is trying to stop Thrym, the giant king from marrying his friend, Samirah (Sam). Magnus travels through the Nine worlds with his friends Alex, Sam, Hearth, and Blitz to stop the marriage as well and keep Loki, god of mischief and magic, from escaping prison. This fantasy book by Rick Riordan in the first person point of view tackles the main ideas of religion and friendship. This is a wonderful example of a fantasy novel because it has many unique characters and sequences that are different from real life, such as the fact that the title character is a dead warrior of Odin.
I enjoyed this book because of the way Rick Riordan tackles very complex ideas such as genderfluid and transgender people, and abusive parents. Here are some examples of the points I just talked about, (Pg. 272) “Look, some people prefer them,’ Alex said. ‘They’re non-binary or mid-spectrum or whatever. If they want you to use them, then that’s what you should do”(pg.182) “I couldn’t think of what else to say. I wanted him to know he wasn’t alone-that someone in this room cared for him…I wanted to yell at Mr. Alderman that Hearthstone was a better elf than his parents ever were.” I also think that Riordan did a really good job with the humor in this book. (pg. 304) “My brain refused to get out of my head. Inconsiderate brain.” I would suggest this book for anybody who likes Percy Jackson as this book is very reminiscent of it, as well as people who like Norse mythology because this book has a LOT of it. This book is one of Rick Riordan’s best works outside of the Percy Jackson series and it is definitely one of the top ten books I have ever read.
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