The Hammer of Thor

Recensione completa qui: http://thereadingpal.blogspot.it/2017/01/recensione-52-il-martello-di-thor.html

Ripensai a mio zio Radolph. Come si fa a stabilire
quando qualcuno è irrimediabilmente perduto?
Quand'è che diventano troppo malvagi o pericolosi o
attaccati al proprio modo di essere da costringerci ad accettare
il fatto che non cambieranno mai? Per quanto tempo
puoi continuare a tentare di salvarli, e quand'è che invece
devi rinunciare e piangere per loro come se fossero morti?


Rick Riordan è uno dei miei autori preferiti: in romanzi per ragazzi, riesce a inserire tematiche che stanno a cuore solo a noi giovani, ma forse, se le leggessero gli adulti, potrebbero piacere anche a loro. E sono tematiche importanti.
Nei romanzi di Riordan, show more la famiglia in particolare è sempre importante, per una ragione od un'altra. Forse è proprio perché i protagonisti sono giovani, forse c'è qualcosa di più profondo; ad esempio, il fatto che per quanti errori i nostri genitori, o la famiglia in generale, possano commettere, dobbiamo sempre garantire loro il beneficio del dubbio, fino a quando diventa troppo.
E' questo che Magnus tenta di fare per suo zio Radolph, grazie ad un consiglio di Annabeth, sua cugina, a cui il consiglio a sua volta era stato dato da Percy.
In questo libro, Magnus deve cercare il martello di Thor, assieme ai suoi amici più fidati, Samirah, Blitz ed Heart, ma anche assieme ad Alex, un nuovo personaggio che io ho adorato. E' divers* da Samirah, in un senso buono.
Alex è genderfluid e transgender... ed è anche figli* di Loki, dio dell'inganno, e ciò fa si che Alex e Samirah siano imparentati. Alex, come Magnus, ha dovuto vivere in strada, ed è molto simile a Magnus sotto certi aspetti. Io personalmente ho amato questo personaggio, che vedrei bene assieme a Magnus, come coppia. Un'altra coppia che vorrei vedere sono Blitz e Heart, fin dal primo libro.
In Il Martello di Thor la ricerca di Mjolnir è sicuramente importante, ma viene dato spazio anche ad altri personaggi, come Heart: conosciamo suo padre, e capiamo quanto sia stato difficile per lui vivere in quella casa così... fredda, senza alcun calore umano. Heart ne ha subite davvero tante, e capiamo ancora di più perché si considera una "coppa vuota", ma capiamo anche che col tempo quella coppa lasciata vuota da una famiglia senza cuore può essere riempita da un altro tipo di famiglia, quella formata da i suoi amici. Almeno, questa è una speranza che ho per Heart.
Oltre a tutto questo, ovviamente, l'azione non manca: Loki sta tramando, ma sembra che questa volta sia dalla parte di Magnus e degli dei di Asgard. Cerca infatti di recuperare il martello perduto... Ma a quale scopo? E' questo che nel corso del libro scopriamo, e i fatti si susseguono uno dopo l'altro, avvicinandoci così passo dopo passo al Ragnarok, il giorno del giudizio.
Riordan ha un piccolo problema, per me, ed è per questo che non riesco a dargli le 5 stelle complete: considera gli dei non come dei veri e propri, ma solo come entità potenti. Li tratta con davvero poco rispetto, e in particolare in questo libro mi riferisco a Thor. Questo, per una politeista come me, non può essere accettato. E, se utilizzi i nostri dei per i tuoi libri, abbi la decenza di considerarli tali.
A parte questa pecca (piuttosto grossa, ma sorvoliamo), i libri di Riordan sono sempre belli da leggere, grazie anche a personaggi sarcastici come Magnus, che alleggeriscono la storia e ci fanno scappare qualche risata. I personaggi sono sempre ben costruiti, e i rapporti tra loro sono sempre molto importanti.
L'ho considerata un'ottima lettura e ve la consiglio. show less

***This review and more can be found at my blog Love at First Write***

I am absolute Riordan trash and will always read his books but this one was seriously good. As usual, I pre-ordered Rick’s book and started it the second it arrived! Unfortunately, college life has got me reading and writing so many things that I didn’t get a chance to finish until after my finals ended this Friday (4/28). Just in time for Rick’s next book that comes out May 2nd!

I love this book because I love the quips and sassy banter that fills all of Rick’s novels. They’re even better because I’m actually learning about mythology while reading them! Percy Jackson got me hooked because I absolutely adored and extensively read about Greek mythology as a show more kid and it was awesome to see the myths in action. Now, the Norse Gods have become just as enjoyable.

What is truly my favorite part of this series that puts it above all of his other books is the diversity of characters represented. Our main character, Magnus Chase, was homeless on the streets of Boston before he was killed and taken to Valhalla to train to fight in Ragnarok. He’s such a caring guy which is such a refresher from the macho hero stereotype going around YA. Hearthstone is a runes magician who’s deaf and all the gang learns ASL to communicate with him. The book doesn’t treat his deafness as a disability which is amazing for kids to be reading, while still acknowledging situations that make Hearth uncomfortable that an able-bodied person wouldn’t think twice about (such as having your hand held or pinned down, hence losing Hearth’s ability to communicate). There are also the very badass children of Loki, Sam and Alex. Alex is the only one that wasn’t in book one, and they’re gender fluid which is why this books gets 5 stars. Rick added a new character and that character expanded the books diversity- thank you Rick! Alex’s presence respectfully teaches Magnus, and therefore kids reading the series, about gender fluid people and representation is so important. So far, I have not read a single book including a gender fluid person and being able to read about a character like some of my friends helps validate their existence. Rick also does an awesome job of Sam being a POC Muslim without using stereotypes. Magnus again respectfully learns her boundaries and her religion which is again great for kids to be reading. Diversity is such a good thing and for a popular author to delve into it is fantastic for the kids growing up now. I seriously wish books were like this back in my day.

The book is fast-paced without feeling rushed, and has a perfect balance between dialogue and action. Having recently started living in Boston for university, having a book that’s partially set in Boston has been a blast and reading about all of the Nine Worlds of Norse Myth and exploring them for the first time along with Magnus is the best! show less

Summary: Magnus Chase may seem like your average teenager on the surface, but average teenagers don't have to deal with problems like the end of world. Magnus is an einherji, a warrior who died bravely in battle and was taken by a Valkyrie (his friend, Samirah al-Abbas) to Valhalla, to train to fight the end on the side of the Norse Gods at Ragnarok. Magnus is also the son of the god Frey, the god of summer, fertility, and healing. Magnus has started to settle in, make friends with his hallmates, and become accustomed to the ways of the afterlife (although he's still perfectly free to return to Midgard - a.k.a. Boston - to get a cup of coffee or some of Sam's boyfriend's falafel.) However, on one of these excursions, Magnus is sent to show more meet a very nervous goat, who informs him that Thor, the Thunder God himself, is missing his... well, his certain item. If word gets to his enemies that Thor is hammer-less, the giants would likely storm Midgard themselves. So Magnus has to somehow find and retrieve the hammer, even though his friends Blitzen and Hearth (a dwarf and an elf, respectively) are nowhere to be found, he's got an unusual new floormate who he's not sure he can trust (she did behead him, after all), his sword Jack has a nasty penchant for singing pop songs at inopportune moments, and he's pretty sure that there's something more sinister going on than just routine hammer-theft. But can Magnus figure out what it is before he walks right into a trap?

Review: Rick Riordan's books are just unfailingly fun, and this one was no exception. It follows the basic pattern of most of his other books - heroes on a quest to thwart the bad guys' plans and/or save the world, encounter adventures along the way involving various gods or other elements of the mythology, heroes learn something about themselves along the way (usually a life lesson for a different character during each of the set-piece adventures), bad guys' plans turn out to be something other than what the heroes were initially planning for, heroes save the world anyways... at least for now, because there's still something bad coming on the horizon. This rather predictable pattern could render these books formulaic, but they're just so darn stinkin' fun that I don't care. This book, while it fit the pattern and did feel somewhat episodic, also had the benefit of a stronger central plot line that tied the various adventures together more strongly than is always the case for others of Riordan's books. The various clues all click together by the end, which I'll admit that I didn't see coming any more than our heroes did.

I really enjoy Riordan's sense of humor, which is good at taking familiar (and some unfamiliar) elements of the Norse mythos and reinterpreting them to fit into our modern world. (Like, OF COURSE Thor has the most epic man-cave ever, and OF COURSE he turns his ever-reincarnating goats into Hot Pockets when he slaughters them.) Riordan's also got a great imagination, and is really good at writing action sequences that are fast-paced and easy to picture and just over-the-top enough to be funny without losing sights of the stakes involved. I also love that his cast of characters are effortlessly diverse, and that while he doesn't ignore it (for example, Magnus and Sam get into discussions about how she can maintain her Muslim faith while simultaneously being the daughter of a Norse god, and a Valkyrie to boot), he also doesn't make a huge Thing about it, or make that diversity the only interesting thing about the character. As another example, there's a genderfluid character introduced in this book. Riordan explains what that means in a way that's organic to the character and the situation and without lecturing, and while Magnus is initially a little bit thrown, eventually he's just like "oh, okay, that's who she (most of the time) is," and together they proceed to kick butt. It's realistic and refreshing at the same time, and in a series where everything about the world is turned up to eleven, it provides a good emotional grounding to have multidimensional and relatable characters. (...and Jack, the enthusiastic singing sword who's just looking to date an attractive lady weapon. Who doesn't relate to that?) 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Start with the first book in the series, of course. But if you're looking for a lighthearted take on Norse mythology (which, admittedly, is mostly not-that-serious to begin with), this series - like all of Riordan's books - is a lot of fun. show less

And Rick Riordan does it again with another amazing book. Honestly. Same old formula, you know it's a Rick Riordan book, but with a different cast of characters that spices it up every time. Pacing is great as always and I devour these books like I devour a full plate of pasta when I haven't eaten all day. Which sucks, because I'd love to savour them.

I already love Magnus as a person (he's a sarcastic, harsh guy, but he also has his gentle moments), and I love Samirah and Blitz and Hearthstone. I love their dynamic and their adventuring, and that was the first hundred or so pages of the book - good ol' times like usual. But there's a new character, and this new character - I'm floored. Alex Fierro saved 2016. Alex is great - angry and show more vindictive and sarcastic and jokey and definitely a tough one and Magnus has a cruuuuuuush, which is hilarious and adorable. And also hilarious because Malec from TMI (Magnus and Alec). Their dynamic really works.

You know, every time I think, wow, I can't like Rick Riordan any more, and then he does something that makes my jaw drop. Characters lured me into the PJO series, but he's become really, REALLY good with diversity. When Nico came out as gay and then got a POV - holy shit. When Apollo turned out to be unashamedly and unapollogetically (haha) (i actually dont know how to spell that) bisexual - holy shit. A Muslim girl and a deaf character - holy shit. And then Alex Fierro's genderfluid, which had me literally crying on the train because holy shit there is a genderfluid transgender character in a popular children's book and thousands of kids are going to read this and trans kids are going to read this and non-binary kids are going to read this and they're not going to feel alone. She/he is only the second non-binary character in popular literature I've read, EVER, and well-written too - just enough explanation to raise awareness (and even note that genderfluidity isn't the only shade of non-binary gender) but Alex's story is ultimately not about being genderfluid - it's about quests and monsters and gods, like all the other characters, and Alex's genderfluidity is only a part of him/her, just like Sam's religion, or the heritages of the POC in HOO.

Like: writers have to make conscious choices if they want to reflect the diversity of the world around them. Rick Riordan's world feels real, like these are all people you'll meet in a big American city (or a Norse afterlife that emulates a big American city). You look around the real world and there's LGBT people, there's people of color, there's deaf people and people of different religions and classes. And it doesn't feel like a media world, one where we've been taught to look around and see white, straight, abled, cis people and consider that normal. It feels like the real world, even though this is wholly fantasy. And I'm so glad his books, past the original series, keep reflecting that.

Some little things:
- Shoutout to Rick Riordan for his 2016 books having a 2 for 2 on a) bi/pan narrators (Magnus, the lil shit, gets speechless at the sight of Alex when he's a boy), and Mpreg references. Good job, Rick Riordan. Explicit mpreg. (I'm being sarcastic with the mpreg but not the bi/pan characters god dAMN Rick your books are queer af)
- "Maggie" I love you Alex, I really do
- Sam and Amir. Oh my god they're so cute and I really love how Sam and Amir stay faithful to their religion. I'm glad Rick elaborated on that.
- HEARTH. Dear sweet Jesus Christ Hearthstone my poor elf oh my god. I want to wrap him up in a blanket and hug him for a long long time because he's been through so much. Rick Riordan has never really shied away from the topic of abusive parents, but the last few books I just want to wrap the kids up and tell them that I'LL BE YOUR PARENT NOW.
- Oh, shit. Loki. Loki, Loki, Loki. Does that last scene remind anyone else of the fucking Mark of Athena cliffhanger? Because no, not as bad, but Jesus Fucking Christ How Can I Wait Until Next Year
- An atheist and a Muslim walk into a pagan afterlife...
- Why did you have to bring up how Alex reminded you of your mom you clearly have a crush on her god damn it Magnus don't go all Freud on us fucking hell you already got turned on by your AUNT in the last book can we chill it with the incest Rick
- it ain't a rick riordan book without mythological incest and/or bestiality!

The only bone to I have to pick with this entire book is this: leave Percy alone holy shit let the poor boy finish high school let the poor boy have a BREAK. show less

I really enjoyed The Sword of Summer, Rick Riordan's first installment of the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Series, and there is no sophomore slump in The Hammer of Thor. Magnus Chase is joined once again by the Valkyrie Samirah, the dwarf Blitzen and the elf Hearthstone. The book also introduces a new character, a genderfluid teenager and child of Loki recently arrived to Valhalla as an einherji. Together they are tasked with finding Thor's missing hammer Mjolnir, while Loki attempts to trick and tempt them to his

Their adventures take them to Provincetown, Hearth's unhappy home in Alfheim, a bowling alley for giants, and the bar from Cheers. Like the predecessor the book is full of humorous mythological allusions, impossible show more predicaments, and a lot of Boston or Boston-ish locations. show less

Magnus Chase, wise-cracking, angst-ridden son of Frey, is back along with his friends: Muslim Valkyrie Samirah, mute wizard elf Hearthstone, and fashionable dwarf Blitzen. This time around, they're tasked with finding Thor's hammer, which is tangled up in Loki's plan to marry Samirah off to an earth giant. And we're introduced to Sam's half-sibling, Alex, who is not only a shapeshifter like Sam & their common parent (Loki), but also gender fluid.

This second book is really good in all the ways R-squared is good: non-stop plot that brings mythology into the modern world, pop-culture references & snarky humor galore.

Enjoyable entry in Rick Riordan's Norse mythology series. I actually prefer this to the first book, which -- in the interests of setting the stage -- threw all sorts of deities, worlds, and concepts at readers. The action in "The Hammer of Thor" is still fast-paced, but it doesn't feel quite as overwhelming, and there's actually time for character development (especially important, since this introduces a new resident of Valhalla). Being a Bostonian, I also like all the references to my hometown and the area. No Fenway Park, though ... and given that the last book will send these characters to sea, the Citgo sign may be as close as I get.