Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: Book 2- The Hammer Of Thor

A Worthy Sequel to the First Book -The Sword Of Summer (This a is a link to the first Book's review).
This Book is especially quintessential to the mythological fanatics. It tingles the imagination of the readers further than they can even dream,to the extent of making them believe that Norse Gods roamed the Earth.

The book is suitable for kids above 12 years of age. The Book is a masterpiece, one of the most irresistible creations of Rick Riordan. 

The book throws light on the life of our hero Magnus Chase and his bunch of friends ,i.e., Samirah al Abbas, the reinstated Valkyrie , Blitzen , the Dwarf, and Hearthstone , the Elf. It commences six weeks after the First Book has ended.

Magnus is completely unaware of the happenings in the outside world (the Real Nine Worlds), outside Valhalla. Unexpectedly Sam ( Samirah) drops a message that she wanted to talk a matter of Life and Death with him. They are expecting an informant, who will explain the whole situation to Magnus. But Samirah receives a message to deliver a soul to the Hall of Heroes- Valhalla. 

This leaves Magnus realizes that the informant , Holy Goat , is Otis ,the goat, who with his Brother Marvin serves as Thor's Chariot Puller as well as his dinner. Otis delivers to him the disturbing information that Thor's Hammer Mjolnir, the mightiest Force in the Nine Worlds, is missing again and they want them to find it.

An ax goes thwack through Otis's neck as Magnus notices a masked person running away from the scene. Who is this person and what does he want? Why does he advise Magnus not to go to Provincetown as the Goat had suggested?

Magnus is further irritated by the fact that a person Alex Fierro arrives in Valhalla and not only punches Samirah but also Helgi,the formidable manager of Hotel Valhalla. 

When Magnus hears about the proposed marriage of Samirah to a Giant in exchange of Thor's Hammer , he is outraged by the sheer dumbness of the plan. But this is indeed the creation of Loki, the God of Evil. 

What will Magnus do to stop Loki from achieving his motive? Will Magnus succeed in saving Sam from this forced marriage? Who is this mysterious goat killer? What role Alex Fierro, the child of Loki play?
Read the book to know more.

View all my reviews

Hope you have a good time reading the Book.

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard:Book 1- The Sword Of Summer

'An Intriguing tale of Thrill and Adventure', are the words which characterize this book. The book introduces us to Magnus Chase, the son of Frey and another mythological branch being touched by none other than Rick Riordan. The book helps us discover the Norse Gods in the present century and the struggle to delay Ragnarok, the fated day of Doom. This book is a fantastic read for the age group 12-19.

The Book describes the life of a homeless orphan in Boston. Its been two years since Magnus's Mom was devoured by wolves at their apartment. These wolves are not the usual kind though, these are supernatural wolves.
One of these days Magnus wakes up to his homeless friend Blitz telling him that some people are searching for him and he should go to his other homeless friend Hearth.

But this is not what Magnus desires, he finds for himself the people searching for him. They are his Uncle Frederick and his cousin Annabeth . He rushes off to break into his Uncle Randolph's house, a place, though near, was forbidden by his mother.

Magnus is about to leave when suddenly Uncle Randolph appears claiming, that Magnus is a son of a Norse God ,and he needs to come with him right away to claim a sword at the river that is his birthright and also the only way for him to stay alive against some people who have come to slay him.

Magnus realizes that they are headed to the Longfellow Bridge and he has to summon a sword buried under a thick sheet of ice and water. At this point, he considers that his Uncle was not in the right state of mind but after a lot of coaxing and a huge explosion he tries to summon it and succeeds.

But his triumph his short lived, suddenly a flaming Giant, Surt the King of Muspellheim , appears trying to snatch the Sword of Summer from him. Magnus sacrifices himself and saves the lives of all the people at the Bridge.

Well, seems like the end of the story but no it is the start. Magnus is destined for the Warrior heaven Valhalla here he encounters many new revelations the least strange of them being his death.

Magnus is part of a Prophecy by the Norns, three ladies that decide the fate of Humans and Gods alike.
Wrongly chosen, wrongly slain,
A hero Valhalla cannot contain.
Nine days hence the sun must go east,
Ere Sword of Summer unbinds the beast. Will Magnus stop the day of Ragnarok? Will he stand up to shoulder his responsibility? Read the Book to know more.
The Book combines action with comedy. The book contains a lot of touches of humor to lighten up the mind of the reader. The book contains a lot of information for a Norse Mythology geek and yes a far less glamorous Thor than the movies portray. The Book is a must read for all the myth geeks and yes evreyone with the slightest sense of humor.

The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho

The most inspiring thing in life is the present ;pay heed to it, you find omens, maybe good or maybe bad; pay heed to future,the greatest ambiguity of life , and stay in despair to never realize your destiny.
This amazing book encases the true wisdom of the world, the language, the universal language by which all elements of the cosmos communicate. 
This is about discovering the real you, knowing that you know nothing and embracing each opportunity to learn, be it art or love or alchemy(!!!).
The book encompasses the adventure of a little Andalusian shepherd.
The Shepherd roams the Andalusian hills in complete solitude. One night, he sleeps at a long forsaken Church. A dream about a Treasure in the vicinity of the Great Pyramids prompts him to undertake a journey to these pyramids. On the way, he discovers greater treasures than promised by his vision, he discovers language of the world,Alchemy, the connection to the Almighty and  the most beautiful of all,Love.
The book makes you travel through the Sahara, the dreariest place on Earth, the least likely place to find all the virtues I mentioned before. But the author compels us to explore the Desert Sands and marvel at its unmatched Beauty, one of a kind.
There is a lot to be learned always ,so I recommend this mind-shattering book for all ages(Note: the Child must know how to read, at least).
Discover the secrets of one of the highest selling books of the world. Immerse yourself in the world of this amazing Shepherd. Witness Alchemy at its Best.
To unravel more gems of this kind. Click here.

Shiva Trilogy: Book 1:-The Immortals Of Meluha

Sapt Sindhu (Land of Seven Rivers)

North India in 1900 BC

This Book is a fantastic histomythological fiction fit for ages above 11 yrs for some reasons.
Indian Sub-Continent is dominated by two vast empires one of which we are going to traverse through our journey. The land we are talking about is called Meluha, a land of pure life. The Book is a must read for all the Indian Mythology fanatics, a prospect to re-imagine the life of Lord Shiva as a Human Being-whose karma transformed into our beloved God.

Shiva is the chief of the Guna Tribe, a tribe fighting all odds to perpetuate in the vicinity of Mansarovar-The Holy Lake-in Tibet. The weather is intolerable and the warring tribe Pakrati still more intolerable.

The Pakratis are ruthless murderers, who spare not even women and children. The Gunas are offered a peaceful life in the land of Meluha by an envoy lead by Captain Nandi. Shiva is doubtful but when the Pakratis attack them and he observes the Meluhans risking their lives for his tribe's sake , he is convinced to leave. Even though the traditions dictate that the people have to follow their chief, Shiva asks for his best friend and a respected warrior Bhadra's and people's counsel on what is to be done. Their opinions concurred with Shiva's and the soon departed for this land beyond the Great Himalayan Mountains. Their journey is as uneventful as their life back on the lake was, they face an assault from the Pakratis whom they defeat and grant immunity.

They soon reach Srinagar,a Border town of Meluha. They are lodged outside the city and administered a drink called the Somras. Shiva's neck turns blue and he is recognized as the fabled Neelkanth, the savior of Sapt Sindhu , the Destroyer of Evil.

Can Lord Shiva turn the fortunes of Meluha?
Can he defeat the Evil Chandravanshis?
Is Shiva ready to shoulder such responsibility?

Read the Book to know further.

To know about more interesting books.Click Here.

The Hunger Games Series: Part 2:- Catching Fire

The book requires some amount of maturity to read, with the alarming amount of Violence depicted. Consequently I would like to rate it for 14+yrs.
Nonetheless it is an exciting tale full of detailed analysis of Katniss' character. This edition is a major change of stance of Katniss because here she is seen as weak on the opposite of the first book's stance depicting her as Diamond strong.

Click here to read about the first book. Please scroll down a bit when you reach the page.

This a fiery throwback to the life of our protagonist Katniss Everdeen. The games have sucked out the joy of the peaceful little life of hers. Buckets of money at her reach have made her idle and hunting only a past time.
She is not the only survivor of the Capitol's preposterous design, her district's male tribute, Peeta Mellark has also survived. This instead of providing Katniss solace for doing an act of Defiance against Capitol is becoming a nightmare for her. President Snow is at her doorstep with the threat of an imminent death if she does not convince the world of her love for Peeta.

She is assigned to the task of convincing the people of Panem to believe in her love during the Victory Tour:a tour of all the districts of Panem done by Victors of the Hunger Games.With this heavy task weighing her shoulders down, she is in a frantic state.The Lives of all her family members, the Hawthorne Family and Peeta's Family is at stake.

It is the 75th Hunger Games this year, the Quarter Quell, a special occasion every quarter century to renew the horrors of the Dark Days (The time when the districts had revolted against the Capitol's Rule).What surprise does it pack this time?
The revolution is still living even better it is brewing.The best way to describe it is that the Capitol's despotic system is increasingly under fire.

Kan Katniss,the girl on fire survive this inferno?
Will she live to call it day? What has fate in store for this seventeen year old?

Read to know further.Also read the review of the first Book.