Book Review: Marvel's Thor: Dueling with Giants

Book: Marvel's Thor: Dueling with Giants (Tales of Asgard Trilogy book #1) by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

One of the greatest heroes from Marvel―and myth―returns as Thor battles the mightiest of the giants in a fight to the death. The first book of an action-packed trilogy from Joe Books, Dueling with Giants is a story of epic combat from start to finish, sure to entertain fans of Marvel comics and adventure novels alike.

During just another day for the God of Thunder, Thor is defending Asgard against invading trolls when the unthinkable happens―his hammer Mjolnir loses its enchantment. Thor is still more than a match for his enemies, and after vanquishing them he learns the secret to his sudden weakness. Mjolnir was switched without him knowing, and only one being would be cunning enough to carry out such a trick: Loki.



Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Even though Guardians of the Galaxy: Castaways turned out to be a dud, Thor: Dueling with Giants is an exceptional read. This actually felt like I was reading a Thor story not only is it well written but the author managed to incorporate a lot of elements from the Thor comics that unfortunately have been left out of the movies.

This story opens with a prelude that finds young Thor wanting to prove his worth so he could one day wield Mjolnir even more so since an attack on Asgard was imminent. Loki also wished to obtain Mjolnir but of course his brother stood in the way. Loki had a plan to get Thor out of the way but it didn't work out the way he wanted. The only thing it resulted in was him being rewarded with Odin's wrath. However, it didn't curb Loki's anger towards Thor (or Odin), it only made him more determined to succeed.

From there the main point of the story finds Thor, The Warriors Three, Sif and Balder defending Asgard against a band of trolls who have invaded. Stopping the leader of the trolls should have been an easy task for Thor, if not for Loki's untimely mischief in regards to Mjolnir. That not so funny prank got him a month of confinement (or house arrest) issued down by Odin. That only seemed to have enraged Loki even more.

Although it wasn't proven but Odin suspected Loki had something to do with the trolls making their way undetected to Asgard. To ensure Loki doesn't try to escape, Odin's ravens and Heimdall will be keeping an eye on the God on Mischief. But not even that could keep Loki in check. It wasn't long before he had an ingenious plan of escape and incited another threat towards Asgard. And this time with The Frost Giants.

Loki's meddling caused a lot of problems for Asgard but more so for Thor and Queen Frigga.

Thor: Dueling with Giants turned out better than I could have hoped. Besides the interesting story, this book's greatest strength lies in the author exploring the rich history of the Thor comics and it's characters. Not to be overlooked are the action scenes filled with drama and suspense. 

For those interested in reading this but only know about Thor from the movies, don't be afraid to give this a chance. The story is easy to follow and the writing will not make you feel as if you need to have had prior comic book knowledge to understand what's going on. But for fans of the Thor comics you will feel as if the author truly did a good job with writing this and actually put in the time to include research. Although this was written for young adults, I think older reads will enjoy it as well.

What I love is that the characters are very much in character including all of Volstagg's jolly boasting. I like that Queen Frigga was shown just as much as the rest of her family and the story showed how amazing she is. This story provides plenty of insight into Loki and why he continues his plan of attack on Asgard, Odin and Thor. Meanwhile, Odin is every bit the King he is shown to be including being wise enough to seek council. However, he probably could do a little better job of not favoring one son over the other. As for Thor, he will never give up nor stop doing what is right. That's just who he is.

The next book of the series will focus on Sif, I'm really looking forward to giving that a read.