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The Blackwell Pages #3
Thor's Serpents
For fans of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the thrilling conclusion to The Blackwell Pages, written by New York Times bestselling YA authors, K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr.
Thirteen-year-olds Matt, Laurie, and Fen have beaten near-impossible odds to assemble their fellow descendants of the Norse Gods and complete epic quests. Their biggest challenge lies ahead: battling the fierce monsters working to bring about the apocalypse.
But when they learn that Matt must fight the Midgard Serpent alone and Fen and Laurie are pulled in other directions, the friends realize they can't take every step of this journey together. Matt, Laurie, and Fen will each have to fight their own battles to survive, to be true to themselves, and to one another - with nothing less than the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
Thirteen-year-olds Matt, Laurie, and Fen have beaten near-impossible odds to assemble their fellow descendants of the Norse Gods and complete epic quests. Their biggest challenge lies ahead: battling the fierce monsters working to bring about the apocalypse.
But when they learn that Matt must fight the Midgard Serpent alone and Fen and Laurie are pulled in other directions, the friends realize they can't take every step of this journey together. Matt, Laurie, and Fen will each have to fight their own battles to survive, to be true to themselves, and to one another - with nothing less than the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
368 pages, ebook
First published March 1, 2015
172 people are currently reading
3554 people want to read
About the author
K.L. Armstrong
7 books479 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Pen name of author Kelley Armstrong.
Pen name of author Kelley Armstrong.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 221 reviews
June 20, 2015
Why isn't this called 'Thor's Goats'?
It would fit the pattern, Loki's Wolves, Odin's Ravens, and Thor's Goats. Unless Thor now has magical snakes.
It would fit the pattern, Loki's Wolves, Odin's Ravens, and Thor's Goats. Unless Thor now has magical snakes.
April 5, 2022
How do you solve a problem like Ragnarok?
Seriously.
The Twilight of the Gods, Everything Is Ending, All Heroes Must Die. Ragnarok has always stressed me out. It's got to be the most bleak mythology I've ever run across. From the beginning of time the Norse gods have known their roles in the grand finale of the world, and they have known that they will all die.
Enter this delightful series, with wonderful characters that you're just rooting for from the get go. I have a soft spot for bad boys (especially when they're actually bad boys, not grown ass men who are murderers acting like, Oh, did I do that?!), so you can see where I would be upset as Ragnarok approacheth and Fen is the greatest. And so is Matt. Who are we supposed to cheer for?! And Aunt Helen, the goddess of the dead! So great!
But I should have had faith! That Armstrong and Marr, such great authors, would pull of Ragnarok in a wholly satisfying way! Let's all hope the real Ragnarok goes so well!
Seriously.
The Twilight of the Gods, Everything Is Ending, All Heroes Must Die. Ragnarok has always stressed me out. It's got to be the most bleak mythology I've ever run across. From the beginning of time the Norse gods have known their roles in the grand finale of the world, and they have known that they will all die.
Enter this delightful series, with wonderful characters that you're just rooting for from the get go. I have a soft spot for bad boys (especially when they're actually bad boys, not grown ass men who are murderers acting like, Oh, did I do that?!), so you can see where I would be upset as Ragnarok approacheth and Fen is the greatest. And so is Matt. Who are we supposed to cheer for?! And Aunt Helen, the goddess of the dead! So great!
But I should have had faith! That Armstrong and Marr, such great authors, would pull of Ragnarok in a wholly satisfying way! Let's all hope the real Ragnarok goes so well!
March 7, 2016
I'm happy to know how everything in this series ended up!
While I know I rated it lower than the others, I think that may be because the things in the first two that I didn't enjoy so much continued to annoy me. The characters always seem to reset in terms of their flaws, and they have to work on them all over again. Things were also really convenient which as you all know, bothers me.
That said, I love Baldwin. He is my favorite! Definitely the best character in the entire series. He and Helen were worth being frustrated by other things.
While I know I rated it lower than the others, I think that may be because the things in the first two that I didn't enjoy so much continued to annoy me. The characters always seem to reset in terms of their flaws, and they have to work on them all over again. Things were also really convenient which as you all know, bothers me.
That said, I love Baldwin. He is my favorite! Definitely the best character in the entire series. He and Helen were worth being frustrated by other things.
July 6, 2015
2.5 stars.
Hey, Fen is finally on the cover!!
Hey, Fen is finally on the cover!!
January 5, 2024
Almost a 5. If it hadn't been for a couple of small issues and Fen not having his own hero moment.
The Bad:
I've finally figured out my main issue with this series. The champions are always told what they need to do and where to go next. They never figure it out or decide for themselves.
Fen didn't even achieve victory himself! Fen spent the whole book trying to figure out how to get the wolves on the side of good in the final battle. How does he do it? Wasn't Loki supposed to be smart?
There were also several continuity issues. (A pet peeve of mine.) The worst was with Thor's hammer. All of a sudden all Thorsen's can wield Thor's hammer? "You can wield it, but I'm used to it." Matt said to his uncle. Huh? Since when? Later his grandpa says the same thing. At least his brother can barely lift it.
There were a few other things, like when on one page Fen tells the wolves they can't attack Matt because he has the hammer, then two pages later, he's thinking that he must not let them know Matt has the hammer.
And when Owen told Matt "There's a reason you came to Rapid City." Yeah… you told him to.
Also it was strange that after two books that they suddenly started referring to Baldwin as the youngest. Since when?
And Baldwin randomly knows how to make thermite bombs. Seriously? There was no hint that he knew or was interested in anything remotely like that before.
See, just little bit picks that kept it from being perfect.
The Good:
But overall, everything was better in Thor's Servants. Better action, and characterization. I was rarely bored, and not for long. There was even a pun!
I actually like Reyna now. And it's not like she's a different character. She's still abrasive and sometimes mean but we got to know her better. (and I love her cat!) Even Skull grew on me. And let me just say, I love Aunt Helen! Also, I was glad Laurie and Matt were only ever just friends. There was a refreshing lack of romance.
All of the magic was so cool! Matt's in particular but I loved the description for what opening a portal felt like.
I didn't see the twist coming this time.
The final battle was appropriately epic.
I don't think there was anything I didn't like about the ending.
Who died?
The Bad:
I've finally figured out my main issue with this series. The champions are always told what they need to do and where to go next. They never figure it out or decide for themselves.
Fen didn't even achieve victory himself! Fen spent the whole book trying to figure out how to get the wolves on the side of good in the final battle. How does he do it? Wasn't Loki supposed to be smart?
There were also several continuity issues. (A pet peeve of mine.) The worst was with Thor's hammer. All of a sudden all Thorsen's can wield Thor's hammer? "You can wield it, but I'm used to it." Matt said to his uncle. Huh? Since when? Later his grandpa says the same thing. At least his brother can barely lift it.
There were a few other things, like when on one page Fen tells the wolves they can't attack Matt because he has the hammer, then two pages later, he's thinking that he must not let them know Matt has the hammer.
And when Owen told Matt "There's a reason you came to Rapid City." Yeah… you told him to.
Also it was strange that after two books that they suddenly started referring to Baldwin as the youngest. Since when?
And Baldwin randomly knows how to make thermite bombs. Seriously? There was no hint that he knew or was interested in anything remotely like that before.
See, just little bit picks that kept it from being perfect.
The Good:
But overall, everything was better in Thor's Servants. Better action, and characterization. I was rarely bored, and not for long. There was even a pun!
I actually like Reyna now. And it's not like she's a different character. She's still abrasive and sometimes mean but we got to know her better. (and I love her cat!) Even Skull grew on me. And let me just say, I love Aunt Helen! Also, I was glad Laurie and Matt were only ever just friends. There was a refreshing lack of romance.
All of the magic was so cool! Matt's in particular but I loved the description for what opening a portal felt like.
I didn't see the twist coming this time.
The final battle was appropriately epic.
I don't think there was anything I didn't like about the ending.
Who died?
May 29, 2015
Not quite a four star read but it was a good series overall so I'm rounding up. This book was a little frantic and crowded with the kids dashing around into different side adventures that I didn't always quite understand the purpose of in the greater narrative. But it's a fun adventure for the middle grade set. Definitely for younger kids though. It has an innocence that you don't see as much anymore, though it still has a few more serious themes (like the stuff between Matt and his grandfather, it doesn't get much more serious than that, or actually fighting people to the death to try and save the world from Ragnarok, pretty serious).
February 10, 2024
An amazing end to the trilogy! I loved the multiple vantage points and how all the different stories finally merged in the end. My only issue is the inconsistency of powers that each character had. It seemed like they acquired new abilities as and when they needed without any preamble.
June 12, 2017
Υπό άλλες συνθήκες ίσως τα 4 αστεράκια να ήταν 3.5, αλλά εφόσον το Goodreads δεν μας δίνει αυτή τη δυνατότητα (που θα έπρεπε, κάποια στιγμή ν' αλλάξει αυτό), ο μισός πόντος θα πάει υπέρ του μαθητή, που μας έλεγαν και στο σχολείο, και αυτό περισσότερο γιατί, ο Armstrong, προσέφερε μια σειρά ολοκληρωμένη, με δομή, εξελικτική πορεία και αρκετό ενδιαφέρον, εμποτισμένη με την προσωπική του πινελιά που του χαρίζει μια ταυτότητα ξεχωριστή και ιδιαίτερη. Σίγουρα θα ήθελα να είχαμε λίγο καλύτερα ψυχογραφημένους ήρωες, αυτό όμως δεν με εμποδίσει να αναγνωρίσω τα όποια θετικά στοιχεία της ιστορίας αυτής.
August 24, 2015
Thor's Serpents is a great ending to this series. Just as packed with action as the previous books and it certainly ups the pace and the tension with the end of the world coming close by. This books builds towards the big battle, while also putting the characters in other situations and obstacles they need to overcome first. It was a fun and enjoyable book, although maybe a little bit more serious than the first two because the end of the world is so close now. There are still enough lighter scenes and jokes to mix it up with. I really enjoyed this book and once I started reading I had a hard time putting it down. And the artwork was awesome as always, it's fun to see some of the scenes depicted with in the artwork. The artworks is really done well and fits the scene and I like the art style.
There are some interesting plots with Fen who joins the other side and I liked how you saw him struggle with his responsibility to the pack and his loyalty to his friends. It was very well done and I liked that twist. There are also some surprises that I didn't expect. It did feel like a few things weren't wrapped up fully or set up and then dropped, like with Rayna her cat. And the mention of Laurie turning into a salmon, that seemed to make no sense at all and was a bit confusing and unnecessary in my opinion as it was a set up and they don't anything with it. Same with Reyna her cat.
I really liked the ending, I was curious how the authors would handle that and was pleasantly surprised. The big battle at the end was well done, lots of working towards that point and then the epic battle to determine the fate of the world. Nothing was too easy or too hard, but just the right way so it was challenging and you were afraid for a while the heroes weren't go to make it. The epilogue I liked a little less as it was a tad too normal, almost like the whole thing didn't happen and things go on like before.
I liked how this book challenges the characters even more. I really liked how Matt, Laurie and Fen changed to fit into their roles. All three of them are awesome characters and I really grown to like them over the course of these books. I like to see how over the course of this series they changed from scared kids to kids who are scared but know they have to do what they can to save the world. It was pretty amazing. Like I mentioned before there's a nice twist and struggle with Fen turning towards the wolf side. The side characters beside the three main character were a bit less interesting, they were fun and had personality, but they were less complicated and interesting than the main characters.
This series has a dose of Norse mythology in it and evening this book we see a lot of that. Some new myths, more about Ragnarock and a few other tidbits. I liked seeing hell and Helen make another appearance and some mythological monster pop up. The battle with the serpent was also interesting.
To conclude: all in all was this a great end to the series, some interesting developments and a nice big battle towards the ending. I just felt the epilogue was a tad too normal. There were also a few minor plot lines that didn't seem to contribute much, but I didn't mind too much. My favourite part of this series is seeing the three main character change and accept their role in the apocalypse. It was awesome to see who they had become in this book. The mythology aspect is very well done and this book adds a bit more. If you are looking for a fun and action filled Middle Grade series, I would recommend you give this one a try.
There are some interesting plots with Fen who joins the other side and I liked how you saw him struggle with his responsibility to the pack and his loyalty to his friends. It was very well done and I liked that twist. There are also some surprises that I didn't expect. It did feel like a few things weren't wrapped up fully or set up and then dropped, like with Rayna her cat. And the mention of Laurie turning into a salmon, that seemed to make no sense at all and was a bit confusing and unnecessary in my opinion as it was a set up and they don't anything with it. Same with Reyna her cat.
I really liked the ending, I was curious how the authors would handle that and was pleasantly surprised. The big battle at the end was well done, lots of working towards that point and then the epic battle to determine the fate of the world. Nothing was too easy or too hard, but just the right way so it was challenging and you were afraid for a while the heroes weren't go to make it. The epilogue I liked a little less as it was a tad too normal, almost like the whole thing didn't happen and things go on like before.
I liked how this book challenges the characters even more. I really liked how Matt, Laurie and Fen changed to fit into their roles. All three of them are awesome characters and I really grown to like them over the course of these books. I like to see how over the course of this series they changed from scared kids to kids who are scared but know they have to do what they can to save the world. It was pretty amazing. Like I mentioned before there's a nice twist and struggle with Fen turning towards the wolf side. The side characters beside the three main character were a bit less interesting, they were fun and had personality, but they were less complicated and interesting than the main characters.
This series has a dose of Norse mythology in it and evening this book we see a lot of that. Some new myths, more about Ragnarock and a few other tidbits. I liked seeing hell and Helen make another appearance and some mythological monster pop up. The battle with the serpent was also interesting.
To conclude: all in all was this a great end to the series, some interesting developments and a nice big battle towards the ending. I just felt the epilogue was a tad too normal. There were also a few minor plot lines that didn't seem to contribute much, but I didn't mind too much. My favourite part of this series is seeing the three main character change and accept their role in the apocalypse. It was awesome to see who they had become in this book. The mythology aspect is very well done and this book adds a bit more. If you are looking for a fun and action filled Middle Grade series, I would recommend you give this one a try.
June 1, 2015
3.5
It was still a lot of fun but the ending left me a little flat. It ended just about the way I expected and when I finished the book I just sort of wondered why Ragnarok was such a big deal anyway. The first two are better.
It was still a lot of fun but the ending left me a little flat. It ended just about the way I expected and when I finished the book I just sort of wondered why Ragnarok was such a big deal anyway. The first two are better.
September 21, 2015
3.5 stars
Review originally posted at RabidReads.com.
I thought this was a great ending to this trilogy. It picks up right where Odin’s Ravens left off. Matt knows that he is going to be Thor’s champion in the battle at Ragnarok. He has several friends that have been traveling with him throughout the stories that are champions for Loki, Odin, Baldwin, Freya and Frey.
In the first two books the kids have learn a lot and have really become a team. At the end of the previous book, it seems that one character going in a different direction than all the other characters. This starts this story off with the relationships tested between all of the friends. They’ve come so far, but yet still have so far to go.
I enjoyed the ending. I thought it wrapped up the story really well. I loved how these two authors brought the real life attractions like the museum and the Corn Palace and balanced it with things like mara (which are nightmares) and Jotunn, the fire giant. I think that they did a great job dealing with the emotions of thirteen-year-olds on a mission to save the world. These guys are betrayed by family and grownups and they have to learn to tackle these problems on their own.
I think that if you look at this book with the fact that it was written to appeal to grades 4-8, you will enjoy the story. I thought it was a great escape. I loved the Norse mythology. The characters were great. I’m a huge Kelley Armstrong fan, so I knew going into this series that I would love the characters. This is my first with Melissa Marr. I will say that this story has been a great ride. Just keep in mind that this is written for a younger age group and I think you will enjoy it.
Review originally posted at RabidReads.com.
I thought this was a great ending to this trilogy. It picks up right where Odin’s Ravens left off. Matt knows that he is going to be Thor’s champion in the battle at Ragnarok. He has several friends that have been traveling with him throughout the stories that are champions for Loki, Odin, Baldwin, Freya and Frey.
In the first two books the kids have learn a lot and have really become a team. At the end of the previous book, it seems that one character going in a different direction than all the other characters. This starts this story off with the relationships tested between all of the friends. They’ve come so far, but yet still have so far to go.
I enjoyed the ending. I thought it wrapped up the story really well. I loved how these two authors brought the real life attractions like the museum and the Corn Palace and balanced it with things like mara (which are nightmares) and Jotunn, the fire giant. I think that they did a great job dealing with the emotions of thirteen-year-olds on a mission to save the world. These guys are betrayed by family and grownups and they have to learn to tackle these problems on their own.
I think that if you look at this book with the fact that it was written to appeal to grades 4-8, you will enjoy the story. I thought it was a great escape. I loved the Norse mythology. The characters were great. I’m a huge Kelley Armstrong fan, so I knew going into this series that I would love the characters. This is my first with Melissa Marr. I will say that this story has been a great ride. Just keep in mind that this is written for a younger age group and I think you will enjoy it.
November 9, 2015
It feels like this book was thrown together so the authors could finish the story and move on to something better.
It didn't have the build of the first 2 books in the series, and the end fell flat when they decided to have the grandpa show up in the battle to say something like "Sorry, now give me the stuff and I'll win. Forget everything I've done over the past 2 books trying to bring the other side to victory." through his new actions. It was the quickest way to bring that conflict to a close, but didn't satisfy the build up to it.
This last book was more of a let down than a good read.
Maybe they are assuming that middle grade readers will be okay with that.
(As an adult, I try to read everything my children do. I like to know what my children have been assigned at school and what they choose to read. I also love the discussions that follow.)
It didn't have the build of the first 2 books in the series, and the end fell flat when they decided to have the grandpa show up in the battle to say something like "Sorry, now give me the stuff and I'll win. Forget everything I've done over the past 2 books trying to bring the other side to victory." through his new actions. It was the quickest way to bring that conflict to a close, but didn't satisfy the build up to it.
This last book was more of a let down than a good read.
Maybe they are assuming that middle grade readers will be okay with that.
(As an adult, I try to read everything my children do. I like to know what my children have been assigned at school and what they choose to read. I also love the discussions that follow.)
September 2, 2015
I liked reading this book but I couldn't get into it, I'd lost the hype I had half a year ago when I found out about it and the even bigger hype when I first read the two other books. The fighting wasn't until the end (although there was some through and through, the big battle wasn't until the very last 100 pages of the book.) besides the point it very pretty good and i like the way it ended
November 12, 2021
Read- November 2021 for Believeathon
- I'm so glad that I've finally finished this series. It wasn't my favourite series in the entire world but I enjoyed my time reading it and they were very quick reads.
- I'm so glad that I've finally finished this series. It wasn't my favourite series in the entire world but I enjoyed my time reading it and they were very quick reads.
April 10, 2018
Para quem curte mitologia nórdica essa fantasia infanto juvenil é uma ótima pegada. Eu amo essa trilogia, amo o fato das autoras trazerem os mitos nórdicos para a atualidade, amo o fato de Matt Thorsen ser o descendente de Thor, e precisar salvar o mundo da extrema destruição com a chegada do Ragnarök, e chegar ao fim dessa aventura épica e maravilhosa me deixa com o coração apertado.
Vocês estão preparados para o fim do mundo? Eu não estou, e nem nossos personagens, nesse último volume da série, depois de se juntar aos primos Fen e Laurie Brekke para reunir outros descendentes capazes de lutar contra o fim do mundo e encontrar o martelo e o escudo de Thor em Lobos de Loki e Corvos de Odin, o jovem protagonista deve ir para a batalha final sozinho. Matt, Laurie e Fen descobrem que cada um tem uma missão própria a cumprir. E para salvar o mundo, e sobreviver, eles terão que se manter fiéis a eles mesmos e uns aos outros.
Mas tem um problema, além da quase inexperiência deles, os adolescentes não sabem aonde irá acontecer essa luta, o que nos deixa, como posso dizer? Perdidos? Eu sei, é horrível, mas o bom é que eles tem vários monstros das lendas nórdicas para enfrentar enquanto isso, o que não falta é ação nesse último volume, a leitura flui rápida e dinâmica, as autoras não os deixam descansar nem por um segundo.
A história acontece de uma maneira surpreendente, o que se dá pelas ótimas cenas de lutas dos personagens com os monstros. O Ragnarok? Deixou o mundo de cabeça para baixo, com monstros soltos e destruindo tudo, e a gente sente a emoção a cada linha lida. Não é novidade que eu amo os livros do Riordan, mas em questão de batalha épica, esses livros das Crônicas de Blackwell conseguem superar as histórias de Riordan sem esforço nenhum. As lutas são lutas de verdade, são fortes, e complexas, diferente das batalhas do escritor de Magnus Chase e os Deuses de Asgard que também fala sobre mitologia nórdica.
Sem mais delongas, o livro é sensacional e consegue dar um desfecho incrível para os personagens e para essa história.
Vocês estão preparados para o fim do mundo? Eu não estou, e nem nossos personagens, nesse último volume da série, depois de se juntar aos primos Fen e Laurie Brekke para reunir outros descendentes capazes de lutar contra o fim do mundo e encontrar o martelo e o escudo de Thor em Lobos de Loki e Corvos de Odin, o jovem protagonista deve ir para a batalha final sozinho. Matt, Laurie e Fen descobrem que cada um tem uma missão própria a cumprir. E para salvar o mundo, e sobreviver, eles terão que se manter fiéis a eles mesmos e uns aos outros.
Mas tem um problema, além da quase inexperiência deles, os adolescentes não sabem aonde irá acontecer essa luta, o que nos deixa, como posso dizer? Perdidos? Eu sei, é horrível, mas o bom é que eles tem vários monstros das lendas nórdicas para enfrentar enquanto isso, o que não falta é ação nesse último volume, a leitura flui rápida e dinâmica, as autoras não os deixam descansar nem por um segundo.
A história acontece de uma maneira surpreendente, o que se dá pelas ótimas cenas de lutas dos personagens com os monstros. O Ragnarok? Deixou o mundo de cabeça para baixo, com monstros soltos e destruindo tudo, e a gente sente a emoção a cada linha lida. Não é novidade que eu amo os livros do Riordan, mas em questão de batalha épica, esses livros das Crônicas de Blackwell conseguem superar as histórias de Riordan sem esforço nenhum. As lutas são lutas de verdade, são fortes, e complexas, diferente das batalhas do escritor de Magnus Chase e os Deuses de Asgard que também fala sobre mitologia nórdica.
Sem mais delongas, o livro é sensacional e consegue dar um desfecho incrível para os personagens e para essa história.
March 13, 2019
My name is Laurie, and I can't believe what Matt told me about Fen; there's no way he's a traitor! Even if he's really the wolves' new alpha, there's got to be more to the story. Matt's duel to save the world is fast-approaching, and ferocious monsters are still popping up to stop him. Matt says he needs some warm-up fighting before facing the serpent, but this is getting ridiculous. We still don't know the location of the final battle, but one of the Thorsons has the information. It will be hard for Matt to return to Blackwell, since his father doesn't have confidence in him and his grandfather expects him to fail at Ragnorak. I've sworn to help Matt in this quest, and it's my destiny to be by his side. I only hope that I'm not forced to fight my cousin; there's no way I'll ever do that.
This book concluded the trilogy, and you should read all three of them to get the full story. The culmination of events led to the inevitable climax of Matt squaring off against the Midgard Serpent. The author saved a couple of twists for this moment, so you can still be surprised. Matt's character faced criticism from his friends for being too nice and honorable when facing opponents. They kept telling him that his merciful nature would eventually come back to hurt him. However, his positive traits were key assets in saving the world. The series was full of adventure and action, but the dynamics of the heroic group were the most entertaining part. Fen and Laurie's close relationship added another factor to the conflict, especially when Fen was thrust into role of leading the monsters into Ragnorak. In the end, I was happy with the resolution of all the issues, as all the "good" characters lived happily ever after. Overall, lovers of adventure and Norse mythology should enjoy the series, and I recommend you give it a shot.
This book concluded the trilogy, and you should read all three of them to get the full story. The culmination of events led to the inevitable climax of Matt squaring off against the Midgard Serpent. The author saved a couple of twists for this moment, so you can still be surprised. Matt's character faced criticism from his friends for being too nice and honorable when facing opponents. They kept telling him that his merciful nature would eventually come back to hurt him. However, his positive traits were key assets in saving the world. The series was full of adventure and action, but the dynamics of the heroic group were the most entertaining part. Fen and Laurie's close relationship added another factor to the conflict, especially when Fen was thrust into role of leading the monsters into Ragnorak. In the end, I was happy with the resolution of all the issues, as all the "good" characters lived happily ever after. Overall, lovers of adventure and Norse mythology should enjoy the series, and I recommend you give it a shot.
April 29, 2023
Awh I can’t believe it’s over 🥲
December 26, 2015
The first two books in this series I just loved. They had the mystique, the adventure, the cool characters, the rising excitement. This one...feels hammered together, and they didn't use Mjolnir.
Major issues:
- Why is Thor the only one who gets all the bling? Granted, he's one of the two main people in the story. But please, let some of the others have a few more amazing supernatural powers. They're gods too...right? Please?
- Reyna: did a heel-face-turn and is somebody different. As I like who she is now a lot better, I'm almost inclined to forgive this one. However, her being reduced to being only Thor's private therapist and cheerleader? NOT okay.
Sadly, though, her brother Ray is now practically useless and no longer any kind of cool. He actually goes off by himself, skipping most of the book, so as not to interfere with his sister's all-important being Thor's life-coach.
-The twins used to have an entire set of magic powers. They could fight mara. They could manage quite a lot. Now they can only do two things: 1) make weak fog, unless they get separated, in which case they can do pretty much nothing, 2) Give Matt Thorsen therapy.
-Laurie: She's the god Loki. She used to be savvy, golden-tongued, deceptive, and a brilliant gambler. Now she leads the B Team when our heroes split and shoots things with arrows. She doesn't even get to use her shapeshifting, doesn't get any fire powers. She doesn't use her deception, her wit, her savvy. She shoots things and is brave. Come on, people love trickster gods for a reason!
-Baldwin: Remember what a breath of fresh air he was? Remember what his personality did for the others? Now he hangs in the background, does exactly what Matt and Laurie (the only two who are allowed to have ideas or give orders) tell him to do. It's like he suddenly became an NPC.
-Owen: Now he was cool. Mysterious, wise, vulnerable, determined, compassionate, leader-y. Sadly, he has now been relegated to being merely Laurie's almost-boyfriend, and doesn't even do a good job of that. He now knows next to nothing. He's allowed to get into one scuffle in the entire book. He doesn't talk. He has no ideas. He does whatever he's told like a nice little yes-man. He hangs onto Laurie's shirttails and waits for her and Matt to make plans, decisions, and save the world.
-Matt: Got nerfed. Now he can only throw the (intangible) hammer three times in a scene before he's totally dry. Is scared to throw lightning now (how that's scarier than monsters destroying a city is left unsaid). Mjolnir does less. He still has almost twice as many powers as the rest of the group put together, but they are weaker than they were. His biggest problem isn't fire giants or serpents, it's the ongoing therapy sessions to tell him that he needs more self-confidence. Sigh. I miss Vingthor.
-Villains: Every single villain gets redeemed. Every single one. Okay, Fenrir is really good, even if on the wrong side. Hel....yeah, she's become good, okay. Skull and Hattie? Nope, the eye-gougers are not good people. Mayor Thorsen? He was a cool villain! And his excuse is thinner than plastic wrap. But Astrid? Really? Can we please just have an actual villain, just one? The Midgard Serpent gets redeemed.
-And there is no sense of scale. Example: Why is getting a family out of a fire in a small apartment building twice as difficult and five times as dangerous as fighting the fire giants that demolished downtown? Why? Is there some poignant reason we couldn't just have Matt go all Thor Smash on it?
It's still good enough to merit two stars. It still retains enough of the original magic. But...I wonder if perhaps the authors didn't have enough time to write this book, and cut whatever corners they had to in shoving together a plot.
Major issues:
- Why is Thor the only one who gets all the bling? Granted, he's one of the two main people in the story. But please, let some of the others have a few more amazing supernatural powers. They're gods too...right? Please?
- Reyna: did a heel-face-turn and is somebody different. As I like who she is now a lot better, I'm almost inclined to forgive this one. However, her being reduced to being only Thor's private therapist and cheerleader? NOT okay.
Sadly, though, her brother Ray is now practically useless and no longer any kind of cool. He actually goes off by himself, skipping most of the book, so as not to interfere with his sister's all-important being Thor's life-coach.
-The twins used to have an entire set of magic powers. They could fight mara. They could manage quite a lot. Now they can only do two things: 1) make weak fog, unless they get separated, in which case they can do pretty much nothing, 2) Give Matt Thorsen therapy.
-Laurie: She's the god Loki. She used to be savvy, golden-tongued, deceptive, and a brilliant gambler. Now she leads the B Team when our heroes split and shoots things with arrows. She doesn't even get to use her shapeshifting, doesn't get any fire powers. She doesn't use her deception, her wit, her savvy. She shoots things and is brave. Come on, people love trickster gods for a reason!
-Baldwin: Remember what a breath of fresh air he was? Remember what his personality did for the others? Now he hangs in the background, does exactly what Matt and Laurie (the only two who are allowed to have ideas or give orders) tell him to do. It's like he suddenly became an NPC.
-Owen: Now he was cool. Mysterious, wise, vulnerable, determined, compassionate, leader-y. Sadly, he has now been relegated to being merely Laurie's almost-boyfriend, and doesn't even do a good job of that. He now knows next to nothing. He's allowed to get into one scuffle in the entire book. He doesn't talk. He has no ideas. He does whatever he's told like a nice little yes-man. He hangs onto Laurie's shirttails and waits for her and Matt to make plans, decisions, and save the world.
-Matt: Got nerfed. Now he can only throw the (intangible) hammer three times in a scene before he's totally dry. Is scared to throw lightning now (how that's scarier than monsters destroying a city is left unsaid). Mjolnir does less. He still has almost twice as many powers as the rest of the group put together, but they are weaker than they were. His biggest problem isn't fire giants or serpents, it's the ongoing therapy sessions to tell him that he needs more self-confidence. Sigh. I miss Vingthor.
-Villains: Every single villain gets redeemed. Every single one. Okay, Fenrir is really good, even if on the wrong side. Hel....yeah, she's become good, okay. Skull and Hattie? Nope, the eye-gougers are not good people. Mayor Thorsen? He was a cool villain! And his excuse is thinner than plastic wrap. But Astrid? Really? Can we please just have an actual villain, just one? The Midgard Serpent gets redeemed.
-And there is no sense of scale. Example: Why is getting a family out of a fire in a small apartment building twice as difficult and five times as dangerous as fighting the fire giants that demolished downtown? Why? Is there some poignant reason we couldn't just have Matt go all Thor Smash on it?
It's still good enough to merit two stars. It still retains enough of the original magic. But...I wonder if perhaps the authors didn't have enough time to write this book, and cut whatever corners they had to in shoving together a plot.
March 6, 2017
So it's rare for me to give a 1 star to a book I actually finished but I feel like the conclusion to the Blackwell Pages has earned it (or at maybe a 1.5).
Matt has to go find an Uncle that his family hasn't talked to for years because of a disagreement with the grandfather, at first I assumed it had something to do with the plot but nope it's suggested it was because the Uncle is gay. If this had been handled differently it would have been great; further shows the grandfather as a not-understanding person, unwilling to compromise for family, and have some representation to boot. But like most minor characters, the uncle and his partner really serve almost no purpose.
They also attempt to redeem the grandfather, I say attempt because like most character development in this series it doesn't work.
Also, the sun goes out because "the wolves ate the sun and moon" like the myth.... did they spit them back out?
Happy ending for all as if nothing happened and budding romances between characters with no chemistry.
Matt has to go find an Uncle that his family hasn't talked to for years because of a disagreement with the grandfather, at first I assumed it had something to do with the plot but nope it's suggested it was because the Uncle is gay. If this had been handled differently it would have been great; further shows the grandfather as a not-understanding person, unwilling to compromise for family, and have some representation to boot. But like most minor characters, the uncle and his partner really serve almost no purpose.
They also attempt to redeem the grandfather, I say attempt because like most character development in this series it doesn't work.
Also, the sun goes out because "the wolves ate the sun and moon" like the myth.... did they spit them back out?
Happy ending for all as if nothing happened and budding romances between characters with no chemistry.
October 13, 2016
A *kinda* anti-climactic finisher.
Seriously, the final fight lasted like 2 chapters.
I came to like The Blackwell Pages series. I'm a Rick Riordan reader (hah, try saying that five times fast), and this series was planned to be my Norse refresher before I read The Hammer of Thor. I liked most the characters created, along with all the jokes too. My issues with the series mainly came down to the plot.
The Midgard Serpent fight was supposed to be epic. Three books building up to this 1v1 fight. Yet it only lasted a few pages and was frankly, slow. And Matt's grandfather showing up was just plain irritating. This guy has been popping up everywhere.
I felt like this series needs extras book or something. There seemed to be so many loose-ends, so many things that were touched on briefly and then forgotten. Laurie's a fish. The author just casually mention she's a salmon, then moves on... I'd also like an adventure with the more minor characters, such as Ray and Reyna, Balder and Owen. Actually, Astrid too.
Overall, 3.5 star series. It's great for mythology lovers, though. You just need to look aside from some of the plot details.
Also, Laurie and Owen... Geeeeeeeeeeeez... Honestly, why was this even a thing? If you're not going to make two characters say more than 2 sentences to each other the whole book, stop implying that their going to get together or something. This was annoying me the whole book.
Seriously, the final fight lasted like 2 chapters.
I came to like The Blackwell Pages series. I'm a Rick Riordan reader (hah, try saying that five times fast), and this series was planned to be my Norse refresher before I read The Hammer of Thor. I liked most the characters created, along with all the jokes too. My issues with the series mainly came down to the plot.
The Midgard Serpent fight was supposed to be epic. Three books building up to this 1v1 fight. Yet it only lasted a few pages and was frankly, slow. And Matt's grandfather showing up was just plain irritating. This guy has been popping up everywhere.
I felt like this series needs extras book or something. There seemed to be so many loose-ends, so many things that were touched on briefly and then forgotten. Laurie's a fish. The author just casually mention she's a salmon, then moves on... I'd also like an adventure with the more minor characters, such as Ray and Reyna, Balder and Owen. Actually, Astrid too.
Overall, 3.5 star series. It's great for mythology lovers, though. You just need to look aside from some of the plot details.
Also, Laurie and Owen... Geeeeeeeeeeeez... Honestly, why was this even a thing? If you're not going to make two characters say more than 2 sentences to each other the whole book, stop implying that their going to get together or something. This was annoying me the whole book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2015
4 stars. This was a good conclusion to the trilogy! I love how everything was wrapped up in a way that made sense; there weren't any glaring plot holes or loose ends. I also like how there wasn't almost no romance at all in this trilogy! It would've felt fake. Plus it's hard to take 13 year olds in a relationship seriously. I only wish it hadn't ended so abruptly, though I did like epilogue. The series as a whole is a solid 4 star series!
November 7, 2015
Not gonna lie i expected better. Tho whole plot was good and action packed but the last 50 pages were boring and predictable so. It was nice to read but this is not going to be one of my favorite series ever.
October 18, 2015
In the conclusion of The Blackwell Pages our descendants of Norse gods learn as much about themselves as heroes as they learn about themselves as kids. Action packed and far less predictable than a lot of other reads in this category.
June 2, 2015
4.5*
WHAT A FINALE. This series is just great. My only complaint, as with its two predecessors, is that this wasn't set in an actual Scandinavian country, which would've made it even better.
WHAT A FINALE. This series is just great. My only complaint, as with its two predecessors, is that this wasn't set in an actual Scandinavian country, which would've made it even better.
March 22, 2016
i was still hoping for a few more surprises to appear
March 14, 2018
Full review at https://bronzelock619.blogspot.com/2018/03/thors-serpents-blackwell-pages-3-kl.html.
I truly liked this installment than the previous two. I think it was because now that Reyna had warmed up to the other descendants of the North, she was a really cool character to read about. She was tough, slightly rebellious, and had a great sense of humour, especially when she was around Matt. Their interactions were really cute too. They had a lot of conversations around the cat Reyna got stuck with, which may or may not be magical.
She was also really great at holding her own in girly cat-fights. Astrid was obviously the mean girl type, and was antagonistic towards her since she detected Matt's budding interest in Reyna, but Reyna took none of her nonsense.
While Reyna had more of a chance to shine in this book, there was still not much known of Ray. He was still really quiet, and barely talked to anyone other than Reyna. His only known characteristic was that he was good at research. Although Reyna had a bigger role, the character development of Ray, Owen, and Baldwin were still lacking.
The children reading this would not have to worry about being exposed to things that are too emotional. By the end of this series, there were happy endings all around. (Major spoilers:)None of the kids died, and after all was said and done, they get to go back happily to their old lives. A major flaw, however, was the inconsistencies in the story, There were still no explanation on why Helen was the goddess of Hel when all the other Norse gods were long dead, nor did the presence of the Valkyries and Norns were explained. It had some flaws in the story, but it was an exciting, epic adventure for children.
I truly liked this installment than the previous two. I think it was because now that Reyna had warmed up to the other descendants of the North, she was a really cool character to read about. She was tough, slightly rebellious, and had a great sense of humour, especially when she was around Matt. Their interactions were really cute too. They had a lot of conversations around the cat Reyna got stuck with, which may or may not be magical.
A sudden yowl from up ahead had them all starting. A small tree smoked on one side, the faint glow of fire darting from a burning patch of dead foliage. The yowl came again. Matt hurried over and peered up the tree to see a calico cat, its green eyes staring down, as if in accusation.
"No," Reyna said, stopping beside him. "We are not rescuing the cat."
"But the tree -"
"- is on fire. I see that. Have you ever owned a cat? If they can go up, they can come down. Guaranteed."
Matt eyed the feline. It eyed him back, then yowled, as if to say Well, hurry it up.
"It might be too scared to come down," he said.
"It's a cat," Reyna said. "They don't get scared - just annoyed, which I'm going to get if you insist on playing hero and rescuing that faker." She scowled at the cat. "Yes, I mean you. Faker."
The cat sniffed, then turned to Matt, clearly sensing the softer touch.
Owen stepped forward. "If you'll feel better rescuing the cat, Matt, then go ahead. We aren't on a tight schedule."
Reyna waved her arms around the smoking street. "Um, Ragnarök?"
"And the longer you two bicker ..."
"Fine," Reyna said. "I've got this." Before Matt could protest, she walked to the base of the tree, grabbed the lowest branch, and swung up. "Rodeo girl, remember? Also, five years of gymnastics, which my mother thought would make me more graceful and feminine. Her mistake."
She shimmied along a branch. "Come on, faker. I'm your designated hero for today." She looked down at Matt. "And if you ever tell anyone I rescued a cat from a tree ..."
Before Matt could answer, the cat sprang to the ground.
"Arggh!" Reyna said.
"You scared him out," Matt said. "He just needed the extra motivation. No, wait. It's a she. Calicos are almost always female."
"Are they? Huh." Reyna swung out. The cat sat on the ground below, watching.
"See?" Matt said. "She's grateful."
"She's gloating. Let's go.
A footfall crunched behind him. He turned to see Reyna heading his way with the cat at her side. He grinned at them, and Reyna stopped short, glancing over her shoulder as if looking for the cause of his grin.
"Someone spike you prefight Gatorade?" she asked.
"No, I'm just happy to see -" He rocked back on his heels. "Happy to see the cat is still with you. Have you picked a name yet?"
"What are my options again?"
"Trjegul, Bygul, and Heyyu."
"Tree-gool and Bee-gool?" she said. "And Hey-yu?" She stopped. "Hey, you. Oh. Ha-ha. Leave comedy to the professionals, Thorsen."
He shrugged. "You could always ask the cat what her name is."
"Nope. I pick Trjegul." She looked down at the calico. "You're Trjegul now. Even if you're really Bygul."
The cat only blinked.
"So if I call you by your name, you'll come, right?"
Trjegul got up and wandered off in the other direction.
"Watch out or I'll trade you for a swan!" Reyna called after her. "A giant, killer stealth swan that eats ungrateful kitties for breakfast.
She was also really great at holding her own in girly cat-fights. Astrid was obviously the mean girl type, and was antagonistic towards her since she detected Matt's budding interest in Reyna, but Reyna took none of her nonsense.
Astrid turned, slowly and deliberately, toward Reyna. She looked her up and down, and then frowned, as if she couldn't quite place her.
"Reyna? I didn't recognize you without the emo girl costume. Still not quite the goddess of light and beauty, are you? Big heels to fill. It'll take a while to grow into them." She looked Reyna over again. "Maybe a long while."
"Oh, I fit my shoes just fine. Today, they're a sweet pair of combat boots, because today, I'm playing a different aspect of Freya. Goddess of kick-your-butt-if-you-mess-with-me. Or mess with anyone else."
Astrid's eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth. Reyna cut her off with "Stop."
"I'm not -"
"Whatever you're about to claim you aren't doing? You're totally doing it. And we're going to stop right here. Two girls hissing at each other over a boy? Chiché. Doing it when we should be strategizing for a save-the-world battle? That's an insult to girls everywhere. Catfight, done." She turned to Matt. "You have the floor, sir."
While Reyna had more of a chance to shine in this book, there was still not much known of Ray. He was still really quiet, and barely talked to anyone other than Reyna. His only known characteristic was that he was good at research. Although Reyna had a bigger role, the character development of Ray, Owen, and Baldwin were still lacking.
The children reading this would not have to worry about being exposed to things that are too emotional. By the end of this series, there were happy endings all around. (Major spoilers:)None of the kids died, and after all was said and done, they get to go back happily to their old lives. A major flaw, however, was the inconsistencies in the story, There were still no explanation on why Helen was the goddess of Hel when all the other Norse gods were long dead, nor did the presence of the Valkyries and Norns were explained. It had some flaws in the story, but it was an exciting, epic adventure for children.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2018
This is the concluding book in a trilogy, so anything said reflects, to an extent, upon the entire series.
I liked it. A lot.
First, the underlying premise. The old Norse Gods have all died; it's not detailed just how this occured, but the implication is that it occured due to their own stupidity. And face it, reading the sagas, the Norse Gods weren't that bright; they did some really stupid shit. Real good examples of Might Makes Right.
Their being dead isn't preventing Ragnarok from occuring. Someone has to stand in for them. Someone with similer abilities. Someone from amongst their descendents. Some of whom know they are descended from Norse Gods, some who don't and have to be convinced; all have some of the abilities of those they are descended from, so it's a litle easier to convince those who weren't aware of their ancestry, because of the ways they've always been different from those around them; and Ragnarok is coming and there are events occuring that can be explained in no other way.
But since it's not the actual Norse Gods, it's already clear that things aren't going precisely as prophesized. Which means, maybe, just maybe, things can come out differently than the prophesies predict. If the modern day descendents of the Norse Gods can find a way. After all, if things occur as predicted, 90%+ of humanity will die. And Monsters will reign supreme over the survivors.
Finding a path to a different result is tricky. There is a predestined order of events; some things are built into how the universe functions, that cannot be evaded; there are Cosmic Forces that will intervene to see that certain events take place; too great a change in any particular event will bring them into play. Plus, there are those who actively want the predicted result to occur; they see the end result favoring their worldview. Not all of these operate in the open; not all of these are who you would expect them to be, although once you find out why they want the predicted outcome, it does hang together (disillusinment with the existing societies, a desire to start afresh with their ideology in control). Conversely, some who you would expect to desire the destined outcome, don't.
Which is what makes this an interesting series. While characteristics of the Norse Gods proved to be dominant traits, all involved are indeed distinct individuals from their ancestors, and have free will.
The exercise of that free will, within the constraints of the foretold, pre-ordained, cannot be avoided no matter how you try, events, is central to the story. A slight change here, an adjustment there, little by little attempting to shift things just enough to change the outcome from "most everybody dies and Monsters reign supreme" to "most everyone survives and Monsters still get a better deal than the lousy situation they had" is tricky; try too big a change at any given time, and as stated, corrective actions will be triggered. Ragnorok will occur. The Champion of Thor will fight the Midgard Serpent. Various other things will happen, no matter what anyone wants. But inside each of these preordained events, there is wiggle room; actions different than those the original Norse gods would have taken, will result in different outcomes.
I think the character development was good. The individual motivations made sense, for all involved; even when forced to actively support a side they'd personally rather didn't win, their actions were consistent with their character.
Very well written. It was a joy to read.
While not a reflection upon the author, per see, the illustrations commissioned by the publisher were well suited to the story.
While most of Kelley Armstrong's works are within genres I'm not interested in, I'd recommend her, without hesitation, to those who do enjoy those genres.
I liked it. A lot.
First, the underlying premise. The old Norse Gods have all died; it's not detailed just how this occured, but the implication is that it occured due to their own stupidity. And face it, reading the sagas, the Norse Gods weren't that bright; they did some really stupid shit. Real good examples of Might Makes Right.
Their being dead isn't preventing Ragnarok from occuring. Someone has to stand in for them. Someone with similer abilities. Someone from amongst their descendents. Some of whom know they are descended from Norse Gods, some who don't and have to be convinced; all have some of the abilities of those they are descended from, so it's a litle easier to convince those who weren't aware of their ancestry, because of the ways they've always been different from those around them; and Ragnarok is coming and there are events occuring that can be explained in no other way.
But since it's not the actual Norse Gods, it's already clear that things aren't going precisely as prophesized. Which means, maybe, just maybe, things can come out differently than the prophesies predict. If the modern day descendents of the Norse Gods can find a way. After all, if things occur as predicted, 90%+ of humanity will die. And Monsters will reign supreme over the survivors.
Finding a path to a different result is tricky. There is a predestined order of events; some things are built into how the universe functions, that cannot be evaded; there are Cosmic Forces that will intervene to see that certain events take place; too great a change in any particular event will bring them into play. Plus, there are those who actively want the predicted result to occur; they see the end result favoring their worldview. Not all of these operate in the open; not all of these are who you would expect them to be, although once you find out why they want the predicted outcome, it does hang together (disillusinment with the existing societies, a desire to start afresh with their ideology in control). Conversely, some who you would expect to desire the destined outcome, don't.
Which is what makes this an interesting series. While characteristics of the Norse Gods proved to be dominant traits, all involved are indeed distinct individuals from their ancestors, and have free will.
The exercise of that free will, within the constraints of the foretold, pre-ordained, cannot be avoided no matter how you try, events, is central to the story. A slight change here, an adjustment there, little by little attempting to shift things just enough to change the outcome from "most everybody dies and Monsters reign supreme" to "most everyone survives and Monsters still get a better deal than the lousy situation they had" is tricky; try too big a change at any given time, and as stated, corrective actions will be triggered. Ragnorok will occur. The Champion of Thor will fight the Midgard Serpent. Various other things will happen, no matter what anyone wants. But inside each of these preordained events, there is wiggle room; actions different than those the original Norse gods would have taken, will result in different outcomes.
I think the character development was good. The individual motivations made sense, for all involved; even when forced to actively support a side they'd personally rather didn't win, their actions were consistent with their character.
Very well written. It was a joy to read.
While not a reflection upon the author, per see, the illustrations commissioned by the publisher were well suited to the story.
While most of Kelley Armstrong's works are within genres I'm not interested in, I'd recommend her, without hesitation, to those who do enjoy those genres.
September 6, 2015
So Fen’s now responsible for the wulfenkind, while Matt’s recovered Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. Matt & Reyna run into the wolves & he sees Fen with them, thinking he’s been captured, but Fen’s been forced into the leadership role & the magic tying the wulfenkind forces him to do what’s best for his pack so he can’t even explain to his friends how he became their enemy. So now Matt has to tell Laurie about Fen leading the Raiders but she doesn’t believe it & thinks something’s wrong. But they’re headed to Rapid City, where Owen says answers are waiting. The sky’s also turning black; Ragnarok is coming.Rapid City has a blackout; like nothing’s working - there’s mara (nightmares) in the city -they meet the Norns; Present, Future & Past & ask about where the final battle will happen & all they say is someone from Matt’s family knows the rules of the battle - Laurie portals them all back to Blackwell where Laurie, Owen & Baldwin go to her family to find out if there’s news from Fen & Matt, Reyna & Ray go to his family for answers about the rules of the battle & they run into Jake, his older brother & tell him everything & he’s shocked but knows they have to see Uncle Pete, who they haven’t seen in forever but was kicked out of Blackwell for disagreeing with their asshole Granddad about some stuff - so Uncle Pete’s super smart & he’ll know where the battle’s supposed to be. Laurie, Baldwin & Owen go see Laurie’s mom & little brother & find out she already knows most of what’s going on & they tell them about the Thorsens being dangerous & Laurie finds out she can turn into a fish (she had a dream about it but it was real apparently). Ray’s going to stall Jake b/c Jake will get in the way of what they have to do & Ray’s holding Reyna back & knows it’ll be easier for Reyna to protect just Matt, instead of deciding between him & Matt, which is a distraction. Laurie portals them to Mitchell, the place Matt’s Uncle Pete’s supposed to be & there’s like dust & sand everywhere & a fiery Jotunn they have to fight. Mayor Thorsen pays Fen a visit & blabbers some bullshit about the new world & how the wolves will rule (load of BS) & Fen says he’ll protect the wulfenkind & Laurie. Astrid shows up & Fen’s hella pissed but he can’t get rid of her b/c Mayor Thorsen needs her alive for the final fight. That bitch. But she wants to protect the people she cares about so maybe she & Fen are gonna strike up some kind of deal. Meanwhile, there’s 2 Jotunn & Matt & his friends destroy them with the snow blizzard he calls up using his powers. And Laurie gets rid of another one by sending it through a portal to Hel, which her Aunt Helen rules over. Laurie & Baldwin catch a Raider & she opens a portal to the Badlands where Fen is & they leave Owen to tell Matt they’ll be back. Matt, Reyna, Owen meet Alan, Uncle Pete’s friend & they go to see his Uncle.
AND OMG FEN & ASTRID TAKE A WALK & ASTRID REVEALS SHE’S A FUCKING DRAGON & HE REALIZES ASTRID IS THE MIDGARD SERPENT; SHE CORRECTS HIM; HER GRANDMOTHER IS THE SERPENT RIGHT NOW & SHE SAYS SHE DOESN’T WANT MATT TO DIE & WANTS TO SAVE HIM; BUT JUST THEN, LAURIE & BALDWIN COME THRU THE PORTAL WITH THE RAIDER
Matt, Reyna, Alan & Pete try helping a family out of a burning building but THE 3RD ROOSTER THAT SIGNALS RAGNORAK IS THERE & FUCKING HOOTS ITS HEAD OFF. They return to Pete’s and he tells them the descendants of the gods get to pick the location of the battle.
Laurie makes a portal & takes both Astrid & Fen through it with Baldwin to where Matt & the others are. Fen finally explains to Matt & Laurie what happened but he can’t tell them about Astrid b/c of the magic binding him, but he’s gotta go back to his pack.
MATT & REYNA MAYBE?? but he talks to Astrid with Reyna & she reveals she’s the Midgard Serpent & that since Matt won’t ever join the bad side, she’ll join their side & betray her family & friends - Ray shows up (Reyna’s brother) -the plan is that Astrid will walk on the battlefield as their ally & forfeit her battle with Matt & if she’s planning on tricking them, then they’ll all be watching her; the last rooster comes & crows; IT’S TIME FOR WAR!
they pick the Badlands to be the battle ground b/c it resembles Hel & Aunt Helen’s monsters will be able to fight well on familiar ground. Laurie portals everyone there but Astrid goes missing somehow -Matt & the twins; Reyna & Ray go with the Valkyries, while Laurie, Owen & Baldwin are left to deal with frost giants & a horde of monsters. They use arrows dipped in thermite & lit up for the frost giant & the ice becomes stone where its hit - then the other monsters are coming.
Matt & the Valkyries encounter a chasm & the Midgard Serpent in it & he jumps on it & stabs it but it goes deep in the ground before he can do any more real damage. The Valkyries fight trolls, while Reyna, Ray & Matt are about to face the mara (nightmares) but he ends up in a snow bank with people in a pit thing & he tries saving them but they fall down into some dark hole instead (unless that’s a nightmare). Fenn’s with the Raiders & they encounter Nidhogg, the corpse eating serpent that eats at the world tree. Fen fights Owen & Helen shows up at the battlefield to announce to everyone she’s on Laurie’s side, which means the TIDE HAS TURNED & IT’S IN THE WULFENKIND’S BEST INTEREST TO SIDE WITH THE SIDE THAT’LL LIKELY WIN SO NOW FEN’S BACK ON HIS FRIEND’S SIDE ALL THANKS TO HELEN SHOWING UP!!
So yeah Matt wakes up from nightmares to find the warrior goats there & they’re killed by Gleamir, who Matt defeated in the last book i think. Or book 1. & he’s gotta fight off his draugr (zombie warriors) & then Glaemir. Then the Valkyries take him to fight the Midgard Serpent, which is the eagle-sepent thing that’s been flying around in the sky the whole time & it’s the real Midgard Serpent, the one Astrid’s grandmother sacrificed herself to become, & not Astrid herself. Matt’s really screwed now.
Meanwhile, Laurie, Fen, Baldwin & Owen are taking care of Nidhogg with Helen’s help.
Since Matt’s facing the real Midgard Serpent, the rules have been broken & the Norns allowed Matt’s grandfather to come to the ring to help his descendant Matt unless the Serpent lets the chosen from Astrid’s family line stand in the battle as she should. And Matt’s grandfather says he’s wrong & wants to help Matt but Matt can’t trust him & he fights the serpent, injuring it & calling down snow & rain to extinguish its fire & then his grandfather is hurt & HE TELLS MATT HOW PROUD HE IS & HOW SORRY HE IS FOR EVERYTHING & THEN HE DIES OMGG & MATT’S STILL GOTTA KILL THE SERPENT! He puts all his faith into his power & goes about the battle with a clear head & at the end he throws Mjolnir into the Serpents mouth & it chokes on it & tries biting him as it’s dying to poison him but he jumps out of its way & USES HIS POWERS TO STRIKE THE SERPENT WITH LIGHTNING, KILLING IT FINALLY!!
MATT KILLED THE MIDGARD SERPENT!! FINALLY!!!! :D
BUT THE SERPENT DID BITE HIM & IT’S POISON IS IN HIM & HE FALLS UNCONSCIOUS!! :O
WITH THE BATTLE OVER, AUNT HELEN TAKES THE MONSTERS BACK INTO HEL & LAURIE & FEN GO TO FIND MATT.
MATT’S ALIVE; THE SERPENTS POISON DIDN’T KILL HIM B/C WHEN HE FELL INTO THE RIVER IN HEL, HE SWALLOWED THE POISON IN HTE RIVER SO IT BUILT HIS TOLERANCE SO THE SERPENT’S POISON DIDN’T KILL HIM - THEN ALL HIS FRIENDS; LAURIE, FEN, REYNA, RAY, OWEN, BALDWIN, THE VALKYRIES & GOATS ARE THERE WHEN HE WAKES UP.
Reyna & Ray go home, & Baldwin goes with Owen & his band of Beserkers, while Laurie, Matt & Fen head back to Blackwell; they’ll all stay in touch. Matt’s family’s so happy he’s alive & well & they’re proud, as are Laurie’s parents & brother in Laurie & Fen :)
Epilogue: First day of school. Matt’s getting along great with his brothers now. Laurie’s parents want to adopt Fen!! :D Baldwin’s trying to convince his parents to move to Blackwell. Owen’s been in touch with Laurie (HE LIEKS HER & SHE LIKES HIM, much to Fen’s displeasure). Astrid emails Matt, saying she’s fine but he can’t exactly forget she killed Baldwin. And Reyna’s texting Matt (OH MAN THEY SHOULD SO GET TOGETHER) & he’s gonna go visit her & Ray. & at school, he catches up with Laurie & Fen; they’re his best friends now.
AND THAT’S THE END!!
UGH LOVED IT! & I LOVED THE PICTURES THOSE WERE GREAT!!
AND OMG FEN & ASTRID TAKE A WALK & ASTRID REVEALS SHE’S A FUCKING DRAGON & HE REALIZES ASTRID IS THE MIDGARD SERPENT; SHE CORRECTS HIM; HER GRANDMOTHER IS THE SERPENT RIGHT NOW & SHE SAYS SHE DOESN’T WANT MATT TO DIE & WANTS TO SAVE HIM; BUT JUST THEN, LAURIE & BALDWIN COME THRU THE PORTAL WITH THE RAIDER
Matt, Reyna, Alan & Pete try helping a family out of a burning building but THE 3RD ROOSTER THAT SIGNALS RAGNORAK IS THERE & FUCKING HOOTS ITS HEAD OFF. They return to Pete’s and he tells them the descendants of the gods get to pick the location of the battle.
Laurie makes a portal & takes both Astrid & Fen through it with Baldwin to where Matt & the others are. Fen finally explains to Matt & Laurie what happened but he can’t tell them about Astrid b/c of the magic binding him, but he’s gotta go back to his pack.
MATT & REYNA MAYBE?? but he talks to Astrid with Reyna & she reveals she’s the Midgard Serpent & that since Matt won’t ever join the bad side, she’ll join their side & betray her family & friends - Ray shows up (Reyna’s brother) -the plan is that Astrid will walk on the battlefield as their ally & forfeit her battle with Matt & if she’s planning on tricking them, then they’ll all be watching her; the last rooster comes & crows; IT’S TIME FOR WAR!
they pick the Badlands to be the battle ground b/c it resembles Hel & Aunt Helen’s monsters will be able to fight well on familiar ground. Laurie portals everyone there but Astrid goes missing somehow -Matt & the twins; Reyna & Ray go with the Valkyries, while Laurie, Owen & Baldwin are left to deal with frost giants & a horde of monsters. They use arrows dipped in thermite & lit up for the frost giant & the ice becomes stone where its hit - then the other monsters are coming.
Matt & the Valkyries encounter a chasm & the Midgard Serpent in it & he jumps on it & stabs it but it goes deep in the ground before he can do any more real damage. The Valkyries fight trolls, while Reyna, Ray & Matt are about to face the mara (nightmares) but he ends up in a snow bank with people in a pit thing & he tries saving them but they fall down into some dark hole instead (unless that’s a nightmare). Fenn’s with the Raiders & they encounter Nidhogg, the corpse eating serpent that eats at the world tree. Fen fights Owen & Helen shows up at the battlefield to announce to everyone she’s on Laurie’s side, which means the TIDE HAS TURNED & IT’S IN THE WULFENKIND’S BEST INTEREST TO SIDE WITH THE SIDE THAT’LL LIKELY WIN SO NOW FEN’S BACK ON HIS FRIEND’S SIDE ALL THANKS TO HELEN SHOWING UP!!
So yeah Matt wakes up from nightmares to find the warrior goats there & they’re killed by Gleamir, who Matt defeated in the last book i think. Or book 1. & he’s gotta fight off his draugr (zombie warriors) & then Glaemir. Then the Valkyries take him to fight the Midgard Serpent, which is the eagle-sepent thing that’s been flying around in the sky the whole time & it’s the real Midgard Serpent, the one Astrid’s grandmother sacrificed herself to become, & not Astrid herself. Matt’s really screwed now.
Meanwhile, Laurie, Fen, Baldwin & Owen are taking care of Nidhogg with Helen’s help.
Since Matt’s facing the real Midgard Serpent, the rules have been broken & the Norns allowed Matt’s grandfather to come to the ring to help his descendant Matt unless the Serpent lets the chosen from Astrid’s family line stand in the battle as she should. And Matt’s grandfather says he’s wrong & wants to help Matt but Matt can’t trust him & he fights the serpent, injuring it & calling down snow & rain to extinguish its fire & then his grandfather is hurt & HE TELLS MATT HOW PROUD HE IS & HOW SORRY HE IS FOR EVERYTHING & THEN HE DIES OMGG & MATT’S STILL GOTTA KILL THE SERPENT! He puts all his faith into his power & goes about the battle with a clear head & at the end he throws Mjolnir into the Serpents mouth & it chokes on it & tries biting him as it’s dying to poison him but he jumps out of its way & USES HIS POWERS TO STRIKE THE SERPENT WITH LIGHTNING, KILLING IT FINALLY!!
MATT KILLED THE MIDGARD SERPENT!! FINALLY!!!! :D
BUT THE SERPENT DID BITE HIM & IT’S POISON IS IN HIM & HE FALLS UNCONSCIOUS!! :O
WITH THE BATTLE OVER, AUNT HELEN TAKES THE MONSTERS BACK INTO HEL & LAURIE & FEN GO TO FIND MATT.
MATT’S ALIVE; THE SERPENTS POISON DIDN’T KILL HIM B/C WHEN HE FELL INTO THE RIVER IN HEL, HE SWALLOWED THE POISON IN HTE RIVER SO IT BUILT HIS TOLERANCE SO THE SERPENT’S POISON DIDN’T KILL HIM - THEN ALL HIS FRIENDS; LAURIE, FEN, REYNA, RAY, OWEN, BALDWIN, THE VALKYRIES & GOATS ARE THERE WHEN HE WAKES UP.
Reyna & Ray go home, & Baldwin goes with Owen & his band of Beserkers, while Laurie, Matt & Fen head back to Blackwell; they’ll all stay in touch. Matt’s family’s so happy he’s alive & well & they’re proud, as are Laurie’s parents & brother in Laurie & Fen :)
Epilogue: First day of school. Matt’s getting along great with his brothers now. Laurie’s parents want to adopt Fen!! :D Baldwin’s trying to convince his parents to move to Blackwell. Owen’s been in touch with Laurie (HE LIEKS HER & SHE LIKES HIM, much to Fen’s displeasure). Astrid emails Matt, saying she’s fine but he can’t exactly forget she killed Baldwin. And Reyna’s texting Matt (OH MAN THEY SHOULD SO GET TOGETHER) & he’s gonna go visit her & Ray. & at school, he catches up with Laurie & Fen; they’re his best friends now.
AND THAT’S THE END!!
UGH LOVED IT! & I LOVED THE PICTURES THOSE WERE GREAT!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2020
I will also do a video review here at my channel: http://www.youtube.com/magicofbooks
"Thor's Serpents" is the final book in the "Blackwell Pages" series by KL Armstrong and MA Marr. The end of the world, Ragnarok, is here, and it's up to Matt and his friends to form their allegiances and prevent the destruction of everything they love. Matt struggles with leadership. Laurie struggles with confidence. And Fen struggles between the path between good and evil. The Descendants of the North rely on each others individual strengths and know that they work best as a team, and that's what will help them win this final battle.
Finally, I am done with this series. It's taken me forever, but at least I'm done. This final book in the trilogy was very well done. It had that classic humor and silliness that I've come to expect and characters that I love. It's pretty much just a copy of Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson" series, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Any book that is going to make kids read is always a plus, and fun books about mythology that makes it more easy to understand and more relatable is also a good thing for kids. I think certain elements ended up being a bit predictable in this final book, but it is for kids after all, and there's certain things you expect when reading a series for kids and your protagonists have to overcome the odds. I did find that the ending chapters felt a bit rushed and unclear in places. Without spoiling it, there is a death at the very end and it lacked emotion simply because the character who died had had absolutely no build up in all three novels. There was no emotional investment. A character momentarily grieved, but that was it. For me, what worked with this trilogy was the relationships between the kids. Matt, Laurie, and Fen are the core and heart of this trilogy. And they all have their inner obstacles to overcome. Matt has to learn to be a leader. Laurie has to gain confidence. And Fen has to figure out if he wants to be the hero or the villain. Baldwin continued to be the most precious thing ever. And I seriously loved that Reyna had a stronger character in this final book. In the previous two books it felt like Armstrong and Marr had no idea what to do with Reyna and her twin brother Ray. The two were always conveniently sent away. And that did continue to be the same with poor Ray's character, but at least they massively improved on Reyna that she ended up being one of my faves here at the end. Don't get me started on the uselessness that was Astrid. The whole series she was just a plot point to move the series rather than being her own character with a personality.
Overall, a great trilogy. As far as children's series go, something like "Harry Potter" or "Percy Jackson" are the far superior stories, but "Blackwell Pages" still has that fun and charisma that makes reading fun and entertaining, while teaching a little bit of something along the way.
"Thor's Serpents" is the final book in the "Blackwell Pages" series by KL Armstrong and MA Marr. The end of the world, Ragnarok, is here, and it's up to Matt and his friends to form their allegiances and prevent the destruction of everything they love. Matt struggles with leadership. Laurie struggles with confidence. And Fen struggles between the path between good and evil. The Descendants of the North rely on each others individual strengths and know that they work best as a team, and that's what will help them win this final battle.
Finally, I am done with this series. It's taken me forever, but at least I'm done. This final book in the trilogy was very well done. It had that classic humor and silliness that I've come to expect and characters that I love. It's pretty much just a copy of Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson" series, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Any book that is going to make kids read is always a plus, and fun books about mythology that makes it more easy to understand and more relatable is also a good thing for kids. I think certain elements ended up being a bit predictable in this final book, but it is for kids after all, and there's certain things you expect when reading a series for kids and your protagonists have to overcome the odds. I did find that the ending chapters felt a bit rushed and unclear in places. Without spoiling it, there is a death at the very end and it lacked emotion simply because the character who died had had absolutely no build up in all three novels. There was no emotional investment. A character momentarily grieved, but that was it. For me, what worked with this trilogy was the relationships between the kids. Matt, Laurie, and Fen are the core and heart of this trilogy. And they all have their inner obstacles to overcome. Matt has to learn to be a leader. Laurie has to gain confidence. And Fen has to figure out if he wants to be the hero or the villain. Baldwin continued to be the most precious thing ever. And I seriously loved that Reyna had a stronger character in this final book. In the previous two books it felt like Armstrong and Marr had no idea what to do with Reyna and her twin brother Ray. The two were always conveniently sent away. And that did continue to be the same with poor Ray's character, but at least they massively improved on Reyna that she ended up being one of my faves here at the end. Don't get me started on the uselessness that was Astrid. The whole series she was just a plot point to move the series rather than being her own character with a personality.
Overall, a great trilogy. As far as children's series go, something like "Harry Potter" or "Percy Jackson" are the far superior stories, but "Blackwell Pages" still has that fun and charisma that makes reading fun and entertaining, while teaching a little bit of something along the way.
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