Loki's Wolves by K.L Armstrong and M.A. Marr

Loki’s Wolves

K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr

Juvenile Fantasy

The Blackwell Pages

May 7, 2013

EBook, 445 pages

031620496x

Candy

Synopsis:

  “The Runes have spoken. We have our champion… Matthew Thorsen.”

  Matt hears the words, but he can’t believe them. He’s Thor’s representative? Destined to fight trolls, monstrous wolves and giant serpents… or the world ends? He’s only thirteen.

  While Matt knew he was a modern-day descendent of Thor, he’s always lived a normal kid’s life. In fact, most people in the small town of Blackwell, South Dakota, are direct descendents of either Thor or Loki, including Matt’s classmates Fen and Laurie Brekke. No big deal.

  But now Ragnarok is coming, and it’s up to the champions to fight in the place of the long-dead gods. Matt, Laurie, and Fen’s lives will never be the same as they race to put together an unstoppable team, find Thor’s hammer and shield, and prevent the end of the world.

 

Quick and Dirty: This is the story of three children who have been chosen to save the world. The book is full of Norse mythology including gods and horrible monsters. This book is a must read.

 

First Sentence: Matt walked through the center of Blackwell, gym bag in hand, jacket thrown over his shoulder.

 

Review:

  This story is mostly about three children named Matt, Fen, and Laurie who are from a small town in South Dakota, called Blackwell. The story is told in all three of the characters’ voices. These children are special because they are descendents and champions of the long-dead gods Thor and Loki. Matt, Laurie and Fen must work together to find the other children who are champions of other gods, find objects with magical properties and save the world from Ragnarok. Ragnarok is what the Norse called the apocalypse. During their travels they meet many creatures good and bad from the old myths including trolls and valkyries.

 

   Matt Thorsen is the main character of our story. He is a descendent and champion of the god Thor. The Thorsten’s all have the power of Thor’s hammer but Matt’s is much more powerful. Also he has the power to sense when something bad is close by, such as trolls. He is thirteen years old and the youngest child in his family. As such, his parents think that he should be just like his older brothers, but he is nothing like them, so he feels like a disappointment to his parents. While most of the members of the Thorsen family play football Matt would rather be wrestling or boxing, which comes in very handy when he is chosen as Thor’s champion. I liked Matt he was not like most kids his age but maybe that was because he was the son of a sheriff. Matt made a good leader for himself and the other descendents. Even in the beginning when they did not all get along they still followed him without too much question. I also liked how he grew as the story progressed. In the beginning he was scared and unsure about how he was going to lead the other kids, but by the end of the book he was a very strong leader who knew how to get everyone to work together and how to succeed. Fen and Laurie Brekke are the other main characters in the story. They are cousins and descendents of Loki. Fen is Loki’s champion. Many of the Brekke’s can turn into wolves and Fen is one of them. In the beginning Fen is hard to like because he has an attitude problem and likes to get into trouble. Then you learn that his life has not been easy in the least and you start to feel bad for him. As the story advances I actually started to really like Fen. He was very protective of Laurie and would do anything to keep her safe. Also once he became a friend he was super loyal. You learn that a lot of his attitude is because he is scared and just using his attitude to keep people at bay. I think Laurie was my favorite character. Laurie has her own powers such as being able to find other descendents. She has other amazing powers but you will have to read the story to find out her coolest powers. Laurie was a nice girl who wanted to take care of her cousin and make sure he stayed out of trouble. She is not your typical girl though. Even though she had no idea about the ancestry of Thorsens and Brekkes she did not freak out when she found out. Also she had no trouble jumping in and helping during a fight. At the same time, she was the person who was best at breaking up fights and getting everyone to get along.

 

  There are other children who join their group and play important parts. The first ones we meet are Ray and his twin sister Reyna. They are descendents and champions of the twin gods, Frey and Freya. They have a hard time with the group and don’t want to help at first. The twins have a secret that they are not telling the group. The next important character we meet is Baldwin. He is the descendent and champion of Balder and because of this he cannot be hurt or feel pain. Only one thing can hurt him. Balder is the nicest guy anyone could meet and is always so happy. Everyone, even Fen, who has a hard time trusting and liking people, likes Balder instantly. The last person who is important that we meet is Astrid. She is a witch who is dating the descendent of Odin. She is sent by Odin to help them retrieve Thor’s hammer and shield. Astrid is hiding something from them and they may figure it out to late.

 

   The description of this book may say that is for ages eight and up but I am an adult and I really enjoyed this story. I am now going to purchase a copy of this book for the library I work at and I am eagerly anticipating the second book. This book is full of Norse mythology which is fascinating. The characters are enduring and the action is fast paced. I recommend this book to everyone, child and adult alike. You will not be able to put it down.

 

Memorable Scene: “Our champion is Matthew Thorsen, son of Paul and Patricia Thorsen.” Matt froze.

 There was a moment of stunned silence. Then whispers slid past. Did he really say the Thorsen boy? He’s just a kid. No, that can’t be right. We heard wrong. We must have.

 Granddad’s voice came back on the speakers. “I know this may come as a surprise to some of you. Matt is, after all, only thirteen. But in Viking times, he would have been on the brink of manhood. The runes have chosen Matt as our champion, as the closest embodiment of Thor.