The Ship of the Dead

There's one thing I don't like about Rick Riordan's mythology-based books, and that is how he keeps on retelling and repeating mythology stories with his characters. It makes them look... dumb, kind of, because it's already happened before. I understand why he does it, mind you, but how is that effective in the overall story—although I'm not his target audience, am I? So who cares, really, and let's get to the review.

The Ship of the Dead was hella fun, as always. At the very beginning, I could not... remember things, though? from the previous book? Really, Magnus mentioned stuff and I was like, “has that really happened? was it like that?” So I guess I'm getting old, but soon we picked up speed, and everything was great. My favorite character for life, Alex Fierro, shined through in this one, and I was mostly happy with how their relationship with Magnus was developed, including a bonus kiss while Alex was presenting themselves "as a boy". Magnus and Loki's flyting was better than anything I could've imagined, and I might have teared up a little at that. This here is a great departure for a nice, fun series that will be missed.

Short review: this is a fun, funny, and well-written book that is just as good or better than the previous books in the series. It's a great book to read with your kids, or just by yourself.Magnus Chase, Alex Fierro, Samirah al-Abbas, Hearth, Blitz, and a cast of einherji race against the launch of Naglfar, the ship of the dead, to once again stop the inevitable tide of Ragnarok. Along the way they pick up the pieces of what they did in the previous book [b:The Hammer of Thor 27904311 The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #2) Rick Riordan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463950690s/27904311.jpg 46919813], and discover more about their mysterious parents, their demigod powers, and even find a little romance. This book is a focused thrill ride with more action and less comedy than its predecessor, although it still retains the picaresque quality of other books in the series. Though the heroes are successful, the series ends unresolved and leaves plenty of room for more adventures with these characters. I have mixed feelings about Rick Riordan's body of work, but in the end Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is an excellent series that is a lot of fun to read. While reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and several of the Heroes of Olympus titles, I grew weary of Riordan's repetitive devices, tone, and overtly educational and preachiness. In Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Riordan still uses the same devices he did in [b:The Lightning Thief 28187 The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) Rick Riordan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1400602609s/28187.jpg 3346751] to break with the main character's point of view and include information the character wouldn't otherwise know. Magnus Chase, for example, repeatedly dreams or hallucinates events that are happening elsewhere in the world, that tell him about his antagonist (Loki, in this most recent book and the previous book in the series, [b:The Hammer of Thor 27904311 The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #2) Rick Riordan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463950690s/27904311.jpg 46919813]). All the characters in The Heroes of Olympus also did this, repeatedly dreaming of what the other main characters were doing despite those characters' explicitly-titled point-of-view chapters. In this book, it makes a lot more sense, given the first-person storytelling, and I wouldn't mind it if Percy Jackson didn't do the exact same thing, and Riordan couldn't have easily used other devices to let us know what Loki was up to. These passages could almost be left out of the book. The next thing is that Riordan seems incapable, despite his great skill, of writing anything other than snarky teenagers. This would be worse if real teenagers weren't this way, but Magnus sometimes seems a little too clever for his own good, which clashes with some of his other qualities. He's never really out of character, but he sometimes seems a little too dashing and smart-mouthed for someone who, at his core, has been through so much hardship. I don't mind that all the adults are jerks, because when you're a teenager, that's what the world is like, and what preteen or adolescent would want to read a book where the teenagers get solid wisdom and don't have to solve their own problems?The other repetitive element in Riordan's books is how the characters come in contact with the gods. The whole point of these books is that mythology is not really mythological, but is about real characters who are still active today, not in some distant past. All these books have a picaresque quality where teenagers come in contact with certain mythological figures and it always follows the same overtly educational pattern: “Oh, wait a minute, you're [so-and-so, the god of such-and-such, who in this one myth did these particular things].” This gets a little old.The last thing I don't like is that particularly the Magnus Chase books, and to some extent the Heroes of Olympus books, bear the marks of an author who feels like he needs to educate and instill social values on his (impressionable) readers. This is a trick: lure the preteen reader in with a cool story about gods and monsters and swords and snarky teenagers (maybe even some kissing?) and insert the narrative you think will make the world a better place. It's trendy. I fully expected there to be a police shooting in this book, and I was genuinely surprised when there wasn't. Again, I wouldn't mind if this weren't repetitive, one-sided, and self-righteous, as if the author knows better than his readers or their parents. It's very Hollywood, even if Riordan does it with fully mythological backing. Alex Fierro, for example, is gender-fluid because of how he/she came to be in the world, for very good reasons within the plot, and the characterization and Alex's qualities make a lot of sense, with backup from Norse mythology and Scandinavian history. That doesn't make it any less trendy, or make the portrayal any more well-rounded.After all, however, Riordan manages not to let any of that overshadow a very good story and a fun read. This is a laugh-out-loud book, way better than its predecessors in the series and in his others. Even if Riordan is still doing many things the same way, his books just keep getting better and better. The material in these books is more mature than in the Percy Jackson books, given that the characters are older. The story is also just more interesting, with a more intricate plot, and more interesting characters. I highly recommend this book for reading with your kids. As much as I decry Riordan's explicitly educational approach, if you want your kids to learn about Norse Mythology or classic literature, this is a great way to get them into it. It's not a substitute, but definitely as much fun and closer to the source material than Marvel movies or anything else you'd let your kids watch. Also, despite the somewhat mature material and YA writing style, Riordan is easy to read and kids as young as nine find it approachable for reading on their own. My son begged me to keep reading every night after I finished two chapters. I think yours will too.

 I loved this one! I'm a little sad the Magnus Chase books are over (except the Novellas which I'm reading soon)!! I cried during the Flyting and honestly just loved everything during the end. I think Alex is probably my favorite character, I love the gender fluid representation, there's so little of it in the media. For the overall story, I do feel like some plot points were left out in the open or otherwise weren't really talked about, which is a bummer since the series is over. What was addressed was really good though!

estoy contenta, pero enojada

Original de: El Blog del Gato - El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Leer The Ship of The Dead fue simplemente un placer que quise alargar por más días, pero no pude contenerme.

No confirmar que Hearth y Blitz son pareja fue extremadamente insatisfactorio. Y me sorprende mi reacción porque yo no soy exactamente una gran shipper, solo que de verdad lo esperaba, por más sobreentendido que esté, porque vamos, esos dos son más esposos que nunca en este libro



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Look, by now you know what you are getting with a Rick Riordan book. There are no surprises here.

Flawed but likable and noble main hero? Check. Gotta save the world from some deity who was wronged/offended by the other deities? Check. A little bit of romance to keep the characters moving (with some social commentary in this one)? Check. A plucky band of misfit adventurers who have to come together, overcome some differences/personal challenges and work as a team? Check. A slightly subversive take on old mythology? Check.

It's all there and it all goes down nice and smooth. And, for the most part (save a trans character who some might have issue with), it's safe, inoffensive fun. I always enjoy Riordan's stories and style, and this doesn't disappoint. But after so many books I'm getting to the point where it all feels so well trodden that these books just can't get much more than an “I liked it”. Nothing stronger. Quick, light reading that will satisfy if that is what one is going for.

But if you are looking for more depth than that, you'll need to look elsewhere.

Short Review: There isn't anything particularly special about the end of this trilogy. Riordan uses many of the same types of plot points and young adult/children's book motivations that have been used by many other books. But you don't need anything different to be a solid book.

I like Riordan's writing and this is a solid books by Riordan. It was a good palate cleanser between heavier books.

My slightly longer review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/ship-of-the-dead/

AMÉ COMPLETAMENTE ESTA TRILOGÍA.

No conocía mucho de la mitologia nórdica (solamente lo básico), y la verdad me llamó mucho la atención. Se ha convertido en una de mis historias favoritas de todo el riordanverse!

Me gustaron mucho todos los personajes, cada uno tuvo su momento y desarrollo.

Magnus Chase se ha convertido en uno de mis personajes favoritos del riordanverse, lo adoro!

A clear and definite improvement over the first two books. Much more of Magnus being his own character and not Percy 2.0. No more of the general ‘isn't it hilarious how much like humans this non human civilization/person is?' and some actually witty/sarcastic remarks.

Magnus' crew gets fleshed out more - with Mallory, HalfBorn and T.J. actually getting time to shine. (Which, regardless of my feels towards their character and characterization, can only be for the best.) (I also do think the blooming relationship between Magnus and Alex is cute and I love that it's not as ... forced as a certain other one was. (Percy/Annabeth.) There's a lot of room for them to grow together without me feeling like I'm supposed to feel that they are destined to be together.)

Also, to the good, is the fact that the ending feels a lot like there's more adventures Magnus and crew will go on, which is something I always love.

What I'm not thrilled with is the fact that this is set in the PJ&tO world. Look, besides my feelings on the characters from the original series, things are starting to feel very claustrophobic. We've got deities from Greek, Roman, Egyptian and now Norse all sharing a world. (A very North America-centric world at that, but I'm not getting into that now.) The Kane Chronicles wasn't as bad because it didn't cameo characters from the original series. I just don't see how these deities aren't tripping all over each other or having Greek/Norse babies. shrug