March 2020 Book Review: The Ship of the Dead

THE SHIP OF THE DEAD

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #3

By Rick Riordan

~Book Review~

Warning! Spoilers!

MY MOTHER introduced me to Norse mythology early through opera. It was an uphill battle for her to find someone willing to go to an opera in our family, as our first question was inevitability, “How long is it?” I was intrigued by the drama and memorable arias of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” and so she lured me to the boss level: Richard Wagner's “The Ring Cycle.” She knew that I was a fan of The Lord of Rings, and so it proved an easy sell to young me, since anything involving devious deities and magic rings held my interest.

Norse tales didn’t entrance younger me quite as much as Greek, Maya, Navajo, and Egyptian mythos, and the 17 hour total of Wagner’s Ring Cycle broke me—that’s not counting trying to escape from the parking garage. Through the years, I’ve circled back to it, wanting to fall in love with the Nine Worlds, ice giants, and the doomsday serpent Jörmungandr. It might have taken Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston to play Thor and Loki in the Marvel interpretation, but now I am here for it. It has been a delight uncovering layer after layer of legend wreathed with tragedy, betrayal, and hubris. Maybe I’m ready to give “The Ring Cycle” another shot.

Most recently, I finished Rick Riordan’s Gods of Asgard trilogy, and it’s a comedic treat. I really loved Magnus, but Alex Fierro is one of the most memorable characters I’ve encountered in quite some time. This series is probably my favorite since the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I actually feel like the second installment The Hammer of Thor was the strongest in terms of instilling the tension and threat of Loki, who is set on starting Ragnarök, the great battle to end life as we know it, but The Ship of the Dead proved a satisfying finale while leaving the door open just a little for when we might see our heroes again.

Magnus is the son of Frey, God of Summer, and that has been an enjoyable path to focus on a hero who isn’t the best fighter and is more the healing-regeneration type. He has two fabulous friends to help on the battlefront: the shapeshifting half-siblings Alex and Samirah “Sam” al-Abbas, children of Loki. Rounding out their crew are the lovable dwarf Blitzen and my personal favorite, the elf Hearthstone.

The book may have been stronger if it kept focused on the core group. We also do have Thomas Jefferson Jr. and Mallory Keen who join them on a nautical journey to stop Loki from launching the doomsday Ship of the Dead (created out of fingernails, there’s an image for ya). As much as I enjoyed hearing about their backstories, and Mallory’s emotional response when confronted with her Norse parent was particularly well done, it did inflate the book and was a bit lost under everything else that was happening: wolf fights, tangles with underseas giants, Hearthstone facing his father, and a plethora of other quests. Add on top of that new Norse characters and deities making an appearance, and it was difficult to keep track of everyone. Loki’s menace felt a bit deflated with everything else going on, as by the time the heroes face the famous trickster again, I felt a bit out of breath—these kids got fortitude!

However, I loved that “flyting” was the key to Loki’s downfall. Early on, Magnus trains with demigod celebs Percy Jackson and Annabelle Chase with the blade, but he’s not the best. Flyting stayed consistent with Magnus’s character and let the rest of his crew showcase their strengths.

The relationships were rock solid. Sam and Amir stay true to each other and are utterly adorable. I like that Amir is the normal guy but supports Sam how he can. I liked Sam’s arch of balancing her dual heritage as she navigates incorporating practices of her Islamic faith like Ramadan with a Valkyrie save-the-world quest. I’ve always loved Magnus and Alex. They are utterly fascinated with each other, and little by little, they push and pull on one another, and ultimately can’t think of anyone else they’d rather be with. Magnus comes to know when Alex, who is genderfluid, is identifying as a boy or a girl, and Alex comes to trust Magnus after a hard and difficult life. Their interactions were the most captivating.

As such, Ship of the Dead is written in Riordan’s signature style of irreverent, edge-of-your seat, nonstop action mission after mission—perhaps too many—but the emotional depth was there in the finale. I’m excited for what Rick will do next.


Recommended for fans of: J.K. Rowling, Christopher Paolini, Roshani Chokshi