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aesarctic · 6 years

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Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead, by Rick Riordan

The third book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy. Finished it a month ago, but I just got the review done.

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★ ★ ★ ★ ★

FOR THE SUPER NON-SPOILERY AND THE NON-SPOILERY PEOPLE: This is the third book. Can't say much. Here: The Sword of Summer

FOR THE SPOILERY PEOPLE: Oh. My. Dear. Gods. Let's talk about my thoughts pre-book. I got this book maybe two days after it came out--in my defence, it was a busy time in my life. Marching band is a big deal. Marching band ending in my senior year of high school is a bigger one. After marching band, school got in the way. I wasn't able to read the book. A sad life, I know. I was looking forward to this book for forever at that point. (Where "forever" = about 1 year) But then. A four day weekend was coming up. It was time. I picked up the book. And I read it. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead is an end-book. The last book. It's the last book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy. I've read three other end-books by Rick Riordan: The Last Olympian, The Serpent's Shadow, and The Blood of Olympus. The Last Olympian is by far my favourite of the three. In fact, it's high up on the favourite-end-books list. It's amazing. TLO SPOILERS: The entire thing is dedicated to the battle that has been built up for four books. The battle is amazing. There was the right amount of death. The ending was near perfect. I loved it. END SPOILERS To be honest, I don't remember much of The Serpent's Shadow. If I wasn't on a rereading ban, I'd probably reread that series. And then, Blood of Olympus. We all have feelings about that book. Mine aren't the best. Not the worst, but not the best. The point is, I didn't know what to think about this book. Was it going to be a good end-book? Would it wrap up everything? What the heck was going to happen? Percy Jackson is my all-time favourite character in any Rick Riordan book in the history of Rick Riordan books. When I finished the second book, Annabeth ended the book by saying it was time to meet Percy.I remember thinking that this meant Percy was probably going to make a cameo at the beginning, teach Magnus a couple things, and be on his way. AND I WAS RIGHT. Some people I knew thought that he'd be throughout the book, and they were angry because of it, but no. Nope. Personally, I'd love more books with Percy as the main character. I know he needs a well-deserved break, but he's still my favourite. I'd even go for a series that just follows his current life. Anyway, I loved the beginning. And we finally got to know what Percy's baby sister's name is! Estelle! It feels like such a difference from the other names in these books, and it caught me off guard at first, but I actually really like that name. And he's so excited to be an older brother! I love Percy. Moving on, fast-forward to looking through Randolph's place. We get to see more of Alex's sass, which I love. The whole cast of characters in this series is fantastic. I didn't really think much of anyone other than the main four until this book, but now I love all of them. Which I'll get into later. Spoiler for The Shadowhunter Chronicles: Anyway, so originally, when naming Magnus Magnus, Rick asked Cassandra Clare if he could use the name Magnus, since Cassie also has a character named Magnus in her books. And Magnus gets together with Alec. In these books, Magnus gets together with Alec. I don't ship either, but I love the parallels. When we meet Sam, we find out that it's Ramadan, and I think this is really cool for a children's book to touch on. It also shows how powerful Sam is. She's an amazing fighter, and she can do all of it while going through the month of Ramadan. Talk about a powerful character. She's incredible. Sam has been struggling with her shape-shifting and resisting Loki when he tries to control her. Magnus says to her,"You'll find a way. A way that works for you." And it's never really mentioned in the book if she does. It's highly implied, shown in pages 363 and 373 (hardback, first edition) when she resists Loki. I do kind of wish we got a line about figuring it out, though. Chapter nine: I Become a Temporary Vegetarian. This needs a shout-out because this was definitely one of my favourite moments of the book. Aegir asks if there are any dietary restrictions. Sam imediately says that it's Ramadan. Aegir: "I see. Sorry. Yes, I don't think dwarves are halal. I'm not sure about elves." And I love this, because Sam then says, "They're not, either. In fact, it's Ramadan which means I need to break my fast in the company of dwarves and elves, rather than eating them or being around anyone who does eat them. It's strictly forbidden." Conclusion: Sam is amazing. But it gets better: Magnus claims he's a vegetarian and Alex claims he has green hair. Green hair of course means that he can't eat dwarves or elves. There are so many other funny moments and lines I wish I could highlight on, but I don't have the time to type all of them out. When Magnus challenges Loki to a flyting, Loki refuses. This made me so excited. It didn't occur to me that he might refuse. Probably predictable, but I was excited for the plot twist. Very, very excited. Then a couple pages later it turns out they're having a flyting and I could never describe the disappointment that arose from that. I have to say though, Magnus' speech had me kind of speechless. And embarrassed. I really liked it. I'm a sucker for friendship stuff, and it made me feel. In the end, we get a phone call between Magnus and Annabeth. This next bit contains spoiler's for Riordan's Trials of Apollo series. ToA and MCGA take place at the same time. In The Dark Prophecy, Apollo joins up with Leo and Calypso, they go through some times, and then the book ends with Apollo meeting (waking up) Grover Underwood. I admittedly don't remember too much, but that's what I think is a good summary. So, I don't know about you guys, but Grover coming back to reality seems pretty good to me. I missed him. So, when Annabeth seemed to be crying, you have no idea how badly I wanted the third ToA book. What happened? What's the bad news? Gods of Olympus I need to know. It was intense over on my end when I read that chapter. END SPOILERS Magnus and Alex opened the mansion for homeless kids in need, and I thought that that was incredibly noble and true to Magnus' character. I loved it. All in all, the book was good, I'm not sure where I'd place it with the other books, though. The first was my favourite, then maybe this one? I really liked getting to know the characters in this book. However, as a series ending, it wasn't the strongest. I expressed earlier how worried I was that it would be a bad ending, and it definitely wasn't the best I've ever read. I think major battles should feel major--not a couple pages long. Also, every Riordan book ends with a huge meet-and-greet with the gods at the end. I've read it so many times, I'm ready for something new. There must be some other way to end these books. A lot of our characters develop in this book, or we get to know them better, and I thought it was incredible. Here's some highlights and thoughts: Alex: She seems to be a lot happier in this book, and her relationship with Sam is strong The piece of evidence I have on me right now is on page 168, where Alex is texting Sam because she wouldn't just leave Sam on the boat without updating their cellphone plans and making sure they're able to text at all times. Alex even says, "Well duh. Gotta keep in touch with my sister." Maybe it's small, but as someone who is close to her sibling, it means a bit more to me. Also, her relationship with Magnus went through some major developments. Most of it was pretty embarrassing for me, and I really don't have much to say about it. Speaking of Alex, she has a lot of moments where it seems like she's forcing gender identity into the reader's face. I think that this is good. This is a children's book, and it's good to introduce kids to these things, because they're reallyimportant, to some more than others. It may even help out someone who's reading the book. It's also important to just educate the audience as a whole. And if you're wondering how I'm deciding to use which set of pronouns, I use the pronouns that match the section of the book I'm talking about, and if I'm talking about a generalization, I use she/her pronouns because that's when Alex said to do in the second book. TJ: He cannot back down from a fight. This is why he must fight Hrungnir, and we get to know a lot about him. We got a glimpse of what his life was like and how he came to be involved in the war. It was glimpses, but it's also a huge deal. Mallory: First, we learned how she died, then we learned who her godly parent is (Frigg, only the queen of the Aesir), where she is told that she's the key to retrieving Kvasir's Mead. Mallory then kills all the thralls, which of course gets them a step closer to getting the mead. That's a really short version of it all, but it made me from hating her character to liking her, and I was impressed. I still don't understand why Magnus wants to call her Mack, though. Halfborn: We start learning about Halfborn when he tells Magnus that they're heading towards the places that Mallory and Halfborn died. It gets worse as the crew heads towards Fläm, and it's revealed that that is Halfborn's hometown. Sixty pages later, we learn that Halfborn wanted to get out of Fläm--he wanted to be known. Be famous. Then, later on in the book, Fläm gets insulted, and Halfborn was not having it. He has a rather one-sided conversation about it with Magnus, and it was really nice to have a bit of closure to Halfborn's mini get-to-know-him arc. Halfborn's not my favourite, but at least I can respect him as a character now that he actually is one. I was really happy to know that we were getting to know his story as well (because this was before I knew we were getting to know everyone's stories.)

#MCGA #The Ship of the Dead #Ship of the Dead #SotD #Rick Riordan #book review

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asl-scarlet-sorceress · 7 years

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For the percy jackson qs All of them bc I'm a slut for u answering questions about the shit u love :3c

Aaaaaah thank you bae!!! This is super long tho because, you know me, I can talk A LOT about this universe. And also, if you have more questions, please ask me so that I can continue to gush about my favourite series in the entire world OTL

1.How old were you when you read the Percy Jackson books?

I was 11 when I first started reading them 😂 I was a tiny bby

2.What year did you read them in?

Does this mean academic year or actual year? Because I read them in year 7 (6th Grade) so that would have been in somewhere around 2010 I think???

3. What caused you to read them?

My older brother had read them and recommended The Lightning Thief to me and a selection of books were being given out at my school for free to encourage kids to read and The Lightning Thief happened to be one of them. And the rest is history 😂

4.Which of the series have you read in the PJO universe?

All of them~ I have read every book in the PJO, HoO, KC, and MCGA series and I’ve just preordered The Dark Prophecy at my local book store so I can keep up to date with ToA. I’ve also read all the side books like Demigod Diaries and Demigods and Magicians, and the two books of Professor Percy and they’re all aligned in chronological order on my book shelve because I’m a fucking nerd OTL

5. What is your favorite series in the PJO universe?

Oh god help me. I don’t know??? I love them all for different reasons??? I find myself ranting most to other people about HoO but the Magnus Chase series is probably my favourite because not only is it a wonderful story but The Hammer of Thor was the first time I had ever read about a genderfluid character and the way Alex was portrayed was just so wonderful to me that I will reread that book over and over again, specifically on his pages because it’s kinda like seeing a little bit of myself in my favourite world. It heightens my sense of escapism and belonging there that’s for sure XD

6.Who is your favorite character?

From the PJO series- Thalia GraceFrom the HoO series- Nico Di Angelo/ Leo Valdez/ Reyna (DO NOT MAKE ME PICK!)From the ToA series- Will SolaceFrom the KC- either Sadie Kane (because I’m always here for another Ribena enthusiast) or AnubisFrom the MCGA series- ALEX FIERRO RULER OF MY LIFE!!!

7.Who is your least favorite character?

Overall?? Either Zeus (because he was the world’s first fuckboi) or Bianca Di Angelo. As an older sibling, I could never imagine leaving my younger sibling all alone just because I wanted a bit more freedom in my life. It’s incredibly selfish and I just can’t ever forgive her for it. She may have been a hero and an interesting character and I was really torn up when she died but I will never forgive her for the way she treated her younger brother.

8.What are your headcanons?

THERE ARE TOO MANY TO LIST!!! But one of my main headcanons that I will list here (I’ll message you others if you ever read the whole universe) is that Nico and Anubis know each other and get along. Now this started because they’re described as looking very similar to each other (black, shaggy hair, dark brown eyes, pale af with a similar fashion sense of just black on black) and it kind of snowballed once I read Son Of Neptune. Because to me, it would make so much sense for Nico to know about other pantheons long before the other demigods. Why? Because Death is universal across mythology. And Nico, as the son of Hades, needs to know about his death rituals which- I think- would lead him to researching the other pantheons and learning that immortality really is forever. But yeah, i just love the idea of Nico and Anubis being friends and looking out for one another because they both understand the stigma around death but they’re both actually kind of dorky the minute they stop being angry??? But yeah, there’s just one of my headcanons and look how long that took to summarise OtL

9.Do you read fanfic for these books?

Yesssssssss all day every day!!

10.Do you write it?

I try to OTL it’s just, with characters i love and adore so much I’m so scared of doing them a disservice??? If that makes sense? I’ve got a thousand scenarios in my head but when I try to write I end up starting at a blank screen for 30 minutes before going back and rereading the books again XD

11.What’s your favorite scene?

From PJO- When Percy offers Pandora’s Pithos to Hestia as an offering. It’s just such an important act at the time and I just love it so much!!!!From HoO- uuuurgh it’s a tie up between Jason comforting Nico after Croatia and then the ending with the two camps and Reyna being a badass. From ToA- I know this isn’t really a scene but when Apollo makes the remarked about Achilles, Briseis and Patroclus because Iliad jokes~~ 😂 but other than that, probably when Apollo starts to realise how shit a parent he actually is and feeling kinda guilty about it. I just love seeing him evolve as a person rather than stay the same immortal fuckboi forever. From KC- THE FUCKING CAN OPENER!!! I laughed for about an hour when I first read the bit when Carter finds out about Horus possessing him. I actually couldn’t read past that bit without laughing over and over again 😂 From MCGA- When Alex was lying down on the Bifrost. I always imagine it as a very beautiful scene because he’s got this rainbow light all around him but it also makes me feel sad for some reason I’ve yet to pin down. But yeah, Alex being pretty and melancholy surrounded by rainbow light~ From Demigods and Magicians- probably when Setne gets sucked into the snow globe. That was a good day reading that.

12.Most memorable quote?

‘With great power comes great need to take a nap’

13.Favourite romantic relationship?

I have a few! Solangelo is my favourite altogether tho because I love the contrast between the two (I’m a sucker for the night/day/death/life symbolism in a relationship) but I also love Percabeth, Jiper, Sam/Amir, Fierrochase, Sadie/Anubis/Walt (what is that relationship called??? I can’t remember OtL)

14.Favourite platonic relationship ?

Annabeth and Piper, Percy and Jason, Annabeth and Sadie, Piper and Hazel, Grover and Percy

15.Favourite familial relationship?

NICO AND HAZEL, NICO AND REYNA, NICO AND HADES, NICO AND JASON, (basically anyone who treats Nico like family and cares about him tbh) Percy and Sally, Thalia and Jason, Piper and Leo, Sadie and Carter, Sam and Magnus, Magnus and Annabeth (the little we’ve been given anyway), Sam and Alex, Apollo and his kids??? Like the way he’s actually starting to genuinely care and he feels mildly guilty at how much they’re supporting and caring about him when he’s done none of that for them???

16.What are your notps?

Reyna and Nico. Can’t stand that ship. Also Octavian and Rachel. Or anyone with Rachel really. Same with Percy and Artemis??? Like, no???? Artemis is a maiden for eternity, she has no interest in men whatsoever??? And Rachel is the oracle of Delphi so she’s sworn to not be with people for as long as she is the oracle??? I just don’t get it.

16.What house do you think Percy is in?

See this is really hard! Percy is certainly brace and noble enough to be in Gryffindor but he is fatally loyal to the people he loves and he works incredibly hard which are more Hufflepuff traits! But at the same time he can be cunning and tricky when he’s in a fight. But he’s not really ambitious enough to be a Slytherin and, while intelligent, he won’t follow up on an idea just because of the allure of knowledge so he’s not really a Ravenclaw…urgh I want to put him in Hufflepuff but idk. Either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor.

17.What house do you think Annabeth is in?

Either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Like she will battle past her ADHD and dyslexia for the pursuit of knowledge and to better specialise herself in the areas she wants to but at the same time she walked into her worst nightmares, then fell into Tartarus, got out of Tartarus, then went to war all within the span of a month and a half. That takes Gryffindor courage right there. So yeah, either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

18.Thoughts on Luke?

I always feel really bad for Luke. Because he’s so relatable. It’s easy to see how he made the choices he did because he honestly thought that the Titans could be better because the gods mistreatment was all he had ever known. And it hurts what happened to him because he is the classic tragic hero; he made the wrong choices and the minute he realises what a mess he’s made of things, it’s already too late to stop anything. But he was able to do the right thing in the end and I just get really emotional whenever I think of that scene. It hurts too much 😭

19.What race do you think Percy is?

I don’t really know. I mean, we know he’s got a lot of his appearance from Poseidon so that means he should look very Grecian/Mediterranean, maybe he even has a sort of olive skin tone??? Idk. I guess whenever I think of Percy I just think of the kids I used to see on skateboards down at the local park. But yeah, probably Grecian if I had to pick.

20.What do you think of Frank and Hazel’s relationship?

I think it’s really cute. I like how it’s so fresh??? Because with Percabeth that relationship grew out of friendship over five books and Jiper has a natural flow to it with all the fragility and insecurity of a new relationship so it still works. But Hazel and Frank knew each other for such a short period of time before they started crushing on each other and I think it’s sweet to see kind of the love and first sight thing but warped slightly due to the complications that come with their lives. It��s interesting to see them struggle through all the confusion of a brand new relationship but still trying to keep themselves together. It’s nice to see that kind of love rather than the comfortable love of Percabeth or the steady love of Jiper. 21.What do you think of Calypso and Leo’s relationship?

I love it!!! At first I was skeptical but their banter and denial was really funny and the way Leo was determined to make it back to her. I had always wanted someone to treat Calypso right and I’m glad that Leo has someone now who will see underneath all the humour as well as appreciating him for himself :)

22.Do you follow Rick on any social media platforms?

Yes! I follow him on Twitter and on Tumblr~

23.What did you think of the movie?

I liked the visual effects but that was about it. And even then it was like, nice snakes, now where’s the plot??? I really did not like those movies. They need to be buried with the Avatar movie that never existed in my opinion.

24. What are your thoughts on the upcoming musical?

I’m really looking forward to it! I think they cast a really good Percy and I really like what I’m hearing so far. I love musicals and I understand there’s a bigger limit on what you can do on a stage compared to a film so I’m more lenient towards differences between the stage and the book.

25.Do you own any of the books and if so, which ones?

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH…..I have doubles of all of them OTL but there’s a reason for that!! One copy for myself so that I can always read them and then I lend out the second copies to my friends who are curious about this world that I won’t ever shut up about.

26.Which character are you most like, personality wise?

Idk really. Maybe Will??? Because I’m kinda easy going and I try to help out other people but if you piss me off you will know about it??? And it always takes people by surprise if they don’t know me very well at how angry I can be??? But yeah, maybe Will.

27.Which character do you look the most like?

If any of the characters have rainbow hair, I have not been informed of this! Nah but I don’t know. Without my coloured hair I just kinda look like a ghost with brown hair and colour changing eyes OTL Maybe Sadie because I used to be blonde but I dyed my hair so many times it turned brown and she streaks her hair a lot so yeah, Sadie Kane :)

27.If you could cosplay as any character, who would it be?

Okay I have cosplayer Nico before but I’m going to be cosplaying Alex at the next con I’m going to (unfortunately without her heterochromia because I’m allergic to contact lenses OtL)

28.What’s your favorite cover from the series?

Is it bad to say Blood of Olympus because Leo’s got a chainsaw in it? XD but yeah, actually Hammer of Thor because the Wolf mask on that cover with the eerie green glow across it is really cool!!

29.What are some books you would recommend to another fan?

Assuming these are books related to the PJO universe then The Demigod and Magicians crossover collection are definitely worth the read (assuming you’ve read both HoO and KC) and the Magnus Chase series because they are definitely worth branching away from the Greek and Roman gods.

If that means other series in general then His Dark Materials for definite and probably the Iliad.

30.Do you have any merchandise related to the series?

I do! I have a tshirt with Percy’s quote about procrastination on it (deadlines don’t seem real to me until I’m staring one in the face), and I have a matching charm bracelet, hair bow, earrings and necklace set with pendants that all say Camp Half-Blood on them

31.Any fan casts?

Not really. As long as they look the age of the characters *glares at the film* and they have the majority of the same features *again glares at the films* then I don’t really mind too much.

32.What did you think of the ending of Heroes of Olympus, if you read it?

I personally loved it. I agree it did feel a tiny bit anticlimactic over in Greece what with the gods kicking butt for the first time in the entire series but what happened between the camps and Gaia’s forces there was really cool. And the reconciliation of the camps afterwards and how everyone was getting along was really nice. And of course, the fact that Calypso was finally freed was a big A+ in my book.

33.Would you want to be connected to the Greek, Egyptian, Roman, or Norse Gods?

I think, as far as connected in the PJO universe way goes, I’d want to be a Magician for the House of Life. Because at least then I get a choice in whether or not I want a god in my life. If you’re a Demigod you get no choice whatsoever. If you’re just a magician then other than fighting in the apocalypse, you have a choice on what you want to do with your life (plus magicians can use electronics without calling down monsters on their heads)

34.What character from the universe do you think you would be best friends with?

Idk. It’s a tie up between Sadie, Leo and Magnus because they all have a sarcastic wit which I find hilarious but they all have differences that make me want to befriend them. Like with Sadie I could hang out with her any time of the week, and she has a really gives-no-shit attitude that I love (because I give too many shits about things) but at the same time she really cares a lot about her family and her friends which is important to me. Leo is hilarious in general but at the same time really insecure about stuff and I love helping people out and learning from them so I’d probably latch on to Leo and not stop bothering him about machines because all of it is really interesting. And then Magnus is a sarcastic little nerd who tries to be tough but is actually a sunflower and yeah, I have a lot of friends like that 😘😘😘

35.What’s the saddest scene from all the books?

Bob asking whether Percy would say hello to the stars and sun for him. That kills me every time to even think about. Fuck, now I’m crying 😭

36.What scene makes you the happiest?

Any scene of platonic friendship and love is guaranteed to make me happy. But most of all, when Hades told Nico he wanted him to be happy. That just killed me inside because it’s such a difference from the Last Olympian and Nico deserves happiness after all the shit he’s been through.

Thanks bae~

#answering asks #pjo #long post #alex #thanks so much for asking all the questions #these were too much fun to answer!!#cobaltmillefiori #~Answering Asks~

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