Magnus Chase Review

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard:

Series Review and Retrospect

by

Paul Adams

About a month ago, Rick Riordan released the final entry in his Magnus Chase series, The Ship of the Dead, completing the series and bringing to a close a fourth chapter in his ongoing endeavor to present the various mythologies and cultures of the world to modern audiences through literature.

For those who don’t know, Rick Riordan is the bestselling author behind the well-known Percy Jackson series, as well as the lesser-known Kane Chronicles and Heroes of Olympus series. Riordan’s standard modus operandi is to present various mythologies through the lens of a Harry Potter-style fantasy adventure set in the modern day, i.e. a modern teenager or group of teenagers learn that the ancient gods and stories of a specific culture are, in fact, real and that they are an intrinsic part of that mythology. Percy Jackson tells the story of a boy who learns that he is the product of an affair between a Greek god and a mortal, because that’s what Greek gods did. The Kane Chronicles tells the story of a brother and sister who learn that their family is descended from the ancient Egyptian magicians and that they are the chosen vessels for two of the major gods, because that’s what Egyptian gods did, sort of. The Heroes of Olympus is more or less a sequel to Percy Jackson, introducing a new faction of demigods born from the Roman versions of Percy’s gods, because Roman mythology was in many ways a sequel to Greek mythology.

That’s where Magnus Chase comes in. This series tackles Norse mythology and stars a homeless teenage boy who gets killed fighting off a fire giant and finds himself in the Norse afterlife of Valhalla, because that’s what Vikings did. The series also makes the choice to make Magnus a demigod son of Frey, because demigods were also a common theme in Norse mythology, but with a much less significant focus than Greek or Roman mythology. The series then follows Magnus’s adventures to prevent the god Loki’s attempts at starting Ragnarok.

On the whole, if you enjoy Riordan’s writing style, you’re going to enjoy this series. He injects his writing with cheeky humor, likeable, well-developed characters, and does a strong job of representing not only most of the major players and themes of the given mythologies, but also significant aspects of each mythology’s respective culture, and a wide variety of demographics through his strong characters, including, in this series specifically, homelessness, hearing impairment, Islam, child abuse, and transgenderism, among others. His ability to present a wide variety of viewpoints and perspectives and make them all human and relatable is easily one of his strongest qualities.

As for the story itself, it was solid and enjoyable, if maybe it had a bit much going on. Most of Riordan’s books generally follow the classical epic format common in the old myths in which the heroes set out on a quest only to have to stop and fight a new monster or baddie every few pages. As such, Riordan’s style can feel a bit episodic, and this series is no different. However, Riordan can generally input enough entertainment value into the various encounters and weave enough strong character development throughout that it is rare that any given “episode” is not at least somewhat enjoyable to read.

The first book, Sword of Summer, was easily the best, and I personally consider it to be among the best books that Riordan has ever written. This was the book that introduced us to Magnus, his allies, and the world of Norse Mythology. The book was an engaging read that did a lot of heavy lifting in regard to representing some of the most important aspects of Norse mythology. We got a strong introduction to Loki, Thor, Odin, Frey, Freya, Valhalla, Ragnarok, Fenris Wolf, Hel, and the Nine Worlds of Yggdrasil. If you are unfamiliar with any of those terms, read the book. You will know them by the time you are done.

The second book, Hammer of Thor, was the worst of the series, and arguably among my least favorites of his books, but even then, it was not without its enjoyable moments. This one followed Magnus and his allies as they were set the task of finding Thor’s famous hammer Mjolnir, which had been stolen. Among the strong parts of the book were an extended arc spent in Alfheim (the elf world), which explored a major supporting character’s backstory, a middle section involving the god Heimdall, and some of the better moments of a particular new character to the series. Some of the worst moments of the book were a noticeable lack of major gods and players being introduced, Heimdall and Sif being the only ones of note, a certain bowling bag scene that sucked every ounce of pacing and momentum out of the second half of the book, and some of the not-so-great moments of the same particular new character. Needless to say, I was a little concerned about the series going into the third book.

My concerns were assuaged, however, once I finished reading Ship of the Dead. I found it to be a solid finale that ended the series on a high note. No Last Olympian, but a massive step up from Blood of Olympus or Serpent's Shadow. My concern about the lack of gods and major players was quickly put aside, as the book introduced to the reader Frigg, Tyr, Skadi, Njord, Aegir, and a number of other important figures, as well as strong returning appearances from previously introduced figures. The character I went back and forth on, I found myself enjoying in almost every scene, and several other characters got strong development and focus. I particularly want to praise the climax of the book, which I found to be both satisfying and clever. If I had a complaint, it would be that Samirah, the series’ second main character for most of the books, found herself being sidelined and neglected in favor of the development of other characters. But overall, it was a good book.

As far as characters go, we’ll start with Magnus. Magnus Chase is a homeless sixteen-year-old who ends up getting killed and finding himself in Valhalla, here presented as a luxury hotel where Odin’s warriors train and wait for Ragnarok to come. In many ways, Magnus is an obvious return-to-form for Riordan, casting aside the switching perspectives used in Kane Chronicles and Heroes of Olympus, and changing back to the Percy Jackson format of having a single narrator with a bit of a snarky teenage attitude. That said, Riordan still made noticeable attempts to differentiate Magnus from Percy, making sure that he reacted differently to various subjects than Percy would have, and for the most part, I appreciate the effort. If I were to rank them, I would probably prefer Percy to Magnus, but Magnus was still a strong and vivid protagonist to follow.

Next up is Sam, the Valkyrie who brought Magnus to Valhalla. She is presented as a Muslim and a daughter of Loki, which causes her to be looked down on within the Norse world and the regular world. She is also presented as a bit shy and nerdy, but with an independent, driven streak to her which led to her taking up Odin’s offer to become a Valkyrie. Among the characters, Sam is probably one of my favorites, partially because of her nerdy, awkward tendencies, as well as Riordan’s respectful handling of her as someone with strong religious beliefs. As stated earlier, one of Riordan’s strengths is writing real, human characters of varying perspectives.

The third most important character is Alex Fierro, the aforementioned character I had struggled with in the second book. Alex is a newcomer brought to Valhalla in the second book, another homeless kid and child of Loki who identifies as transgender and gender fluid, meaning he or she flipflops between identifying as male or female at seemingly random intervals. In Alex’s best moments, he or she was a thoroughly complex and entertaining character who could add both humor and depth to a given situation, give the reader an insightful look into the mind of someone within that demographic, while also tying thematically into the chaotic, shapeshifting, gender-fluid nature of his or her godly parent Loki. In Alex’s worst moments, he or she could be a chaotic, violent jerk who tended to demand the right to do whatever he or she wanted while not considering how his or her actions impacted others. In his introduction alone, Alex throws a tantrum and mauls several of the inhabitants of Valhalla, and doesn’t particularly suffer any consequence for doing so. All in all, Book Two Alex, at least, reminded me a little too much of some of my least favorite characters out there, characters like iCarly’s Sam Puckett and Naruto’s Sakura Haruno. Characters who treat those around them like garbage, but the reader is apparently supposed to sympathize with them anyway. Thankfully, happily, those traits are almost entirely gone from the third book, or at the very least they are given focus that allows them to contribute to the plot and character development occurring in the book, and Alex is left as the interesting and insightful character he or she was in his or her best moments.

Blitz and Hearth are probably two of the best characters Rick Riordan has ever written. They are introduced as two of Magnus’s homeless buddies, only to be revealed following Magnus’s death as a dwarf and an elf assigned by the god Mimir to watch over and protect him. Blitz is a dark-skinned dwarf with a gruff demeanor and a keen eye for fashion, who dreams of opening his own clothing store. Hearth, on the other hand, is a deaf elf aspiring to be a magician and only communicates through American Sign Language, who suffered through an abusive, dehumanizing (de-elfizing?) childhood at the hands of his father. You may never find, in reality or in fiction, a better pair of friends than these two, both to each other and to Magnus. Their relationship to Magnus is most similar to the relationship between Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa, but I’d say they’re both far more than simple sidekicks. If I had to pick only one highlight of this series, it would be these two characters.

And of course, I can’t forget Magnus’s pillaging party, or as I guess their official name is, Magnus’s Shield Brothers and Sister. Thomas Jefferson Jr. (T.J.), Mallory Keen, and Halfborn Gunderson are a trio of Valhalla inhabitants who live on the same floor as Magnus. T.J. is the son of an escaped slave who died fighting in the American Civil War, Mallory is an Irish girl who died trying to defuse a bomb during the IRA crisis in Ireland during the 1970s, and Halfborn is a berserker from old Norse times who died during a raid. These three take Magnus, and later Alex, in when they arrive in Valhalla, and fight alongside them during daily combat. Throughout the first two books, the pillaging party is mostly relegated to the beginning and the end, having very little to do with the quests taking up the bulk of the books, but are a constant presence throughout the final book, each receiving their own focus chapters and character development. This, specifically, is one of the best selling points for that third book in my opinion.

Finally, we have Loki, our villain. I find that Loki is often among the best characters in any given work he is a part of, Marvel movies or otherwise, and I think that comes from the inherent complexity and charm that comes from the mythological figure. A sometimes harmless, sometimes downright malevolent and evil trickster who effortlessly spins clever traps to get what he wants while convincing you that he only wants to help you, but can also have a certain layer of depth and humanity to him as well, is always going to be a fascinating character, and he is no slouch here either. I can’t say he quite matches up to Luke Castellan of Percy Jackson fame, but he may be a close second.

Once again, Rick Riordan has spun a clever series that does indeed stand up as a good story in its own right, while effortlessly introducing young readers to the ins and outs of Norse mythology, several facets of Norse culture, and a look into the thoughts and feelings of very different, but all equally complex and human, characters. The books have a few problems, especially in the middle book, but nothing I can’t overlook now that I have the full picture. If there was one major change I feel would have fixed many of the issues in the series, it would have been to make it a five-part series rather than a three-part. The second Percy book only introduced Hermes to us, but that was okay in the end, because we had three more books to introduce all the rest. The Magnus series wouldn’t have felt quite so full and had so much going on, because much of the content could have been spread out to other books. And, in the end, we would have had more time with all of these characters, more time to connect with them, more time for the series to make a real impact.

However, I did enjoy the series. It may be Riordan’s second best of the four completed series so far. The characters are as varied and complex as his characters always are. And, I have to say, I would definitely read it again.

Thanks for reading. Please comment below and follow me for more.