Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead

Because my paper for the conference in Glasgow was about the use of trans history in fantasy, I figured that I should read the third book in Rick Riordan’s Magnus Chase series, Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead. As some of you may remember, this is essentially Percy Jackson but with Norse gods. Magnus is a child of Frey, and also a cousin of Annabeth from the Percy Jackson books.

Anyway, the reason that I wanted to read this book is because the series features a character called Alex Fierro who is a child of Loki, and is gender fluid. I was pretty sure that Alex ended up as a love interest for Magnus, but I needed to read the book to check before I actually said so in front of an audience. I was right.

But the book. As you might expect, the main story arc is about Ragnarök. Magnus and his friends, who also include a Muslim Valkyrie, a deaf elf magician and a fashion-conscious dwarf, have to foil Loki’s evil plans and put off the end of the world for a few millennia. The ship in question is Naglfar, and those of you familiar with the story of Ragnarök will immediately know why it is in the book.

Aside from Alex, what I like most about this series is how the gods have moved with the times. Magus is dead, and has ascended to Hotel Valhalla, an ever-expanding home to the glorious dead kept in good shape by its own, on-site branch of IKEA. Odin is a dab hand at inspirational management-speak (though not much else). Being adults in a book aimed at middle-grade kids, the gods are a pretty useless lot who need kids to get them out of the mess of their own making.

I gather that the Magnus Chase books are the object of particular ire from the denizens of Xitter, primarily because of the existence of Alex. Well, they can cry over their keyboards. Trans people have always been here, and always will be here. My thanks to Mr Riordan for making this point in a way that is accessible to young readers, and a lot of fun.

Title: Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead
By: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Puffin
Purchase links:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Bookshop.org UK
See here for information about buying books though Salon Futura