I resisted reading The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan, because once I read it, it would be over. Magnus Chase is my favorite of Riordan’s series, and I was so reluctant to let it end.
I feel like Olaf in Frozen II when he recites what’s happened in the first movie and says, “The parents are dead.”
That’s me right now.
Magnus Chase
If you follow this blog, you’ll know I’m a fan of Rick Riordan. The Magnus Chase series solidified that. Magnus Chase’s series deals with Norse mythology, and Magnus is the son of Frey, the god of sunshine, fertility, and all things peaceful and yummy.
Riordan writes stories that challenge society’s ideas of normal.
I think more and more now we need to be teaching our young people that there is no idea of normal. I grew up with baby boomer parents that told me there was a certain way to live your life. There was a stamped certified way of life that was “normal.”
You can imagine my surprise as an adult when I discovered there was no such thing as normal.
The Ship of the Dead
The Ship of the Dead resonates with me because there is a scene where Magnus chooses to call out each of his friends’ attributes and accolades.
It’s so easy in the age of social media to criticize from the safety of your keyboard. It’s so easy to compare ourselves to others and find ourselves lacking. Magnus Chase takes that norm of today’s society and impales it with the force of a lightning bolt.
He points out each of his friend’s strengths and why they are important to him.
I cried. I freaking cried.
Family
Magnus calls each of his friends his family and destroys the traditional concept of family.
Magnus’s mother is dead, and he is living on the streets at the beginning of this series, so this scene in the final book went straight through my heart.
Magnus had found his people, and Riordan teaches young children that your people may not be the ones you’re born with.
Trigger Issues
I don’t read books about dogs, so I like to point out potential trigger issues for readers.
In The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan, you will find…
- Addiction
- Homelessness
- Violence
I wish some adults would read Rick Riordan, because some adults need a refresher in kindergarten and being nice to one another.
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I’m turning this one over to you!
I want to know what you’ve read that is like Rick Riordan, because I cannot think of something beyond the big ones everyone knows. I also know Rick Riordan now has the Rick Riordan Presents, but I’m looking for an author I’ve never heard of who writes like Riordan.
Know of one? Tell me in the comments!
Final Thoughts
I want everyone in the world to read Rick Riordan, so please consider picking up one of his books.
My favorite of Riordan’s books after Magnus Chase are the Kane Chronicles. If you grew up wanting to be Indiana Jones, check out the Kanes.
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