Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead

What a trilogy! I really enjoyed this series

As far as finales go, it's pretty strong. Honestly, the fact that's the final battle is rather underwhelming doesn't bother me too much, since this was a trilogy (unlike with Heroes of Olympus). I love this cast of characters so much. Aside from the pretty bad portrayal of the Norse gods, I can't think of a single character that I really disliked. And the ones that were weaker at first (Halfborn, Mallory, and T.J.) got a lot more depth in this book, so no complaints.

Loki is still my favorite Riordanverse villain, but I think the way he got defeated is very stupid. Not a book-ruiner, but the fact that he got trapped in a walnut shell after being told he had no friends made me laugh.

Magnus and Alex are my favorite Riordanverse pairing. No contest. I'll admit that I'm not even that crazy about Solangelo (maybe they get better in Nero, who knows?). On a similar note, Blitzen and Hearthstone are driving me insane. I feel like this is one of the few times when I feel like a non-canon really should be canon, and I'm in actual distress that it's not. They're still great (queer-) platonically, but Jesus Christ. I feel like they'd be canonized immediately if they were heterosexual. Anyway. Regardless, their bond is one of the strongest points of the trilogy (evident by how the thing I remember most vividly from Hammer of Thor is the scene where Hearthstone is hugging the freshly-melted Blitzen - this brainrot is evidently what I get from making fun of shippers lmfao). Like what the fuck? They're better than the majority of the canon ships in the series and extremely romantically-/queer-coded. Riordan, why would you do this to the fanbase???

I wish this series was longer (and it DEFINITELY could've been), but I feel satisfied with the way the series ended. As it stands, it's my second favorite series, right behind the original pentalogy

CURRENT RANKING
[1] PJO: The Last Olympian
[2] HoO: The House of Hades
[3] HoO: The Mark of Athena
[4] MCGA: The Sword of Summer
[5] PJO: The Lightning Thief
[6] MCGA: The Ship of the Dead
[7] ToA: The Burning Maze
[8] PJO: The Titan's Curse
[9] MCGA: The Hammer of Thor
[10] HoO: The Son of Neptune
[11] PJO: The Battle of the Labyrinth
[12] HoO: The Lost Hero
[13] PJO: The Sea of Monsters
[14] ToA: The Dark Prophecy
[15] HoO: The Blood of Olympus

[16] ToA: The Hidden Oracle

Content Warnings

orchidlilly's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

mousmoulo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

(edit: drinking game! take a shot every time i use the word ‘plot’)

1) this has to be the funniest trilogy i've ever read, no book has ever made me laugh out loud so much as this whole trilogy did
2) i could knock a star off solely for the reason that otis the goat wasn't in this specific book, but i won't do it. for now.
3) i absolutely fucking adored every character seriously
4) it's not like i could ever forget but this was a very strong reminder of why i loved the riordanverse so much as a kid
5) if you're a fan of the power of friendship, this is 100% the book for you

genuinely, my only criticism for this book might be the fact that there were too many sub plots going on, half of which were patched up quite hurriedly. if you're a fan of plot-driven books, you wouldn't exactly adore how the plot unfolds in this one. personally i don't really mind plots going to hell and i loved the characters so much i couldn't care less—but following the plot was a bit of a struggle occasionally. but again, i didn't care too much about the plot, so i can live with that.

Content Warnings