Book Review: The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #3) by Rick Riordan

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BOOK review

Started on: 19 January 2019
Finished on: 28 January 2019

The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #3) by Rick Riordan

Title: The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #3)

Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Pages: 401 pages / 432 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2017
Price: Rp 283,000 (http://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 4.5/5
*for those who haven't read the first and second book, this review may contain spoiler.
Review for The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #1) by Rick Riordan here.
Review for The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #2) by Rick Riordan here.

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"The world will end. The big picture cannot be changed. But in the meantime, as Loki once said, we can choose to alter the details. That’s how we take control of our destiny."

Magnus Chase doesn't have time to waste after Loki is free from his chains. Loki is preparing Naglfar, the Ship of the Dead, complete with a host of giants and zombies, to sail against the Asgardian gods and begin the final battle of Ragnarok. But to stop him, Magnus and his friends have to race against time to reach Naglfar before it's ready to sail. In the end, Magnus have to challenge Loki and defeat him in a battle that he's not confident in. The fate of the Nine Worlds now rests in his hands.

"Born ready. Died ready. Resurrected ready."

I finally finished the whole series! Yayy! 🎉 Can't believe I was able to complete all three books within a month. I'm really grateful that I did because one of reading resolutions this year is to read the book series that's been sitting on my bookshelves for too long 😆. The last installment of this series is just as fun and exciting like the previous two books. Still loving the humor and how Rick Riordan ends this series on a good note. But I have to say that I still think the second book is the best one out of all the books in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series 😊.

One of the best things that happened in this book is Percy Jackson's cameo at the start—in which he's training Magnus to deal with the sea (his expertise, since he's the son of Poseidon). I'm really glad I get to see Percy and Annabeth once again even if it's just for a chapter. They're still the sweetest and cutest couple that Rick Riordan has created (at least for me personally). Aside from that, I'm also thrilled to see the einherjar from floor nineteen (Thomas Jefferson / TJ, Mallory Keen, and Halfborn Gunderson) plays a bigger role in this book. I am especially fond of Mallory Keen's side story, because this book will finally reveal who her mother is and the story behind Mallory's death that brought her to Valhalla. She also proved her intelligence in battle and successfully outsmart her enemies. Even though she appears to be tough on the outside, Mallory also has a soft spot that not everyone can see.

"I figured something out. You can't hold onto hate forever. It won't do a thing to the person you hate, but it'll poison you, sure enough."

This book also introduced some gods/goddess whom we haven't met yet in the previous two books. The first one is Njord, the god of wind and seas, father of Frey and Freya, Magnus's grandfather. He's quite a funny guy because he's really proud of his beautiful feet 😂. Another one that we met for the first time is Frigg, Odin's wife, the goddess of foresight. She's able to foresee the near future and helps the crew of the Big Banana (Magnus's yellow ship that was gifted by Frey) by giving a hint and a tool to capture Loki when the time comes. I love Frigg because she exudes elegance but also strength at the same time. Sam expressed her admiration towards Frigg because she's actually the person who's in charge of Asgard without anybody noticing when Odin is out traveling through the Nine Worlds. I think so far Frigg is the only goddess that's not totally weird in this book series 😂.

Another event that was memorable from this book is their journey back to Alfheim, Hearth's hometown, to retrieve the Whetstone of Bolverk they needed to complete their quest. In the previous book, it is prophesied to Hearth will have to come back and face his nightmare once again. After possessing Andvari's Ring, Alderman (Hearth's father) has turned into a hideous dragon protecting his cave full of treasures. This part was quite bittersweet because Hearth has to his father turning into a monstrous beast, but at the same time he brought back the spirit of his deceased brother, Andiron, who said that he wanted to be as kind as Hearth is ❤️. Hearth is indeed a lovely being. Definitely one of my favorite characters in this book.

"Sometimes you lie to deceive people. Sometimes you lie because you need the lie to become the truth."

"I think the hardest thing we can ever do is see someone for who they really are. Our parents. Our friends. Ourselves."

I'm glad I finally finished this series! Overall, the plot is fun and exciting but it does get kind of predictable after a while. There's always something that saves them at the right moment, which feels a bit too coincidental. The ending to this book is pretty anti-climactic because I was expecting more from the final battle between Magnus and Loki. Although it was heartwarming, I crave for more epic battle scenes 😂. But I guess it's all because Magnus doesn't really have prominent fighting skill (since he's more of the healing type), that's why he had to use other ways  to fight Loki. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed this series from start to finish. It was entertaining and very enjoyable, especially because of Rick Riordan's humor throughout the story. After finishing all three books, I finally decided that my favorite character in this series has to be Jack, Sumarbrander, the Sword of Summer. His appearances always bring a smile to my face. Jack's dialogues are so adorable—especially when he's checking out other swords 😂. I'm definitely going to miss Jack's antics and his singing. I'm also going to miss the Norse mythology world in this book because I'm quite fond of it now. Looking forward to what Rick Riordan is going to write about next 😊!

by.stefaniesugia♥ .