“‘Try it again,’ Percy told me.”

From Rick Riordan’s Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead.

The destruction of the world is drawing ever closer and it once again falls on young demigod Magnus Chase to find a way to stop that from happening.  While they have been mostly victorious in their previous battles, Magnus and his friends (Valkyrie guardian Sam, dwarf Blitz, elf Hearth, and fellow demigod Alex to name a few) are desperately fighting to win the war against Loki.  With the help of his cousin (Annabeth Chase) and her boyfriend (Percy Jackson), Magnus learns a bit more about honing his skills as a demigod, but nothing can prepare him for the impending fight.  Magnus’ troubles only increase as all the gods seem to refuse to intervene, leaving the fate of the world to the young demigods.  Left with no other option but to set off to stop Loki’s ship full of deadly (and dead) warriors from attacking the earth, Magnus and his friends must face challenges, enemies, and conflicts unlike anything they have ever experienced before if they are to have any chance at stopping Ragnarok.

The third (and most likely final) book in Riordan’s Norse mythology series is full of the action and humor that fans have come to expect, but it also provides an unhindered look into the legends that have impacted so many areas of modern life.  This book allows fans of the series a chance to get to better know the protagonists better, especially several of the secondary characters whose past were skipped over before.  Disappointing to many readers is the fact that while the characters are engaging and the stories are captivating, the series struggled to gain as much attention as Riordan’s other series (much like the Egyptian Kane Chronicles).  However, that should not take away from the enjoyable adventure that is The Ship of the Dead.