![]() U.S. cover of first edition. | |
Author | Rick Riordan |
---|---|
Cover artist | John Rocco |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (book 3) |
Genre | Fantasy, Norse mythology, young-adult |
Publisher | Disney Hyperion |
Publication date | October 3, 2017 |
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book |
Pages | 432 |
ISBN | 978-1-4231-6093-9 (Hardcover) |
Preceded by | The Hammer of Thor |
The Ship of the Dead is a young-adult fantasy novel based on Norse mythology written by American author Rick Riordan. It is the third and final novel in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy, preceded by The Hammer of Thor . It was released on October 3, 2017, by Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group. The novel is narrated in the first-person view by Magnus Chase, 16-year-old demigod and homeless orphan. He and his crew sail to the farthest borders of Jotunheim and Niflheim in pursuit of Asgard's greatest threat.
Magnus and Alex Fierro travel to the Chase Mansion, where they recover notes written by Randolph at different points in time. After reaching Valhalla, Magnus summons a ship gifted by his father Frey. Mallory Keen, Halfborn Gunderson, Thomas Jefferson Jr., Samirah al-Abbas and Alex accompany Magnus, while they plan to pick up Blitzen and Hearthstone along the way. The crew's conversation is heard by the Nine Billow Maidens, who take them to the court of Aegir, where they discover Hearth and Blitz are being held prisoner. Aegir's eldest daughter recognizes Magnus from his previous encounter with her mother Rán. Upon being threatened, Magnus swears by his troth to defeat Loki in a flyting contest and to avenge Aegir's humiliation, as Aegir was previously defeated by the god in a contest. Aegir invites them to escape while he isn't looking, but the crew is attacked by Aegir's nine daughters. They manage to escape with the help of Magnus' grandfather, Njord. Njord reveals to Magnus that the only way to defeat Loki is by drinking Kvasir's mead. The crew continue on their journey, with Blitz and Hearth travelling separately to retrieve Bolverk's whetstone.
As the crew heads to York, the backstories of the members are revealed. Mallory died disarming a bomb in Ireland; Halfborn died near Jorvik; TJ died after forcefully accepting a hopeless challenge, a trait inherited from his father Tyr. Samirah fasts during the Ramadan season. The crew arrives at York, where they duel with the giant Hrungnir for the location of Kvasir's mead. They get the information that they need: Kvasir's mead is in Jorvik, also known as Norway in the human realm. The crew goes to Norway, retrieves Kvasir's mead from Suttung's daughter, Gunnlöð, and kills Baugi. Suttung is killed single-handedly by Halfborn. They also learn that Naglfar is frozen between Niflheim and Jotunheim. They almost froze to death while travelling to Niflheim, but they are rescued by Skadi, Njord's ex-wife. Magnus drinks Kvasir's mead, and the crew goes to Naglfar. There, Magnus begins his flyting against Loki, but decides not to insult the god. Instead, he expresses the love and trust he has for his crew and pities Loki for his evident loneliness, as even his wife Sigyn abandons him. Loki shrinks to the size of a nut upon hearing Magnus's words, and he is imprisoned in a walnut given to Mallory earlier by Frigg. Magnus and his friends go to Vigridr, the Last Battlefield, and meet the gods, who congratulate them for defeating Loki and delaying Ragnarök. For this, Magnus is rewarded with a boon from Odin, and he asks Odin to lend him his lawyers so that he could convert Randolph's mansion into an orphanage and homeless shelter. He later recounts his adventure to Annabeth, who is crying due to recent events.
Rick Riordan announced The Ship of the Dead on the same day of the release of The Hammer of Thor , the second book of the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy. According to him, this would be the last book in the series. [2]
An iTunes preview containing the first three chapters of the book was released on September 17, 2017. [3] The cover, illustrated by John Rocco, was released on April 26, 2017, [4] and a trailer was published on YouTube on October 2, 2017. [5] To promote The Ship of the Dead, Riordan went on a nine-day tour around the United States beginning on October 3, 2017. [6] [7]
The Ship of the Dead was released in the United States by Disney-Hyperion on October 3, 2017. [8] An audiobook, narrated by Michael Crouch, was published on the same date by Books on Tape. [9] The book also received e-book and paperback versions, and has been translated into 11 languages to date. [8]
The Ship of the Dead sold over 57,000 copies during the first week. [10] By the end of 2017, it sold over 219,000 copies. [11] Upon release, the book ranked No. 2 on USA Today 's bestseller list [12] and was considered one of the best books of the year by Barnes & Noble . [13] It also won the Goodreads Choice Award for Middle Grade & Children's of 2017. [8]
In Nordic mythology, Asgard is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir gods, often associated with gold imagery. Many of the best-known Nordic gods are Æsir or live in Asgard such as Odin, Thor, Loki, and Baldr.
Bragi is the skaldic god of poetry in Norse mythology.
In Norse mythology Valhalla is the anglicised name for Old Norse: Valhǫll. It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat enter Valhalla, while the other half are chosen by the goddess Freyja to reside in Fólkvangr. The masses of those killed in combat along with various legendary Germanic heroes and kings, live in Valhalla until Ragnarök when they will march out of its many doors to fight in aid of Odin against the jötnar.
Lokasenna is one of the poems of the Poetic Edda. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki. It is written in the ljóðaháttr metre, typical for wisdom verse. Lokasenna is believed to be a 10th-century poem.
In Norse mythology, Iðunn is a goddess associated with apples and youth. Iðunn is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, she is described as the wife of the skaldic god Bragi, and in the Prose Edda, also as a keeper of apples and granter of eternal youthfulness.
In Norse mythology, Útgarða-Loki is the ruler of the castle Útgarðr in Jötunheimr. He is one of the jötnar and his name means literally "Loki of the Outyards" or "Loki of the Outlands", to distinguish him from Loki, the companion of Thor. He was also known as Skrýmir or Skrymir.
In Norse mythology, Kvasir was a being born of the saliva of the Æsir and the Vanir, two groups of gods. Extremely wise, Kvasir traveled far and wide, teaching and spreading knowledge. This continued until the dwarfs Fjalar and Galar killed Kvasir and drained him of his blood. The two mixed his blood with honey, thus creating the Mead of Poetry, a mead which imbued the drinker with skaldship and wisdom, and the spread of which eventually resulted in the introduction of poetry to mankind.
Valhalla is a Danish comic series, which offers a comedic view of the gods of Norse mythology. Originally commissioned for and published by Interpresse, it has been published by Carlsen Comics since 1978. In 1986, Valhalla was adapted into an animated feature film the studio A Film. On October 10, 2019, a more serious and dark live action adaptation was released.
The Norse mythology, preserved ancient Icelandic texts such as the Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda, and other lays and sagas, was little known outside Scandinavia until the 19th century. With the widespread publication of Norse myths and legends at this time, references to the Norse gods and heroes spread into European literary culture, especially in Scandinavia, Germany, and Britain. In the later 20th century, references to Norse mythology became common in science fiction and fantasy literature, role-playing games, and eventually other cultural products such as Japanese animation. Storytelling was an important aspect of Norse mythology and centuries later, with the rediscovery of the myth, Norse mythology once again relies on the impacts of storytelling to spread its agenda.
Samira is a Sanskrit or Arabic given name. In Sanskrit, Sameera is a unisex given-name, meaning "breeze, wind," or "Vāyu, the wind deity". Many anglicize their name to Samīr or Sameer.
Richard Russell Riordan Jr. is an American author, best known for writing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million copies in the United States. 20th Century Fox adapted the first two books of his Percy Jackson series as part of a series of films in which Riordan was not involved. Riordan currently serves as a co-creator and executive producer on the television series adaption of the book series that was released on Disney+ in 2023. Riordan's books have also spawned other related media, such as graphic novels and short story collections.
Skáldskaparmál is the second part of the Prose Edda, compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both stories of the Æsir and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined. The work additionally includes tales of human heroes and kings. The overarching mythological setup gradually fades and the work becomes more of an early form of a poetic thesaurus of Old Norse, presumably intended for usage by skalds. Much of the work is focused on poetic phrases and descriptors. The origin of these kennings is given; Bragi delivers a systematic list of kennings for various Æsir, people, places, and things. He then goes on to discuss poetic language in some detail, in particular heiti, essentially poetic synonyms or alternate words. For example, the simple hestr, "horse", might be replaced by jór, "steed".
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is a trilogy of fantasy novels based on Norse mythology written by American author Rick Riordan and published by Disney-Hyperion. It is set in the same universe as the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles and The Kane Chronicles series. The first book, The Sword of Summer, was released on October 6, 2015. The second book, The Hammer of Thor, was released on October 4, 2016. The Ship of the Dead, the third book, was released on October 3, 2017.
The Sword of Summer is a young-adult fantasy novel based on Norse mythology written by American author Rick Riordan. It was published on October 6, 2015, by Disney Hyperion, and is the first novel in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series.
The Hammer of Thor is an American young-adult fantasy novel based on Norse mythology written by Rick Riordan. It was published on October 4, 2016 as a hardcover, audiobook, and ebook, and is the second book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series.
Hotel Valhalla: Guide to the Norse Worlds is a collection of short stories about Norse mythology. The book is a supplementary work in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, written by Rick Riordan. It was released on August 16, 2016 and was published in United States by Disney Hyperion, in United Kingdom by Puffin Books and was also translated into five languages to date.
Alex Fierro is a fictional character and one of the main characters in Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series. Alex's portrayal in The Hammer of Thor was praised for its honest and accurate approach to the character's genderfluid identity. As a child of Loki, Alex is a demigod and also capable of shapeshifting; in The Hammer of Thor, Alex becomes an einherjar.
In Norse mythology, the sword belonging to Freyr, a Norse god associated with sunshine, summer, and fair weather, is depicted as one of the few weapons that is capable of fighting on its own. Since Freyr gave up the sword to Skírnir for the hand of the giantess Gerðr, he will die at Ragnarök.
Norse Mythology is a 2017 book by Neil Gaiman, which retells several stories from Norse mythology. In the introduction, Gaiman describes where his fondness for the source material comes from. The book received positive reviews from critics.