Week 17- Magnus' Gun

So last week I said I wanted to talk about Chekov's Gun, and I’m actually glad I didn't, because I got another example to use that I wouldn't have gotten to discuss. Basically, what this means is that Uncle Rick is a phenomenal writer, and he's giving me yet another reason to believe that Magnus Chase is his best book series yet.

You might be confused. Or maybe you know exactly what I’m talking about. I'm going to explain just in case you don't. So, a long time ago (I don't know when, so don't ask me) this guy with the last name Chekov said that if you put a gun on the wall in Act 1, someone has to shoot it in Act 2. (Side note: some people say ‘chapter 1' and ‘chapter 2' instead of act, but act makes a lot more sense. Acts don't always refer to a play, but rather to sections of the story. Having this principle executed from one chapter to another kind of defeats the purpose of Chekov's Gun.) What Chekov was trying to say is that, if you introduce a detail as specific as that there is a gun present, rather than just saying something like “it was clear by the decorations that he hunted often” that it should be there for a reason, and there should be a clear, plot-driven reason for it. It doesn't have to be a gun, obviously. But if there's something this specific, the reader should get a reason for it, assuming it somehow furthers the plot. On the other hand, if this is done wrong, extremely miniscule details turn into Deus Ex Machinas.

So, now that we’re all on the same page and understand the principle of Chekov's Gun, let's see how this relates to Magnus Chase. I haven't finished The Ship of the Dead, but I've already seen two very distinct but very successful uses of Chekov's Gun.

Firstly, in one of the previous books, Magnus fought a sea goddess named Ran. He ultimately defeated her, but she mentioned something about her hipster husband who's into microbrews. This was quickly dismissed as yet another quirky piece of Norse mythology, used for comedic relief. In fact, I didn't remember this comment at all until Magnus met Aegir and remembered what Ran had said. Turns out it wasn't just comedic relief: it was foreshadowing. What this means is that not only did Rick know how he wanted the series to go, but he had the specific details worked out enough that he could slip in a Gun in the form of what seemed to be a throwaway line that would lead to something that wouldn't even happen until the next book. It reminds me of the Harry Potter series, and how Rowling had the entire story planned out, with events in the first book directly affecting events in the last book and vice versa.

The second Gun, which I only read about after writing last week's entry, is similar, but not entirely the same. Previously, Magnus, Blitzen, and Hearthstone went to Alfheim, where Hearth grew up, to search for the Skofnung stone. In the process, Hearth's frankly abusive father gets cursed into becoming even more evil (and possibly having multiple personality disorder, but that's a different story) before they leave. Now, Hearth and Blitz go to look for this whetstone that will somehow help them. The whole time, Magnus is thinking about how it's similar to the Skofnung stone, and hopes they don't have to go back to Alfheim and see Hearth's father again. Not only this, but Magnus has a nightmare where he sees a monster he's never seen before. And these two things, of course (Magnus feeling like this is similar to the previous quest and having a nightmare about a scary monster) combine into intertwined Guns, as the three of them do exactly what Magnus was hoping they wouldn't, and see that Hearth's father has been turned into a dragon, the one he saw in his dream. And you can also consider the curse a Gun if you want, since it's never said how exactly it will affect him.

So it turns out that, despite the quality of the Trials of Apollo not being quite up to my standards, it seems like the creativity and writing ability Rick does have is all being poured into what is easily one of my favorite book series. And we haven't even talked about the level of diversity in this series! I don't think I've mentioned Alex once, which is a shame, since they're one of my favorite characters. But I guess I'll save that for next week.

Week 16- Lemon son

I said I wouldn't be able to get my hands on it, but thank the gods because it was staring me in the face on your bookshelf! So I started Magnus Chase: The Ship of The Dead by our good friend Uncle Rick. I have been excited to read this for so long, mostly because I’ve seen a few spoilers online. I'm going to try not to let that keep me from enjoying it, though.

Out of all the main characters we've heard from in the Riordanverse, I think Magnus is honestly my favorite. Sure, Percy is great and funny, but Magnus is kind of like… I don't know if you've heard about this, but there's this meme going around calling Percy “Persassy”. Basically, it just turns him into a diva, and it's hilarious, because it fits his personality. But he doesn't actually act that way in the books (most of the time). Magnus, for me, is like the canon equivalent of Persassy. He's funny, he doesn't care what you think, and he will tell you that you look terrible today, even in the heat of battle. He's funny and relatable, like most Riordan characters are, but, somehow even better. I think part of the reason I love Magnus so much is the fact that he's more realistic than other characters have been. At first, I just said, “oh yeah, he's realistic ” but I couldn't put my finger on why. But when I woke up today, I figured it out.

So, as you know, most of the Riordanverse deals with demigods. One of their parents was never there in their childhood (because they're gods or goddesses) and they were stuck with one parent. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but consider this: a lot, and I mean a lot, of those single parents die. Magnus’ did, but think about his other series. Nico's mom died. Leo's mom died. Hazel's mom died. Frank's mom died (although he did still have his grandmother to stay with). Jason's mom didn't die, but she did ABANDON HIM and leave him to literally be RAISED BY WOLVES. Now look at all of these examples. Nico came to America with his sister even though they had no legal guardian with them because… plot. Leo did get put into foster homes, but once he heads to Camp Half-Blood that's pretty much ignored, and he turns into an independent woman who don't need no legal guardian. Frank, like I said, had his grandmother. Hazel got brought back to life and, while she does seem to have PTSD or flashbacks of some kind every once in a while, isn't much worse for wear. And then there's Jason… sigh. Jason was raised by actual wolves. And despite this, people say multiple times that he is perfect, that he's their golden boy. What the actual heck. These characters went through loss and hardship and seemingly have nothing to show for it.

And then there's precious Magnus, my salty lemon son. When his mom died, his only living relative didn't take him in for multiple reasons, despite basically owning a mansion, and rather than going into the foster system like Leo, he became HOMELESS. As in, living on the streets without knowing when he'd get his next meal homeless.  And even though he's not homeless anymore, that’s only because he is a) dead and b) living in a hotel. Out of context, it doesn't sound that great, I'll admit, but it's something. But the thing is, he may not be homeless anymore, but it is still a part of him and his personality and his childhood. And as a result, Magnus often talks about his experiences being homeless, whether because something happening reminds him of something specific from his homelessness or because something makes him remember how lucky he is not to be on the streets, despite it meaning he has to fight all manner of monsters and gods, etc. His situation was somewhat similar to Leo's, where they were both affected in some way by the loss of their mothers. Leo, however, never mentions or even seems to remember it much based on the chapters from his point of view. It's no big deal. Magnus, however, is a real character with real feelings and memories and morals created by living in constant fear and hunger. So yeah, when a character is consistent (*cough* ese *cough*) and has realistic feelings and experiences, I tend to like them more. And don't get me started on how Smelly Gabe was abusive to Percy but he doesn't ever mention him or get triggered or anything. An abused kid who then has to go fight monsters? Not a good combo.

I was going to mention Chekov's gun, but this is already super long. I'll try to remember to talk about it next week.

Sorry about how long this was! I hope it wasn't boring or repetitive. Here's the art I did:

Week 15- Apollo Ex Machina

So I finished The Dark Prophecy yesterday. I have to say, I was genuinely surprised by how dark the final battle ended up compared to other Riordan books. I mean, it wasn't super dark, but the precious fluffy griffin mom died!

Plus, Apollo kept bringing up the fact that she'd left behind a dad and unhatched egg.

I know that in The Last Olympian a bunch of people died, but most of them were unnamed, and for the ones who Percy knew, Rick actually described how and when they heroically died. Somehow I feel like that gave me closure. In griffin mom's case, Lester just finds her dead. It seems more sad when you don't know how she died except that Apollo wasn't there to help her.

Which, by the way, was very strange to me. I didn't understand why Apollo and Meg had to go off on their own mini-adventure (~ADVENTURE~) while everyone else was fighting Commode Man. I guess for tension? It just seemed odd to me how that worked time-wise. Maybe it would have been too long of a book otherwise.
By the way, I'm sorry if I switch between “Apollo” and “Lester”. Throughout the book, he seems to be having a serious identity issue, and other characters don't know what to call him either. It actually got worse as the book progressed, with the two personalities merging slowly. At the end of the battle, he even somehow showed his true godly formed. It was literally a Deus Ex Machina.
I'm still not sure how he did it, since he lost all of his powers, including archery and singing. It just seemed so out of place, like Rick went “well, this battle needs to end now, so I guess I'll just randomly give Lester his most godly power possible even though he couldn't even shoot straight in the last book!”

And that goes for Calypso, too. She randomly got magic powers again. The whole point was that the gods removed her powers. She didn't just get weaker and could build them up again; they were supposed to be gone forever. Uncle Rick, do you know what “consistent” means? Because with Calypso and Apollo's powers and Leo calling everyone “ese” and-- *dry heaves* “mAMaCIta”, I'm not sure you do.
Love you, Uncle Rick, but I feel like your books are slowly losing the charm they originally had for me. You're still hilarious, though.
Oh! I drew Lester, by the way. Just a simple one. Ta-da!

I guess I'll start a new book next week. I'd love to read the new Magnus Chase book, but I don't think I'll be able to get my hands on it.

See you on Tuesday~