Mythical Migrant Misfits: Review Of Rick Riordan & Mark Oshiro's Court Of The Dead

To call Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series American Harry Potters would possibly be doing them an injustice even though both sets of books are anchored in educational systems – Potter in the English public school and Percy Jackson et al in the American summer camp ecosystem. The echo of mudblood in Camp Half-Blood also resonates though more politely. However, JK Rowling did not set out to educate children in any kind of fantasy barring generic magic and her own characters.

Riordan on the other hand chose to take children through the superhero world of Greek, Norse and Egyptian mythology with its attendant demons and demi gods. Like Hermione Grainger, the boys and girls are half bloods with rather random powers inherited from their divine parents – again the gods of mythology were known for choosing an odd assortment of mates though there are fewer bull and swan children floating through Riordan’s pages. Riordan sketches a social history of the American teenagers’ habits, clothes and camp life as they move between parallel worlds (the Norse godlings, it must be admitted live in a vast hotel united by the world tree Yggdrasil and waiting for Ragnarok in their own way, while Odin has been given a hijab wearing Valkyrie daughter).

Riordan propagates a lesson in inclusivity through his various teens - the Greek and Roman myths – actually most ancient mythologies, tend to be inclusive in their outlook – as a result, LGBTQ relationships are common in Riordan’s pages, keeping him clear of the gender identity issues that have begun to ferment where Rowling is concerned. Though possibly putting up a case for monsters like the Minotaur who was brought into being by a curse and not his own choice might be counted as inclusion as we find in Riordan’s latest The Court of the Dead which he co-wrote with Mark Oshiro. Every kind of being, after all, has a right to exist and the many worlds are many countries with their migrant populations, some good, some bad.

Ruled by mentors like Chiron the wise centaur and occasionally by gods sent down from Olympus on punishment posting, Camp Half-Blood and its Roman counterpart, Camp Jupiter on the West Coast with their varied quirks are basically relatable. The demi gods also have half siblings by other parents and they are equipped to learn to fight monsters, use the special weapons which their divine parent has gifted them with and and help protect the mortal world where necessary – again something that could be considered similar to Harry Potter though children’s fantasies are based on protecting mortals from an impending apocalypse.

Each of the books has their own apocalypse since Riordan has the benefit of different mythologies to illustrate his theories and a range of fantastic beasts to introduce his readers to.

There is of course a need to refresh the mythologies which is why the Camps have new entrants with new though perhaps not so well known divine parentage to learn their roles in the mortal and mythical worlds and explore a newer set of powers. Bringing in a writer to collaborate and thereby merging styles is another way in which Riordan chooses to do it. After at least 34 books, presumably he has the right to do that, though it is a very American thing, something that James Patterson also does hooking up with celebrities like Bill Clinton. Rowling chose to shift genres finding inspiration in her Cormoran Strike series which get longer and more violent with passing time – though violence is as acceptable an undercurrent of fantasy as it is of crime fiction.

Whether it is due to the global movement against migrants or not, Courts of the Dead focuses on outsiders trying to fit into a society that regards them as outcasts which includes the families of the beings concerned. Regarded as monsters in myth and legend, the creatures wish to reinvent themselves as ‘mythics’ reflecting the current move towards ‘woke’ness in language. Riordan and Oshira introduce a new spate of ‘mythic’ terminology including blennyae or creatures with heads in their chests instead of on their shoulders and grain spirits or karpos.

However, these mythics who want to migrate to the world of the demi gods from Tartarus have something slightly worng with them, which is why theiy are family outcasts – the karpos in The Court of the Dead for example is the spirit of a pseudo grain, Quinoa which doesn’t fit into the grain family. The result is that these mythic monsters are misfits which makes their struggle more real in a society filled with all kinds of misfits of all ages and the task of achieving acceptance for them makes for a different kind of quest indeed.

Presumably the time has come for more overt fantasy lectures in a world where pampered Greek demigods meet Roman discipline for the sake of inclusion.