Lev Grossman

The magician king

(Bre)anne✨

He was discovering, in a way for the first time, what it felt like to truly be a Magician King.

“Fillory doesn’t ask for much, does it?”

Yeah, I don't think I really like this series. It goes slow and then builds up so quickly that emotional moments are just completely missed and don't have the impact they should. Writing is great, but the plot is just so wild that it's like...wtf? Grossman also just heavily leans toward telling not showing which kind of takes you out of it. This one is better than the first one, though! Characters do kind of fall flat....and there's just like....random trauma porn moments. 

TW to be added later

Yeah, I don't think I really like this series. It goes slow and then builds up so quickly that emotional moments are just completely missed and don't have the impact they should. Writing is great, but the plot is just so wild that it's like...wtf? Grossman also just heavily leans toward telling not showing which kind of takes you out of it. This one is better than the first one, though! Characters do kind of fall flat....and there's just like....random trauma porn moments. 

Geoffrey Froggatt

This book was very easy to get into, especially after recently reading the first book. This book picks up where the previous one left off and depicts our characters as Kings and Queens of Fillory. I thought it was a bit strange how in the previous book, Eliot mentions he could easily become a Queen and the Fillorians would be open minded to that, only to have Julia’s traditionally male clothing be scandalous in this book. That being said, these were small remarks, and the world building of the fantastical world of Fillory is flexible and Alien to what we as humans would consider normal. I just thought it was an interesting contrast. I appreciated that Julia’s character was with our main cast from the start, but I did dislike how we didn’t see her character journey in the first book, it felt like a major missed opportunity to just skip over all her character growth in the first book and just tack on her character to the story in this one. I loved seeing things from Julia’s perspective in this book, I just wish that we had her perspective from the start and had her as the secondary protagonist. Regardless, these books made me appreciate all the changes to the story and characters in the television show, which is something that I’m sure I’ll say in the review of every book in this series. I liked how the characters reference Harry Potter and Narnia despite that this story heavily draws upon and satirizes both, it made these characters feel more like humans from our Earth despite the magical settings. There was a scene where Quentin walks in on Julia shirtless and he scolds her for flashing him and she apologizes, and I was so confused since he should have apologized for barging in and she shouldn’t be apologizing for being naked when she’s alone with herself. It was a surreal moment that reminded me that this book was written by a man and is set from a young man’s perspective, which is something that makes the books inferior in my eyes. These interesting characters and this intriguing story simply shouldn’t be restricted to the perspective of just Quentin. I wasn’t comfortable with seeing Quentin’s juvenile heterosexual/spiteful feelings towards the young women in his life, but I got through it by reminding myself that Quentin is meant to be a little shit and that I don’t necessarily have to like or understand the perspective that I’m reading from in order to enjoy the story. I liked the exploration of Hedge Witches and “unauthorized magic”, and I liked how we got a glimpse into Julia’s world and way of learning magic and how it was so unconventional compared to Quentin’s journey. I loved seeing Julia reveal herself and her journey to Quentin and defending her path, it felt good seeing Quentin be put in his place. I adored Julia’s perspective in this book, but I wish that she was the main protagonist in the entire series, I loved being inside her head and seeing the world from her perspective. I loved Poppy’s introduction and her unique character fit right into this world with these characters. I liked how this book improved upon the previous book’s faults in terms of pacing, characters and storyline. This book was much better planned and paced and I loved how the storyline unfolded throughout this book and how the main quest tied everything together in the end. The last quarter of this book was the strongest writing and story-wise that this series has had up until this point. I loved how we learned more about this world and how magic works. I loved the ending and how it brought the characters forward while showing how far Quentin has come, and how far he still has to go.

This book actually felt like a story. I wanted to keep reading more and more. I liked how it went into detail about Julia, I just wish my girl Alice got the same. 

🌞Laur🌞

Fraser Simons

I always like how the fiction in this most resembles the real world. Things are always more impactful when writers put themselves out there on paper. It’s a little messy sometimes, but I prefer it. 

Once again, since everything is either from Quinton or Julia’s perspectives, both, at times, can be unlikeable. There’s no filter at all. Even the surface bullshit thoughts nobody voices are there in this method and can be off putting. 

But I find it refreshing. The world isn’t fair by a long shot. Traditional notions around the hero are examined. It has something to say in a unique voice, in a take-it-or-leave-it way.

It’s a lot less literary/contemporary than the first book and has a capital p plot, grounding the narrative, which is both good and bad for expectations. There’s a lot more self awareness and humour that doesn’t do much for me. But the ending really hits for me—even on this reread when I knew what was going to happen. It’s a polarizing book yet again; for different reasons than the first, though. 

It’s one of my favourite fantasy series because it’s way of connecting with the reader is unlike anything I’ve read. I care about the characters in ways I rarely do in others, and as I say, the guy puts himself out there in the work. For me, it’s fantastic. 

Be warned though. Much more Heavy subject matter in this one. Self harm, sexual assault. The tone shifts. It’s not always dark, but it’s never what I’d call a casual, super fun casual fantasy read (as I wouldn’t call the first either).

The magician king

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