Lev Grossman

A Novel

Magician King

"The Magician King" is a grand voyage into the dark, glittering heart of magic--an epic quest for the Harry Potter generation. It also introduces Julia, a powerful new voice whose angry genius is thrilling. Once again Grossman proves that he is the modern heir to C.S. Lewis, and the cutting edge of literary fantasy.

The Magician King

High Fidelity

One of the things Quentin remembered from reading about King Arthur was that the knights who had sins on their consciences never did very well on the quest for the Grail. The thing was to go to confession before you set out. You had to face yourself and deal with your shit, that’s how you got somewhere.

This book took me wayyy to long to finish, it was just not that interesting. It felt like half the time the same plot was being repeated as in the first book. I did like getting some backstory about Julia but even that seemed like it dragged on for a good while. Yet, as much as I don't like Quientin I did feel kinda sorry for him in the end. 

Ksenija 

Erik Wallace

Great follow-up to the first book. I'm very excited to see what happens in the final book.

Megan Snodgrass

After being harassed about my audiobook listening speed, I’ve finished the 2nd installment of the trilogy. I liked that you could see growth in Q from the first book (less teen angst boob talk). I’m going to be annoying saying I watched the show first, but it was interesting having most of Julia’s backstory in the 2nd book and not in tandem to what was happening with the brakebills crew. Also enjoy having more of Poppy’s presence. Wanted more of Q and Eliot’s relationship and more Janet. Looking forward to how the 3rd will tie everything up.

Janice Hopper

The second volume of the series is more conventional fantasy than the first book. There are quests, and adventures, and magic. Quentin remains the hero you love to roll your eyes at. We find out what happened with Julia.

This one really makes me think of Narnia, more than the other book. 

I'm not sure exactly what Grossman is doing in this series. The first volume was a more of a grown-up version of a Narnia or Harry Potter book, with appropriate amounts of irony and cynicism. The second book is the same, but pretty much without the irony & cynicism. I'm not really sure it's better for that. The writing is fine, just not sure abou the plot.

I'll go straight on to the 3rd volume to see how it all shakes out.

Jayme Bosio

I did not enjoy this as much as The Magicians, but I still enjoyed it. Lev Grossman's writing is hilarious as always and I love the pop culture references ("Worst away team ever. Not one 'red shirt'." You have to love a Star Trek reference).

Danny Engström

This book is special. Probably not for everyone. It touched me.

Alex

This book makes up for the first novel to this series in ways that I never imagined.
Quentin eventually gets the stinging backhand for being a smug little shit with a craving to be the all powerful hero, and Julia receives what she has rightfully worked her ass off for. Don't get me wrong, my heart still goes out to Quentin no matter, it's not an easy task for any person to pick themselves up after what he loses, but rules are rules.
I look forward to the third and final book that has been announced to make this a complete trilogy. With Grossman's deep and thought provoking ideas and brilliant writing, I have high expectations.

Mary Rose Luksha

Quentin's adventures in Fillory and other worlds in this book was much more enjoyable than the last book. The bits from Julia's perspective were a little one-note(ish) but her narrative added a good backstory. 

The end was right. I hated it, I felt bad for Quentin, but it was right and I appreciate that it might have been hard for Grossman to write. 

A lot of reviews speak negatively of Grossman's character, that he's an asshole and Quentin's an asshole, and maybe Grossman is an asshole I don't know. But I know Quentin is definitely an asshole. But by the end of the second book I finally saw some character development in Quentin that really redeemed him more so than the end of the first book.

The end is what bumped up what would have been a 3 star review to a 4 star one.

Sabetha Danes

this book was way better than the first. I really don't get all the hp/other books references I mean im in love with hp as much as the next it just doesnt flow with this story. and to clear the record these books are not the adult harry potter. I dont understand how that idea started but it's all over the reviews. the story is a great story and would totally stand on it's own without the name drops.

Meet Quentin Coldwater, king of the bizarre and wonderful land of Fillory. But he is getting restless, even in heaven a man needs a little adventure. So when a steward is murdered on a morning's hunt Quentin gets exactly that. But this quest is like no other. What starts as a glorified cruise to faraway lands soon becomes the stuff of nightmares... The Magician King is a grand voyage into the dark, glittering heart of magic, an extraordinary journey that allows the imagination to run riot and proves Grossman is the modern heir to C.S. Lewis. This is a book like no other.

Flavia Louise

2.75 stars

At first it was quite good.
Then it wasn't.
Then it really wasn't.
The it was okay.
Then it was amazing.
Then it was quite good.
Then it was QUITE good.
Then it was okay.

So it gets 2.75 stars because well I don't know.

Kerry Gibbons

Loved this book. Really can't wait to read third book.

Whitney Leno

My online book group did not speak highly of this book/trilogy. I found it enjoyable. It was nice to get some back story on Julia. I also felt like Quinten was able to have some character development.
I can see where people found this off putting. It is a not a book that ends on an incredibly happy or wrapped up note. That being said the story was interesting and I am looking forward to seeing how it ends.

Olivera Mitić

Faith

I loved the first book but...i hate Julia with a passion.

Sofia Pereira

This book was a total DNF for me.
My favourite character died, Julia became a bitch, Quentin was a douche and Eliot and Janet were only into fucking. I will not continue with the series

Amanda Kirtzinger

Okay so while the story was interesting and we got to see how exactly Julia became what she is...but like really...that's how it is going to end for book 2? I will of course read book 3 but come on that doesn't really set up for a 3rd book.

Abi Baker

everyone is either an asshole or completely devoid of personality and that rape scene was 1000% unnecessary and far too detailed. no thank you.

Heather Killeen

I love this series so much. The ending still gets me right in the feels!

Jeremy Cote

I thought this was a pretty good sequel to the first book. It takes the story in a completely different direction, and expands the world greatly. Even though I found the plot went fast in the first book, this book takes it up a notch. There are essentially two story lines going at once, but I found this to be fine. The story kept me reading at a quick pace, and I found it to be engrossing. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who read the first one.

Aaron Bach

Son of a...

Let's start with The Magicians. At the time, I thought it was "okay" - being a fan of series like Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, etc., I had a difficult time merging new-age teenage sullenness - no matter how true-to-life - with my idea of those playful, magical fantasy worlds established elsewhere. That said, I thought The Magicians explored some very interesting themes: disillusionment with one's current status/life/the state of the universe, the adolescent feeling of invincibility that comes with college life, the somewhat stagnant realization that life-after-college isn't all its cracked up to be (even when infused with magic), etc.

I picked up The Magician King because there was enough in the first book to interest me. I wasn't expecting a lot, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

Boy, did this book catch me off guard. It was good. It was very good (much, much better than I'd expected).

Quentin, the main character, has landed on top of the magical world: he's the king of Fillory, the fantasy land that he's idolized his entire life. However, even after gaining everything he ever wanted, he's bored. He needs some sort of quest because, after all, that's what every fantasy hero needs (and no one knows that cliche - and that it is a cliche - better than Quentin). So, along with his fellow King (Eliot) and Queens (Janet and Julia), our hero sets off to find his adventure.

What follows is a multi-layered tapestry of discovery, adventure, pain, suffering loss, disbelief, love, and destiny. The story bobs and weaves between time and space, switching between the present story of Quentin's adventures, the past story of Julia's transformation from Stanford-bound know-it-all to power-hungry hedge witch, and the strange, heart-wrenching thread that ties these two plotlines together.

I loved this book. However, let's go back to that first sentence. I won't spoil it, but the story's ending is a sure-as-shootin' cliffhanger. It's okay - even exciting - that Lev Grossman plans to write a third novel in this series; however, this book ends too quickly and quirkily, as if Grossman needed to stop before he wove his third time *into* this one.

Oh well. Minor quibble. The Magician King (and, truly, this whole series) is flawed, yes, but so is the reality it describe: our reality. These books speak to the deep part of us that, like Quentin, wishes magic could solve the world's problems. Give this one (and its a predecessor, if you haven't already) a shot.

Magician King A Novel

Reviews

Highlights