Name: Thomas's review of The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman
Item: The Magician's Land
Rating: 5
Author: Thomas

Lev Grossman

(Book 3)

The Magician's Land

Quentin Coldwater has lost everything. He has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams that he once ruled. Everything he had fought so hard for, not to mention his closest friends, is sealed away in a land Quentin may never again visit. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can't hide from his past, and it's not long before it comes looking for him

A Novel

(Bre)anne✨

“That hopeful little boy you once were was a tremendous dreamer. He was clever, too, but if you ever had a special gift, it was that.”

It was just that she would never have a home again.

“If they don’t control time, what do they do?” Eliot asked.

“They tell time,” Jane said. “That’s enough.”

Leah smith

'Dark, dangerous and full of twists' George R. R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones âe~Lev Grossman has conjured a rare creature: a trilogy that simply gets better and better as it goes along . . . Literary perfection.âe(tm) Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus Quentin Coldwater has lost everything. He has been cast out of the secret magical land of Fillory and now, friendless and broke, he returns to where his story began: Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But Quentinâe(tm)s past soon catches up with him . . . Meanwhile, Filloryâe(tm)s magical barriers are failing, and barbarians from the north have invaded. To save their beloved world from extinction, Eliot and Janet, High King and Queen of Fillory, must embark on a final, dangerous quest. Quentinâe(tm)s adventure takes him from Antarctica to the enchanted Neitherlands, where he finds old friends. But all roads lead back to Fillory, where Quentin must put things right, or die trying. âe~Richly imagined and continually surprising . . . The strongest book in Grossmanâe(tm)s series.âe(tm) New York Times Book Review âe~A triumphant climax to the best fantasy trilogy of the decade.âe(tm) Charles Stross, author of Accelerando

Thomas

Why weren’t the rest of the books in the series like this one?? ALSO QUENTIN THE MENDER HAD ME CRYINGGG!! THE MENDER OF FILLORY!!!

TW to be added later

Why weren’t the rest of the books in the series like this one?? ALSO QUENTIN THE MENDER HAD ME CRYINGGG!! THE MENDER OF FILLORY!!!

Kyle Curry

A surprisingly satisfying conclusion. Grossman's aging of Quentin over the course of the series is subtly brilliant. Unlike his literary double (Mr. Potter), Quentin ages, learns, grows, and gains insight into himself. He becomes a man because of his mistakes. 

Otherwise, the books plays out all the scenes you really hope will happen in glorious literary HD. The mysteries are solved, the loose ends tied, redemption, revenge, special appearances, and even some of the more auxiliary characters get to spend some well deserved time in the spotlight. 

Grossman I think acknowledges a lot of the criticisms of the works he draws from, and uses them to make his own stronger. And like Gaiman, at times gives us a peak at all the other stories, just waiting to be told.

Erik Wallace

Excellent ending to a well written trilogy. I look forward to reading these again years from now.

Gillian Rose

I don't know if it's just been that I took a long break between the books and really enjoyed the show, but I liked this one. It was a pretty satisfying ending to the series. I mean, there are definitely some quirks of Grossman that I roll my eyes at, but I love hearing about Fillory and the magic system. Even Quentin didn't bother me that much!

most endurable out of the triology, but still not great. Last 100 pages were rough….

Sarah 

Janice Hopper

I think that this book is a pretty good end to the series. It gives Quentin Coldwater a chance for some kind of a happy ending. It wraps up Fillory pretty well too. Other characters get a bit of a chance to wind things up too. There's sort of an odd bit early on that's basically a heist story. That was weird. O.o

Like another reviewer I read, I'm suffering a little from the this-isn't-the-book-I-wanted-itis. All the cynicism and angst of the first book are gone. Eliot is High King, and he loves being High King unironically. Janet is still a bit of a hot mess, but we understand her a little more, I guess. But the book is pretty much a straightforward fantasy, largely cut free from the modern world. That's fine, but there are 50 zillion straightforward fantasies largely cut free from the modern world already. 

There are a good many little nerdy call-outs to other books. I'm sure I didn't see them all, but I saw quite a few.

And I have no explanation for the author's fondness for the word "pegasi." He used it 11 times just in this book. Jeezopete.

THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS ARE ABSOLUTE GARBAGE!!! Such a cliche and boring ending!!! I did enjoy having my girl Alice back! I thought more could have been done with Plum’s storyline. Yeah…. the second book is definitely the best in this series in my opinion. 

🌞Laur🌞

Mounir Bashour

This is a wonderful conclusion to a great trilogy.
The best thing about the trilogy is that each volume is complete in and of itself - Grossman actually knows how to write conclusions - rare in today's literary world.

Celeste Richardson

Great ending to a great series that I really didn't think I would like.

Mary Rose Luksha

The best book in the series by far. Such an epic love letter to growing up reading fantasy fiction. The other two never completely sold me, this one did. Great storytelling, great fantasy, 5 stars. Lev Grossman. 

::drops mic::

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I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

See, Quentin has always been a character I have been able to relate to. In “The Magicians” - which I read when I was a teenage girl, straight after “Trainspotting” - he was as cynical and gloomy as I was; in “The Magician’s King” - which I read in my second year in university - he lived in a constant malcontent with his life just like did. So it is my greatest pleasure to find how his story ends in “The Magician’s Land” and once, again compare it to my own life.


The Plot

“The Magician’s Land” is in many ways reminiscent of “The Magicians” but this time seen through the POV of a Quentin who has matured and who is more at peace with himself. It is interesting to trace Quentin’s path from the first novel and see how his new personality adjusts to these familiar circumstances.

The magical robbery that Quentin becomes part of and that turns out to be a focal point for the development of the plot is one of the most exciting aspects of the novel. It is exciting and fast-paced and action-packed - just like “The Magicians” was an enchanting combination of all the appealing assets of “Trainspotting” and “Harry Potter”, the robbery in “The Magician’s Land” is a compelling crossing between every ragtag A-team-with-a-mission film you’ve ever seen and every urban fantasy novel with magicians out there. Which is to say it is thrilling and gripping and absolutely absorbing.

The plot of “The Magician’s Land” manages to extract the best parts of the previous books and of several different genres and weave them into a dense, well structured story which makes the book stand out among the rest of series.


The Setting

Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the world of the novel is Brakebills and it is a pleasure to revisit it. A major plus of the novel is that it explores the same old place but from different POV’s - this time Quentin is a professor in the College and Plum is a student from a different magician class than Quentin and his friends who leads and extremely different student life from them. Their experiences contribute to creating a fuller, more understanding of Brakebills and the magical world of the novel.

Quentin’s journey in our world is melancholic yet optimistic - he has no choice but to keep going and to try to do his best in the situation he finds himself in. Meanwhile, the glimpses that we get of Fillory are grim and apocalyptic. Everything in the novel speaks of an ending but the characters’ stubbornness, optimism, and desire to keep living casts a beam of light into the darkness - it turns endings into opportunities for a new beginning. And is this not a wonderful note to end a series like this on?


The Characters

As I previously said, Quentin is a character I have been able to relate to a lot. It was nice to observe his character development throughout the books. In “The Magician’s Land” he is the best he has ever been and also the most likeable he has ever been.

Plum is an interesting - if last minute - addition to the main characters. She is positive and proactive and full of energy and desire to learn and to grow. I would enjoy a novel about her and her days at Brakebills, about her and the League, and just an overall spin-off series about her adventures.


The Verdict

“The Magician’s Land” is a wonderful wrap up of The Magicians Trilogy. Lev Grossman is sympathetic to his characters and to his readers by giving them both one last, yet satisfying adventure.

Sabetha Danes

This book was a vast improvment over the previous two. A great way to bring the story full circle but leave it open for more adventures. I will say if anyone happens on these books without having read all of the name drop books before they might be lightly confused as to the lack of defining random creatures etc. But has i've said in previous reviews for the other books. It seems this story was built on the back of others, using other stories to fill in descriptions etc. very un-needed as this is a great story all on it's own.

Huh. Okay. So this ended up being the better book of the trilogy.

I read the Magicians a really long time ago, and I enjoyed it. I didn't looove it, but I liked the worldbuilding and some of the characters (definitely not the main character though). So I hung on and read the second book.

I think the second book was a mistake, though. There are many things wrong with the second book, all of them bearable, as it's probably doable as the sophomore slump of the series. But the thing that happened to Julia, the unspeakable thing, and how the writer twisted that into something EMPOWERING...that was truly awful to read, and awful to see on the tv show. Seriously a shitty choice of writing. Sexual assault is not empowering.

This book though...I'm coming at it two years after reading the Magician King. And I have to say. This book was good. It didn't redeem the choices in the Magician King, which I still loathe, but when considered separately from that book, I really liked this one. Color me surprised.

Flavia Louise

3.25 stars
This series is kind of an odd one for me. 
The first book took me extremely long to read even though I really enjoyed it.
The second book I mostly didn't like.
The third book (this one) was pretty slow in the beginning but I kind of enjoyed the last 60%.

Richard Binder

Some of the banter felt a little forced here and there, but ultimately none of that took away from the beauty of the animal transformation scene (totally one-upping the scene from the first book, which I didn't think was possible), many kickass action sequences, and some of the most beautiful passages I've read about the pain of adulthood and the leaving aside of childish things, except not really. It reminded me of that part in Stephen Fry's "The Liar," where Adrian talks about how he'll never see the world as clearly, never understand everything as fully as he does right then and there, as a teenager, and how horrible to think that time will lead him to betray everything he believes right now. And that's true, of course. But, acknowledging that, Grossman allows for the possibility of "wild feelings ... that escaped out of you and into the world and changed things," and the discipline necessary to make that work to your benefit, and the world's, is part of becoming an adult, let alone a magician. Because if the world is a desert, why shouldn't we all be moving oases?

Nat Welch

wow. This series really pulled it together. First book was horrible compared to how fantastic the next two were.

Kerry Gibbons

Loved it. Beautiful conclusion to the series.

Whitney Leno

*Chef's kiss* 
This is the perfect ending to the series. I loved the way that the author tackled such big topics, especially trauma and mental health. I also felt like the author did a great job in showing believable character growth.

Melanie

I liked the book. In my opion, it was a gread finish for the book series :)

Amanda Kirtzinger

** spoiler alert **
           This was good...at face value it was good. It was interesting and different. Quentin needed to grow up. In the conclusion he really did grow up to be a master magician and a good man. However...looking deeper I have to say, as much as I liked the story and the writing style it felt as though Lev Grossman took a long hiatus between books 2 and 3, forgetting what he wrote exactly then remembered that it was supposed to be a trilogy and not a duology. I would have been fine with how book 2 ended for the series. But the majority of book 3 didn't make sense or fit the rest of the series. 

So did I enjoy reading it yes. Did it frustrate me to no end that I almost didn't finish the series because the separation between the stories irritated me, also yes. But overall it was okay. Definitely a mature read.

Heather Killeen

I didn't think it could be possible to like this series any more than I already did but apparently it is. I think Magician's Land was my favorite of the three. This series may not appeal to every reader. It's sarcastic and dark, biting but beautiful too. The way Grossman writes about the world is the same way I see it so every word of this book felt so utterly true, like he was talking directly to me. That's probably a totally narcissistic way to review a book :P but that was my experience. If you are anything like me, you need to read this series pronto.

Jeremy Cote

** spoiler alert **
           This was definitely my favourite book in the series. The pacing was right, the plot lines converged beautifully, and almost every question I was hoping to get answered was answered. I'm writing this just after finishing off the last page, and so these are my first thoughts. The whole series was great, and I think this is one of the rare final books that does justice to the whole trilogy. I enjoyed seeing Quentin's transformation, and the book highlights this too.

I highly doubt you will be disappointed with this final book.

Aaron Bach

** spoiler alert **
           A perfectly fine end to a one-of-a-kind series...but...

I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking this – read it yourself and let me know – but for a series of that based itself on the premise of life in a dark, difficult world (where not even magic can buy happiness), this series ended a little too neatly. Several times near the end, I began to realize that everyone was going to get what they wanted. It felt Twilight-y: ignore all the difficulties and open threads, kids, because it will all work out in the end!

There's nothing wrong with that kind of sweetness, of course – not in principle, anyway. But in this other-Earth, where the real world ends up being more difficult than childhood dreams, it gets in the way.

Interestingly, however, the "homage-to-real-life" themes of this book create their own problem. Chief of these: if we assume that Quentin and his friends are the good guys, who is the villain? In the first book, it was clear that Martin Chatwin played the role. After that? Not sure. Was it Ember and Umber? Reynard the Fox? The mysterious couple who possessed Rupert Chatwin's relics? Other miscellaneous old gods? None of them are set up to be the true enemy. Mayble life just isn't that simple.

Still, satisfying to see this story to its conclusion.

Leah smith &
The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman

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Leah smith &The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman

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Leah smith &
The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman