![The Magician's Land (The Magicians, #3)](https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1455089828m/19103097.jpg)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I LOVED the conclusion to this trilogy. Each book was better than the last and I enjoyed this one most of all.
The story begins with a meeting in a bookshop, a talking bird, and a mysterious case (which belonged to Rupert Chatwin) containing something valuable and magical, which the bird wants and for which it is willing to pay big money.
Quentin, who is now a grown man of 30, has been banished from Fillory (for reasons explained in 'The Magician King') and is trying to find his way in the 'normal' world. He goes back to Brakebills, as a professor this time, and for a while he is content. He finally discovers his 'discipline' which is mending things - this doesn't sound too exciting but it comes in extremely handy later!
Things go really well for a while until there is an incident at the school involving Q and a student (not what you might be thinking!) caused by the sudden return of someone he thought was lost to him forever. The student, a girl called Plum, is expelled and she and Q are both enticed (separately) to the bookshop and go on the quest together.
Q, Plum and the other selected wizards (all with different skills) travel (by flying carpet!) to a house in the country where the case has been tracked down. But all does not go according to plan - they are not the only people that want it - and there are betrayals and surprising revelations!
Q, Plum and Betsy (another of the bookshop wizards) end up with the case. Betsy takes from it a weapon rumoured to be able to kill gods. When her identity is revealed, it's pretty clear why she needs it! This leaves Q and Plum with Rupert Chatwin's journal, and a complex spell that Q is determined to crack.
Meanwhile, in Fillory, things are falling apart. Literally. The world of Fillory is dying and there seems to be no way to save it. Or is there? High King Eliot, Queen Janet, and the new King Josh and Queen Poppy, are desperate to find an answer, but it seems that all is lost.
Everything comes together in this final book in a very satisfying way. The stakes are high, the magic is awesome, and the humour is laugh out loud in places. I had a big smile on my face as I closed the book - it was such a great ending - and I will miss Q and his friends. He has certainly come a long way since the first book, and I was really rooting for him!
There have been a lot of negative reviews for these books - and I don't really understand why. I found them really enjoyable. Certainly comparisons could be made to other fantasy series but 'The Magicians' trilogy is its own animal and I recommend you read it with no preconceived ideas of what it should be. I thought the magic was imaginative and interesting and I loved that the characters retained their human faults and foibles despite the magical world into which they were thrust!
So give this trilogy a shot. I'm glad I did!
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