The Magician King by Lev Grossman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this second instalment in The Magicians trilogy, even more than the first book. I'm invested in these characters and their world now, and even though there was still plenty of danger and darkness, there was a lot more humour too - at least there seemed to be!
Quentin, Julia, Eliot and Janet are kings and queens of Fillory, and living a fairytale life. Eliot is, of course, the High King! But Quentin still feels like something is missing. All his dreams have come true but he is restless and dissatisfied.
During a hunt for one of the Unique Beasts of Fillory, Q and the others come across a clearing containing a clock tree. This is not unusual - these trees are all over Fillory - but this one is different. Its clock is twisted and broken and it moves with its own wind. This is the first sign that something is going wrong in Fillory and with magic in general. Q wants to approach the tree - he feels an ADVENTURE coming on - but the others stop him. And somebody dies.
So that's Chapter One! And things just get more and more interesting from then on. Q and Julia go on a quest across the seas to the Outer Island and beyond. There are gods, monsters, and dragons. They discover that magic is in danger of disappearing from all the worlds - which would mean the end of Fillory itself. Penny and Josh reappear in surprising locations, Q and Julia are sent back to Earth, somebody else dies, Q and Julia visit the Underworld, and they must find seven golden keys and travel to the end of the world to save magic. Q has a conversation with a dragon...and even gets "lucky"! And there's a new character, Poppy, who's an Aussie. I really like her (because Aussie magicians are obviously the best!)
In between the main story, we find out more about what happened to Julia while Q was at Brakebills - and it's not pretty. Julia is the character who is most changed from the beginning of the series - and when you find out why...well, it's pretty clear why she's such a mess! Her search for deeper, more powerful magic leads to a truly terrible event which nearly destroys everything...
But things do come right - sort of - although everything has a price...
Well, that's it! I've just started "The Magician's Land" which is the third and final book. I'm looking forward to seeing how things end up.
View all my reviews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this second instalment in The Magicians trilogy, even more than the first book. I'm invested in these characters and their world now, and even though there was still plenty of danger and darkness, there was a lot more humour too - at least there seemed to be!
Quentin, Julia, Eliot and Janet are kings and queens of Fillory, and living a fairytale life. Eliot is, of course, the High King! But Quentin still feels like something is missing. All his dreams have come true but he is restless and dissatisfied.
During a hunt for one of the Unique Beasts of Fillory, Q and the others come across a clearing containing a clock tree. This is not unusual - these trees are all over Fillory - but this one is different. Its clock is twisted and broken and it moves with its own wind. This is the first sign that something is going wrong in Fillory and with magic in general. Q wants to approach the tree - he feels an ADVENTURE coming on - but the others stop him. And somebody dies.
So that's Chapter One! And things just get more and more interesting from then on. Q and Julia go on a quest across the seas to the Outer Island and beyond. There are gods, monsters, and dragons. They discover that magic is in danger of disappearing from all the worlds - which would mean the end of Fillory itself. Penny and Josh reappear in surprising locations, Q and Julia are sent back to Earth, somebody else dies, Q and Julia visit the Underworld, and they must find seven golden keys and travel to the end of the world to save magic. Q has a conversation with a dragon...and even gets "lucky"! And there's a new character, Poppy, who's an Aussie. I really like her (because Aussie magicians are obviously the best!)
In between the main story, we find out more about what happened to Julia while Q was at Brakebills - and it's not pretty. Julia is the character who is most changed from the beginning of the series - and when you find out why...well, it's pretty clear why she's such a mess! Her search for deeper, more powerful magic leads to a truly terrible event which nearly destroys everything...
But things do come right - sort of - although everything has a price...
Well, that's it! I've just started "The Magician's Land" which is the third and final book. I'm looking forward to seeing how things end up.
View all my reviews