The Magician King Book Reviews

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Monty Python Revival. After reading the first book of this series I decided to read a sample of the second. I found the first book disappointing because of the main character flaw, but something else kept nagging at me. I suddenly realized during my reading of this second book I was reading Monty Python!

Hate it. Good Lord I thought the first book sucked. I would rather crap a turtle than read another one of his books.

Outstanding Sequel. The first book was amazing in it's own right, and this book follows suit. The only down side is I wish the Julia narrative was a separate book and that the magic scene on Earth outside of Brakebills was expanded. I was almost disappointed when the narrative would switch back to Quentin. All in all this is the best book I've read in quite awhile.

Two stars for characterization.... ...which is the only strong point of the novel. It's silly to say a book like this is derivative, which was Light-Bringer's complaint, because that of course is the point of the story (or of any story, if Harold Bloom has it right). The real disaster happens when Grossman delves clumsily into bad pop-philosophy and equally lame psuedo-theology. He should stick with his strength (singular) as a story teller--telling an adventure story through the perspectives of believably imagined characters. I'm sure philosophizing and theologizing (we'll call it a word) is an intense temptation for authors of fantasies, but Grossman has to realize that C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Gregory Maguire, and Susanna Clarke can do that kind of thing because they are (were) intensely well-read, thoughtful, and highly educated people before they were writers. Grossman is a journalist who seems to have picked at a passage from Nietzsche here and a passage of Foucault there and out of that inexperience has written a book that reads like it was written by an angsty 17 year old who thinks he's "seen behind the veil." On final analysis, I'm giving up on Grossman. Life's too short and there are too many good stories out there to experience.

Heartwrenching, cosmically beautiful adventure. Honestly one of the best books that I have ever read.

Barely Fair. This book is better than the first with a few more action sequences and some surprising plot twists, but overall the writing is lazy and lacking no in cohesion and logic. Many outcomes seem random. My biggest criticism is that the story doesn't feel well thought out.

A literary cheat.... I look forward to the day that a western writer will abandon the judeo christian martyrdom paradigm. I loved the Magicians and enjoyed the duality of this narrative, but the deus ex reconciliation of those two rich story lines in the last two chapters is trite, rushed and a cash in. A hero pays the price? Seriously, what a load of crap. Quentin attempts to become, in Grossman's tales, a true anti-hero but not; the punch is always pulled. Mr Grossman sits on the fence and offers us an unwitting crucified king, one who will lose it all blindly out of boredom for what he cares about most (an unclear and miasmic compass point even at best in this book)- which would work, tired as it is, if his main character had any conviction about anything what so ever at all. Perhaps this is the result of a late blooming gen-x writer pining to be a member of the pepsi entitlement generation; or perhaps its just because our good man Lev, borrowing so heavily from pop culture reference, from CS Lewis and JK Rowling, and shaken ( not stirred) with a healthy dose of Gaiman/Gibson/Stevenson pencil envy, can't actually let his characters have a life of their own. The potential for a life of character wherein the strength of their convictions, the integrity of their decisions, and the merit of their real sacrifices leads them to a legitimate reward or comeuppance is replaced instead by one in which other characters must drive their choices, take the lumps for the protagonists' poor decisions, and any justice done our heroes is the result of being duped into just desserts. They deserve better. Shame on you, man. Your wonderfully constructed characters suffer from the conceited parlor tricks of their megalomaniacal creator. Let your people live, let your audience enjoy, and get your critic's ego the holy hell out of the way!!! You don't always get the last word. You are just the author. For a real study in the unwitting, begrudging fantastical anti-hero readers should look toward Steven R Donaldson: Thomas Covenant is believable and despicable enough to carry the show, and endear him to the audience warts, leprosy and all. By this author's hand Quentin Coldwater is a spoiled, emasculated, whiny douche bag fighting the weight of his author's pen when he could be guided to literary greatness. And by the way, the whole transparent "Homeric reference" bit? Arrogant drivel--by the time we get to the underwood it's worn so thin not even a cameo by Martin the Beast can save it. Quentin doesn't change, you won't let him! Where's the Odyssey in that? Grow up Grossmann, be a mensch, don't inflict your middle-aged regrets on this great character you're trying to put down. Maybe you feel like you missed your great adventure, who knows... Who cares!?!?! Let the guy knowingly take responsibility, fully understanding the consequences, slay the wife's suitors and get to pet his goddamned aged dog on the way through the door beforehand. There will be time enough for regrets when we get to "The Magicians Nursing Home", for now let him learn _something_ from his adventures, from his mistakes and grow a little. I'm not even going to rail about how much of a cheat the end of Julia's Odyssey is when Q steals her defining moment of decision--its too agonizing, and to weighted. Or even the ugly Frank Herbert rip off of the couple in the porch chairs at the end of the world. Or any of the other "see how smart I am" references, why bother? Where Magicians succeeded, and 80% of this book struggled to make the mark, the author failed. A series that began with such promise--and could almost suffer the lame scifi/fantasy homages that riddle this second book like buckshot--bursts into a flaming pile of cow dung in the last forty pages and sputters out in a sentimental, impotent, smoking, greasy mess. I suppose that saying I was disappointed at this point is a bit redundant, but I am so let down I think it's worth saying ad nauseum. I hope the "Magician's Kobain Years", my assumed sequel in what I'm sure will be an _amazingly self-indulgently fascinating_ series is a better book, 'cause despite it all I still want to know what happens next, and still think the style is good. Despite the obvious Hollywood run-up-for-a-sequel ending. Don't waste a week of your life for this second rate heart break. Read the first three chapters. Read the last. Then go read Dune.

Great read. Great second book to the magicians.

The Magician King. This is absolutely one of the best, not quite finished, trilogies that I've read in a long time. The sad part is waiting until August 2014 to find out what Quentin will do, what will he discover, and how will he manage to recover from not being a part of Fillory. You need to start with The Magician which I also thoroughly enjoyed-it was the underpinnings/the beginning of the creation of this wonderful world. Enjoy losing yourself in this tale! WARNING: Expect nights where you read until 2 or 3 in the morning and don't notice the passing of time, you can't believe it when you look at the clock ... now that's magical!

The magician king. Great book! Quinton needs to have another adventure. This time in the Neitherlands.

Amazing. Honestly one of the best booms I've ever read. Although I can be impressed by the literary prowess of many of the greats. It takes a true magician to make me feel as emotionally connected to characters as lev has in this too short series. If I could read only one story for the rest of my life it would in fact be that of fillory and Quentin. This is of course individual to my own experiences that allow me to register so closely with these characters. But I would like to thank lev grossman for creating such an amazing story. It is truly a shame it must end. But then again all great things must end.

Wish it was as intense….. …as the original. Grossman gets close to the intensity and focus of The Magicians when he is describing Julia's ordeal in learning magic. Throughout The Magician's, the mental and emotional stress on the characters as they were completing their studies, exploring Fillory, and defeating Martin was practically burned onto the pages. Instead, this book is filled with Quentin's listlessness as he goes from adventure to adventure, wondering when his real quest begins throughout the book. The end, when it comes, is abrupt, and I was almost traumatized at Quentin's uncertain future in a rapidly changing Neitherlands. I think, in time, and with a thorough re-reading of both books, I'll come to like The Magician King as much. For now, it's the parts that describe Julia's training that stand out as the best writing in the book.

I feel like Grossman kicked me in the balls.. The way this novel concluded makes me think the author is a masochist. He loves the experience of cutting himself so much, that he endeavored to do it on a grand scale. The author created a character I truly loved to read, then squashed his hopes and dreams in such a way as to feel like my dreams had been crushed as well. What more could I ask for - except for my money back?

Fun then staggering. I prefer to be brief: I found 'The Magicians' to be fantastic and this book to be even better. As the title of my review suggests, I enjoyed the bulk of the book in a way similar to the first one; the pace was great, the characters were good company, and the action and magic were well doled out. Toward the end of the book, as the two narrative lines come together and especially for the last few pages, the book becomes an even greater thing. It is heartbreaking and paradoxically also magnificently inspiring.

Enjoyment. It is great entertainment. Tasty candy.

Wonderful. A great, fun summer readAnt even better than the first book (which I really liked) with phenomenal characters, swift pacing, and wonderful imagery. Just as with the first book, it has a really satisfying ending. I cannot wait for the next one!

Good but not great,. I really had looked forward to this coming out but now I feel disappointed. I enjoyed reading it, but then again i enjoy just about anything. It was definitely a let down. Once again I found myself disliking, and almost hating, the main characters, but then, at least I had strong feelings towards them. When I reached the last page I felt like my copy of the book must have been tampered with and I was now missing pages. It was an unanswered hope. But after all those words, I wouldn't say to not read it. Go head. Please do. And maybe you'll like it more than I did, or maybe you'll be just as disappointed.

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Good!. Seriously disappointing ending though. Like for real.

An epic journey!. To there and back, the perfect sequel to the novel and ingenious novel The Magicians. Absolute perfection.

Like a second heartbeat.. After reading "The Magicians", I was stunned by the brilliant bitter-sweetness of the ending, feeling the curtain closing on this marvelous story. "This is pretty much it", I thought to myself, "Any thing beyond it would just be some extra content, irrelevant to the main story". I was never this wrong in my entire life. "The Magician King" actually tells two different stories simultaneously, both of them are complete game changers to every single aspect of the story. The first is the one you pretty much expected: Quentin's new adventure as a king of Fillory. The other story features Julia, and what happened to her during "The Magicians" time period, from that cold day in brooklyn when it all started to the final act where she was flying in front of Quentin's window with Eliot and Janet. Believe me when I say you have never read the first book before you read this one. "The Magician King", surprisingly enough, managed to keep that wonderful bitter-sweetness of "The Magicians" ending throughout the entire book, all the way to the very end, and still be an unbroken part of the first book, featuring the tragic feeling of loss. The sequel also continues Grossman's obsession of white bunnies, neat squares, and putting down any childish over-excitement the reader has for magic, now with even much more at stake. If "The Magicians" hadn't put you in perspective about magic already, be sure that "The Magician King" will do the trick. This book is a wonderful masterpiece with some unexpected twists that blow your mind, and somehow it filled 99% of the holes in the first book while creating almost the same number of new ones, leaving me hopeful for a third installment in this unique and beautiful series.

The Magician King. Wow what an amazing book! You know that ee cummings line "as yes is to if, love is to yes"? Well The Magician King is to The Magicians as The Magicians is to real life. Read it, but read The Magicians first!

Better than the first. Poor ending.. I enjoyed the Magician King more so than the Magicians. I loved the dark complexity of Julia's character. I felt like it really made the book. Wasn't happy with the ending. It almost seemed rushed and left me feeling empty. I was waiting for Alice to make a reappearance before the end. All in all, good. I will be reading the third and final novel of the series when it comes out.

Excellent. Normally, when reading books like this there is no real end but this one started and ended great from book to book. I definitely recommend it for an adult. This was a fantastic fantasy.

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