The Magician King
A Novel
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4.3 • 872 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Lev Grossman’s new novel THE BRIGHT SWORD will be on sale July 2024
Return to Fillory in the riveting sequel to the New York Times bestseller and literary phenomenon, The Magicians, now an original series on SYFY, from the author of the #1 bestselling The Magician’s Land.
Quentin Coldwater should be happy. He escaped a miserable Brooklyn childhood, matriculated at a secret college for magic, and graduated to discover that Fillory—a fictional utopia—was actually real. But even as a Fillorian king, Quentin finds little peace. His old restlessness returns, and he longs for the thrills a heroic quest can bring.
Accompanied by his oldest friend, Julia, Quentin sets off—only to somehow wind up back in the real world and not in Fillory, as they’d hoped. As the pair struggle to find their way back to their lost kingdom, Quentin is forced to rely on Julia’s illicitly learned sorcery as they face a sinister threat in a world very far from the beloved fantasy novels of their youth.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Grossman's stylish sequel to The Magicians smoothly fuses adventure fantasy, magic realism, and mythic fiction. It's been two years since Quentin, Eliot, Janet, and Julia have become kings and queens of the magical utopia of Fillory, but Quentin is becoming bored with his seemingly idyllic existence. Spurred on by a dark prophecy of the "Seeing Hare," "one of the Unique Beasts of Fillory," he and Julia decide to embark on a trip to a faraway island, but their voyage turns out to be more perilous than expected and they end up back on Earth. With no apparent means to return to their home at Castle Whitespire, they must somehow find a way back to Fillory and save their realm from imminent destruction. Grossman effortlessly injects innumerable pop culture and literary references (Monty Python, Harry Potter, Pink Floyd, the Lorax, the Teletubbies, etc.) into the fantastical storyline. Mainstream fiction and fantasy fans alike will find this fairy tale for adults rewarding. 10-city author tour.
Customer Reviews
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.
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.
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.