Review of 'Magician King' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
mostly audiobook, but I was able to finish a book again. It felt good.
Softcover, 400 pages
English language
Published Jan. 5, 2012 by Penguin Publishing Group.
3 stars
(14 reviews)
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 …
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.
Gossamerchild reviewed The Magician King by Lev Grossman
Review of 'The Magician King' on 'Storygraph'
I gave this my best shot. I even made it 3/4 of the way through before finally getting too disgusted by the overall silliness of the characters. I got so tired of hearing Quentin whine about how his happiness was guaranteed in Fillory. His naivete was beyond believable. I hardly ever read this much of a book before giving up, so I will probably pick it up again someday in the future. But for the most part I found the whole thing to be one big, messy pile of juvenile silliness. I kept waiting for the characters to mature, and I'm still waiting. I liked the concept, and it didn't really bother me that Grossman borrowed so many ideas from other authors; after all, what makes something truly "original" these days, anyway? Had it been better written, I really could have liked it. This was incredibly disappointing.
Subjects
- Fiction, fantasy, contemporary